Farm workers in Wales celebrated on Friday (February 26) as they received a six per cent pay rise, after the Welsh government signed off on an historic Order enabling it to set its own minimum rates….Read more…
Real jobs not just cream teas
The fate of the Shepton Mallet Cider Mill, which faces closure at the end of the summer with the loss of 120 jobs, is symptomatic of a wider problem facing the West Country – how to create decent,…Read more…
No to ‘poverty wages’
Unite local government members overwhelmingly reject ‘paltry’ pay offer in consultative ballot About 70,000 local government workers, members of Unite have overwhelmingly rejected the ‘paltry’…Read more…
Danger in the air
The dangers of the industrial chemical asbestos were first acknowledged in the early 1900s, but it wasn’t until nearly 100 years later – after relentless campaigning against corporate interests and…Read more…
‘Insidious’ move
If there were any remaining doubts that the Tory government is aiming to lock in its grip on power for generations, this week they were laid to rest. New details were published on Wednesday…Read more…
Disrespectful baseline steals children’s creative and imaginative expression
By Dr Guy Roberts-Holmes In all the arguments about whether or not reception baseline assessment is accurate or not, what is not discussed is that it is deeply disrespectful to young children and…Read more…
Unpaid overtime can’t be a blank cheque, says TUC
UK employees worked £35.1 billion worth of unpaid overtime last year, with 5.1 million employees putting in an extra 7.7 hours per week the TUC reports today. I can reveal that there was some slightly better news, since the percentage of employees working unpaid overtime has not kept pace with…Read more…
Should I stay or should I go?
By Deborah Parren, ATL policy officer. Trainee and newly qualified teachers are full of energy and good intentions to be the best teacher they can be for their pupils. Will this enthusiasm be…Read more…
A very positive alliance
The youngest person ever to be elected to the London Assembly believes that young people today are “way ahead of the government” on LGBT education in schools. Labour London Assembly member,…Read more…
We are LGBT
To some people LGBT is nothing more than a category of people, a description, a title, but to me it’s one big family. We stand for people who can’t stand for themselves. We march for people…Read more…
The price of freedom
The aim of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history month is to celebrate and recognise LGBT people’s contributions to society. Having started in the US in 1994, with the support…Read more…
Petty vindictiveness: Conservative peers condemn #TUbill ban on payroll collection of union subs
Today saw the last day of the trade union bill’s committee debate in the Lords, and one of the main issues up for debate was the Government’s plans to end the check-off system of collecting union subscriptions directly from members’ salaries in the public sector Conservative peer…Read more…
Don’t expect govt bail out
As the steel industry cries out for government support, business secretary Savid Javid told manufacturers yesterday (February 24) that it could not expect to be bailed out like the banks were in 2008…Read more…
Happy birthday Harry
Harry Leslie Smith, a political activist who has worked with Unite and the wider Labour movement on various campaigns – most recently in getting out the vote at the last general election – celebrated…Read more…
10 workers’ rights #Brexit would risk
The EU certainly isn’t perfect. But lurking within all the directives and regulations are a whole set of rights and protections for British workers. These rights came from the EU, and are…Read more…
The NHS runs on goodwill– but how long can that last?
The 2015 NHS Staff Survey results are out and it is welcome news that staff are mostly happy with the support they get from colleagues and line managers. But life is far from easy in the NHS and the responsibility for that falls squarely on the Government. A recent King’s Fund report showed that…Read more…
#EUreferendum: Brexit risks our employment rights
Whilst media attention focuses on the impact the EU referendum seems to be having on relations between members of the Conservative Party, there are more serious concerns about the impact the result could have on rights for working people. The reality i…Read more…
Regulator fears pension freedom mis-selling
There was always a remarkable haziness about what the pension freedom reforms announced in Budget 2014 were meant to achieve. While most government pension initiatives are designed at improving incomes in retirement or making savings more secure, George Osborne’s revolution offered freedom…Read more…
Junior doctors: More strikes planned
Junior doctors have escalated their dispute, with the British Medical Association yesterday (February 23) announcing an additional three 48-hour strikes as their battle against health secretary…Read more…
‘Hidden because of fear’
Between 2012 and 2015 hate crimes against transgender people more than doubled, according to Home Office figures. But they do not tell the whole story: It is estimated that as much as 80 percent of…Read more…