Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the proportion of workers who have suffered a fall in the real value of their hourly pay (that is, after taking inflation into account) is higher than you would expect, still higher than it was …Read more…
Pay gap revelations?
Despite the enormous strides women have made in gaining gender equality, the dream of equal pay for equal work is still far from becoming a reality. The pay gap between men and women remains stubbornly high at almost 20 per cent. And this average figure obscures more alarming gender pay gap trends among different […]
The post Pay gap revelations? appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Deeds not words
On International Women’s Day (March 8) women took to the streets around London Bridge, many in suffragette costume, to highlight the importance of women registering to vote. Participants and speakers include Emmeline Pankhurst’s granddaughter Helen and great granddaughter Laura, who at 19 is a first time voter; Made in Dagenham star Gemma Arterton, […]
The post Deeds not words appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Women apprenticeships call
A new Unite guide aimed at encouraging women into engineering and science apprenticeships, Women apprentices, has been launched today (March 10) with the help of Labour MP, Gloria de Piero. As part of the pink bus ‘woman to woman’ tour of 70 key constituencies Labour’s shadow minister for women and equalities took time to speak […]
The post Women apprenticeships call appeared first on UNITElive.org.
On the road to registering
Unite supported NoVoteNoVoice bus tour on film. Bus tour day 2 – Wembley Bus tour day 3 –Hastings Stagecoach Bus tour day 4 – Sussex Uni Bus tour day 5 – Southampton Find out more about #NoVoteNoVoice, Unite’s coalition campaign aiming to get everyone registered to vote, here.
The post On the road to registering appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Remember the playground?
To find out more about #NoVoteNoVoice, Unite’s coalition campaign with the Mirror and other campaign groups, visit our website here.
The post Remember the playground? appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Songs of power
I left home aged 18 to go to polytechnic in London and never moved back to live at home with my parents yet every general election time my mum would always call me and remind me to vote and rightly castigate me if I ever tried to say it’s not worth it. I grew […]
The post Songs of power appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Public Contracts Regulations: Government getting it badly wrong on public procurement
With around £230bn spent by the government on goods and services and with outsourcing increasing across the public sector, getting the commissioning and procurement framework right is of vital importance in shaping the future of our public services. So it is concerning to see the way the government…Read more…
Today’s pensions committee report and the need for speed
The wide-ranging report being published today by the Work and Pensions Commission provides both a pretty comprehensive to-do list for the next Pensions Minister and an important warning that urgency is required on many of these tasks. Among its proposa…Read more…
Struggling to survive
The so-called “record numbers” in which women are in work obscures an inconvenient truth – that women are hurting now more than ever. A new TUC report published today (March 9) has found that women have been overwhelmingly funnelled into part-time, low-paid jobs over the past year, with less than half of women’s net […]
The post Struggling to survive appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Overseas development funding pledge: Law at last!
We’ve just heard the good news that the private member’s bill on the UK contribution to Official Development Assistance (ODA) has successfully navigated both Houses of Parliament and is awaiting Royal Assent to become law. The TUC takes this opportunity to thank all affiliates, their members,…Read more…
No to austerity
Northern Ireland, where public sector spending represents almost three-quarters of the region’s GDP, faces the worst cuts in 80 years. The 2015-2016 budget, which follows four straight years of austerity, entails slashing £1.3bn in funding in the next four years – a budget which public sector workers have unequivocally rejected. Unite members working […]
The post No to austerity appeared first on UNITElive.org.
‘Sorry, I’m not political’
Crossing the border to Wales late on Friday night with an air of excitement for what we all knew was going to be a big day, the bus crew were laying out voter registration forms, with pens on clipboards, so we’d be ready bright and early the next day. Reflecting now, we’re glad […]
The post ‘Sorry, I’m not political’ appeared first on UNITElive.org.
End this courting of the powerful
David Cameron won the leadership of his party telling activists to “let sunshine win the day”. Into the 2010 General Election he went, promising to clean up a political system discredited by MPs’ expenses. Here was the man to bring about transparency in the lobbying industry and even end “crony capitalism”, to heal Britain’s sickly politics. […]
The post End this courting of the powerful appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Retail sales are strong because of intensified deflation, not subsiding deflation
Another ‘good deflation’ story in the FT today: ‘fears of damaging deflationary spiral subside’. Strong retail sales growth is regarded at odds with ‘pessimists’ predictions’ of ‘falling prices and weak demand tainting the world economy’. But an alternative interpretation of the same figures is…Read more…
The ‘un-statued’ women
Female figures from history are virtually invisible. Think of the statues in London alone — where are the women? Not in Trafalgar Square, nor in Parliament Square. In fact, of the 640 listed statues in Britain, only 15 per cent are of women. In London it’s a measly 7 per cent. One such “un-statued” […]
The post The ‘un-statued’ women appeared first on UNITElive.org.
A rising tide may lift all boats, but DWP disability release fails to show decreasing disadvantage
Late last month, the DWP put out a glowing headline: 400 more disabled people in work every day. It is not entirely unwelcome news. It does mean that there has been net growth of more than 141,000 disabled people in some form of employment over the past year. It also means that the DWP is…Read more…
International Women’s Day: A time for action, not just celebration
International Women’s Day is not just a warm up act for Mother’s Day: a day for celebrating our mothers, daughters, and sisters. It has clear radical and union roots.Read more…
Women – we got the power
In water cooler moments up and down the land everyone agrees that the fast approaching general election will be ‘the closest ever’. All political parties are now scrambling to maximise their vote on May 7. But on what will the result hinge? Might it be the expected meltdown of the Lib Dems, the […]
The post Women – we got the power appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Politics in our lives, not just in Parliament
Funny, isn’t it, how politics is so influential in our day to day lives. Everything from the amount we can expect as a minimum wage to whether we go to war, the decisions made in Parliament…Read more…