The government’s productivity plan has been slammed by a committee of MPs as “vague”, and not worth being called a plan at all. The business, innovations and skills (BIS) committee noted in a…Read more…
‘Build-to-let’ plan welcome
Unite initially welcomed the move by British insurer – Legal & General – to build 3000 flats across the UK with the aim of tackling the housing crisis. The firm has teamed up with Dutch…Read more…
More likely to go to prison than university? But a degree doesn’t close the pay gap.
David Cameron’s front page of the Sunday Times announced a concerted Government anti-discrimination drive. Targeting universities, the police, the courts and the armed forces he said steps must be taken to tackle the ongoing discrimination that “should shame our country and jolt us to action”….Read more…
Government pledges to reverse anti-union laws
No, it’s not April Fool’s Day yet, not a prediction for a future Britain. It’s the new Canadian Liberal Government of Justin Trudeau, and the new Minister of Employment, Workforce…Read more…
Aerotoxic action call
The revelation that a second flight in as many days was forced to turn back to the UK following an outbreak of sickness among the cabin crew has added further weight to calls for a public inquiry….Read more…
It’s like coming home with a poor school report and the admonishment ‘must try harder’
One of AMiE’s goals is to highlight what effective leadership looks like, to help raise the standard of leadership and management practice. We believe that the profession itself is able to be…Read more…
Boost for steel
The hard-pressed UK steel industry gained a much-needed fillip as Sheffield Forgemasters received a £30 million support package from three of the country’s leading manufacturers. Unite today…Read more…
GDP, Inflation and Optimism Bias
January contains a number of key dates: New Year’s Day is obviously a big one, blue Monday – the day which some deeply dubious psychology has identified as the most depressing of the year; and it heralds the first release of the fourth quarter and thus calendar year GDP figures for the previous…Read more…
Cider support
Unite is committed to providing every support for workers at the Shepton Mallet Cider after a mass meeting today (January 29) over the planned closure of the historic factory. The union, which…Read more…
Clarity call
Unite is calling on the Prime Minister to clarify the UK government’s long-term plan for the oil and gas sector amid rising workforce fears of a ‘race to the bottom’ across the UK Continental Shelf….Read more…
Clarity call
Unite is calling on the Prime Minister to clarify the UK government’s long-term plan for the oil and gas sector amid rising workforce fears of a ‘race to the bottom’ across the UK Continental Shelf….Read more…
The ugly game
Len McCluskey is spearheading the fight against the exploitation of migrant workers building Qatar’s football World Cup showpiece in 2022. The Unite general secretary has secretly visited the…Read more…
‘Human tragedy’
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey shares his thoughts after going undercover with The Mirror in a Qatar labour camp, where they find labourers working to get the city ready for the 2022 World Cup…Read more…
Qatar World Cup dream is a nightmare for workers
I had heard a lot about the exploitation of the migrant workers building Qatar’s World Cup dream. But nothing prepared me for the shock of seeing it first hand on a UNITE delegation last week…Read more…
Business Growth Service scrapped
There was a genuine sense of shock in parts of the business and manufacturing community that the Business Growth Service (BGS), which includes the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) and the Growth…Read more…
‘Big retrograde step’
A consultative ballot of a 1,000 Co-op drivers for industrial action will be held after the group announced today (January 28) that it was transferring about 50 drivers in the Midlands to…Read more…
Shrinking state
The present government has surpassed a record set by Margaret Thatcher after selling off public assets in 2015 worth 26.4bn, beating the previous highest figure sell-off year, 1987, by £6m. …Read more…
What is the future of monetary policy?
This morning I went to a Resolution Foundation event about the future of monetary policy. Although I cannot claim to be an expert, having listened to the views of the panel I thought I’d make some reflections. The story of recent monetary policy During the Global Financial Crisis, the Bank of…Read more…
Axe the Tax
A move by the Court of Appeal declaring the Bedroom tax unlawful has been greeted by Unite as a “significant step forward.” Judges in London ruled that in two separate cases – those of…Read more…
Migration Advisory Committee report calls for public sector pay rise – but there’s a few snags
Last week, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), the independent body which advises the government on migration policy, released its report on skilled migration. This report was prompted by the government asking the MAC to recommend how it could reduce net migration in pursuit of its unachievable…Read more…