Home ownership in England has fallen to its lowest levels for 30 years, while nearly 90 per cent of renters in Britain do not have enough savings to cover even a quarter of the deposit needed to buy…Read more…
Stop the bullying
Bus drivers and engineers at Brighton and Hove buses and its subsidiary Metrobus in Crawley have overwhelmingly backed taking industrial action in a dispute over an increasingly ‘draconian’…Read more…
Aid & trade: toxic mix or magic bullet?
New aid-sceptic International Development Secretary Priti Patel MP has annoyed many in the aid NGOs with an article in the Daily Express which could be taken to mean that Britain’s large overseas aid budget should be used to encourage developing countries to sign trade agreements with…Read more…
Even with Brexit deal unknown, the government can act now to manage migration better
While there is still considerable uncertainty about whether or how free movement will feature in any Brexit negotiation, today the TUC has released the report Managing migration better for Britain. It makes clear there are actions the government could take now which would tackle the negative…Read more…
What Byron Burgers (and Casablanca) tell us about policing migration
A lot has been written about the immigration raids at Byron Burger restaurants across London a month ago which saw 35 people arrested and led to protests recently. Many have criticised the company for getting more involved than legally necessary, where…Read more…
Oil strike rages on
A 48-hour strike by North Sea offshore oil and gas workers started today (August 4), after company managers rejected an offer from trade unions. Workers in the trade unions Unite and RMT will…Read more…
‘Dismaying’ jobs threat
The announcement today (August 3) of a possible 64 job losses at the Riverside housing association in Cumbria has been met with dismay by Unite. Riverside said the cause of the threatened job…Read more…
Strike days dip
The number of workers who took strike action last year dipped to their lowest level in recorded history, figures published yesterday (August 2) have shown. In 2015, only 81,000 people downed…Read more…
Has the Post Office ‘failed’?
The Post Office’s decision to close its final salary pension scheme is the latest episode causing concern over its financial state. It will mean reduced retirement incomes for the scheme’s 3,500…Read more…
Mind the ever widening gap
After spending decades of their working lives earning less than men, women also now face a yawning and growing income gap in retirement, a new study has shown. Women retiring this year expect…Read more…
Now you see it, now you don’t
Shop fitters in Newcastle are locked in a dispute over a pay offer that has been branded as ‘bizarre’ by Unite. The offer from the company sees workers given a 25 pence an hour increase and their…Read more…
FIFA must stop foul play in Qatar.
FIFA bought a manual on how to end human rights in its world cups, and so far it’s refusing to follow the instructions. But now fans have a chance to make FIFA play by the rules. When FIFA commissioned a UN human rights expert to advise them how to clean up world football’s act, there…
The…Read more…
Holiday pay win
A five-year legal battle to get haulier Eddie Stobart Ltd (ESL) to pay the correct rate of holiday pay has resulted in a pay-out of £364,000 for more than 430 drivers. Unite, which represented…Read more…
‘Genuine’ talks call
Bus drivers in Weymouth and Bridport would embrace the arbitration process to solve the long-running ‘poverty pay’ dispute with ‘open arms’ – but only if the conciliation talks are genuine. …Read more…
The cost of poverty
Poverty costs the UK £78bn a year in public spending and lost tax, new research into the effects of deprivation on Britain’s finances has found. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) ‘Counting…Read more…
Wake-up call
The latest manufacturing figures released yesterday (August 1) have shown that the uncertainty unleashed by a Brexit vote is no passing phase. The closely-watched Markit/CIPS UK…Read more…
Lowest-ever strike figures: So why did we need the Trade Union Act again?
0.0029%. That’s the proportion of working days lost to strikes in the UK last year. 81,000. That’s the number of people who went on strike in 2015. It’s actually the lowest-ever…Read more…
How is the Brexit vote affecting workers?
The simple answer, of course, is that it is too early to tell. The electorate’s decision on 23 June was just a decision, not the actual act of leaving the EU. Since then, we’ve had a substantial fall in the value of sterling which will make imported goods and components more expensive…Read more…
Show Qatar World Cup hosts death & exploitation are unnecessary
On 21 August, West Ham United will play their first Premiership home game at the former London 2012 Olympic Stadium – their new venue – against Bournemouth. We’ll be there with…Read more…
‘No business sense’
Prudential employees, based in Reading, are being balloted for strike action over plans to outsource about 75 jobs dealing with annuities to India. Staff, members of Unite, will start voting…Read more…