In the New Year’s Honours List, David Cameron’s Australian attack dog Lynton Crosby is expected to receive a knighthood for his services to the Conservative Party. But his assistance has…Read more…
Somalia’s unions will not be cowed by violence
Yesterday, Omar Faruk Osman, the leader of our sister organisation in Somalia – the Federation of Somali Trade Unions (FESTU) – was the subject of an assassination attempt (thankfully…Read more…
TTIP: due for a diet in the New Year resolutions?
When the negotiations for an EU-US trade deal – the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – were launched back in 2013, advocates of the deal predicted that it could be completed “on one tank of gas”, before the US Presidential elections brought Barack…Read more…
Turkish unions protest for peace
While many trade unionists in the west are relaxing due to the gains of trade unionism (like holidays), workers in other parts of the world are still struggling for what we consider essential. Like…Read more…
China: we say no to market economy status
The Financial Times has today reported that the US government is pressing the European Commission not to grant China ‘Market Economy Status’ (MES), which under WTO rules would allow far more undercutting by Chinese exports into the EU. The UK government is on the record as a supporter…Read more…
Len McCluskey’s hopes for 2016
Tempting as it is to slip into dejection by the prospect of four more years of this appalling Tory administration gifted to us by this ending year, let us opt for optimism for the one to come. …Read more…
ISDS: even when Governments win, we all lose
We’re often told we shouldn’t worry about Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in the new generation of so-called ‘free’ trade agreements, because the UK Government doesn’t lose cases. In practice that’s because most UK agreements containing ISDS have been…Read more…
Andy Haldane at the TUC: technology, labour and policy choices
Interest rates: Ancient Mesopotamia to the present (see end of post for source) On 12 November 2015 Andy Haldane, Chief Economist at the Bank of England, spoke at the TUC. While a little late in the day, it is worthwhile to review some of the very important points he made, not least given the…Read more…
Invisible children
The Tory government has taken an innovative approach in reducing child poverty. Instead of maintaining a target set by the last Labour government to eliminate child poverty by 2020, it’s…Read more…
Bulwark against exploitation
Unite has yesterday (December 22) welcomed the Scottish government’s ‘sensible’ decision to retain the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board (SAWB) following a prolonged campaign to protect the minimum…Read more…
ONS Christmas present to Chancellor: a slump in nominal GDP
The final release of economic figures for 2015 does not make happy reading for the Chancellor. Headline GDP for 2015Q3 is revised down to 0.4% from 0.5%; Q2 was 0.5%. On the annual measure comparing with the same quarter a year ago, growth is now 2.1%,…Read more…
Good news for Tata Steel workforce
The future of Tata Steel’s long products division looks brighter today, following the news that a letter of intent has been signed between the company and investment firm Greybull Capital. …Read more…
5 lessons trade unions can teach the WTO
Trade talks at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) closed in Nairobi on Saturday and the biggest news is what they did not manage to agree. After 14 years of stalled talks, rich countries continued to refuse to address longstanding injustices in agriculture, such as food stockholding – a…Read more…
A Happy New Year for the NHS?
There’s no doubt about it, the last 12 months have been a bumpy ride for our National Health Service. Will 2016 be any better? A year that started off with the government negotiating its way out of a bout of unprecedented industrial action involving NHS workers in England from nurses and midwives…Read more…
Official: govt failed steel workers
Unite has backed the findings of the select committee’s report on the failure of the government to react to warning signs that the steel industry was facing increasing problems. Unite has…Read more…
Holding back the tears
Britain’s last deep pit coal miners held back their tears, as they emerged from their historic final shift underground to face the glare of the media at Yorkshire’s Kellingley Colliery on Friday….Read more…
Diggers Unite and win?
Unite Archaeology members Dr Nora Bermingham and Caitriona Moore MA have been nominated for a prestigious award sponsored by Current Archaeology magazine. The nomination – for ‘Rescue Dig of…Read more…
#COP21: How does education and research figure?
The Paris Agreement that was finalised on 12 December (pdf) has had a mixed reception. For some, it is an historic document that will keep global warming in check. For others, it will deliver too little too late. Without repeating all of the arguments …Read more…
Only God and the bed manager
The consultant was clear – you need to be on an IV drip getting antibiotics in your local A and E within the hour because of complications with chemotherapy treatment. The patient, my partner,…Read more…
Beyond a crisis
GP surgeries are bursting at the seams, ambulance staff are leaving in their droves, NHS waiting times continue to rise drastically, junior doctors were set to walk out in a series of strikes and…Read more…