A strike comprising 11 one day stoppages commenced at Antrim carpets in Belfast today (May 13) over what workers have dubbed ‘poverty pay’. Workers laid down tools at 1pm today for six hours in…Read more…
Conservative strike plans are an aggressive assault on our rights and our democracy
That one of the first priorities of the new government has been to push ahead with punitive new plans for strike ballots is not just a blow for union members, but a blow for UK democracy.
The post Conservative strike plans are an aggressive assault on…Read more…
Labour can’t survive without the unions
Back to the future seems to be the pre-cooked consensus response to Labour’s dramatic defeat last week. To hear many party grandees tell it, all we have to do is party like it’s 1997 again. I…Read more…
“Do you consider yourself to have a disability?” – a bipolar worker speaks out
“Do you consider yourself to have a disability?”; even if you’re completely open about your mental health disorder, you can’t help but think about it for a moment when you see this question in your…Read more…
US Senate blow to Pacific trade deal means TTIP is in trouble
The US Senate decision last night to withhold fast-track ‘Trade Promotion Authority’ for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a blow also to the EU-US Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP), and it demonstrates that opposition to TTIP is not a solely European…Read more…
Safeguard our jobs
At the Irish policy conference of Unite, held in Croke Park yesterday (May 12), Ireland deputy regional secretary Jackie Pollock called for action to safeguard jobs in the manufacturing sector….Read more…
Under attack
Sajid Javid, Vince Cable’s replacement as business secretary, today (May 12) set out his plans for office in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme. Javid, a former banker appointed…Read more…
And so it begins…
The newly elected Tory government has wasted no time in its assault on working people and the organisations that represent them, as business secretary Sajid Javid announced this morning (May 12) new…Read more…
When will all of our children and teachers have the learning environments that they deserve?
Anne Heavey is an Education Policy Adviser at ATL. Purposeful; Calm; Bright; Interesting; Clean. These words sum up the physical environment of both Stanley Park High and Springwell Learning…Read more…
Election- what it means to young workers
Last Thursday’s general election saw a Conservative majority government voted into Westminster. After having had the weekend for it all to sink in, it’s time to look at what the election result means…Read more…
Pay growth to slow and public sector restraint a big factor, says CIPD
A new survey of 1,013 employers published by the CIPD published today* reports that pay growth is expected to slow during the coming year, and that many employers now believe that public sector restraint is slowing pay growth across the whole economy: •”Basic pay is expected to grow by just…Read more…
Looking into an abyss
As the Tories swung into power last week – despite securing little more than a third of the share of the national vote – they are now unfettered by a coalition government, and have already begun…Read more…
Health and safety – Time to return to basics
After five years of unrelenting attacks on health and safety from all sides, many activists were hoping to see a change in direction after the election. Labour had promised to prioritise the…Read more…
ACT NOW! Iranian regime persecutes trade unionists … again!
Last week, labour activists in Iran once again found themselves the target of persecution for exercising their legal and rightful trade union activities. The incidents include the reported arrest and…Read more…
Stop race to bottom call
The recovering price of oil should bring an immediate end to the oil and gas industry’s opportunistic campaign of job cuts and impositions to working conditions, Unite has said yesterday (May 7)….Read more…
Savage cull
German engineering giant Siemens announced yesterday (May 7) its plans to slash 4,500 jobs across the board – a further savage cull following their announcement in February that 7,800 posts would go….Read more…
Fighting Ebola with microscopes
Ebola – a disease that devastated West Africa last summer – is now a household name, as its viral tentacles spread rapidly from Guinea and then onwards to Sierra Leone and Liberia, leaving thousands…Read more…
‘Draconian’ threat to union actions
As the Tories are set to barely eke out an overall Commons majority this morning (May 8), TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady condemned Cameron’s divisive political tactics that will now spell…Read more…
Election 2015: This was not a one nation campaign
We have to hope that David Cameron’s pledge to govern as a one nation Prime Minister will be his first major U-turn – for his campaign and manifesto was anything but.
The post Election 2015: This was not a one nation campaign appeared first on ToUChstone blog.Read more…
Schools and teachers have to fill the holes in the welfare safety net
Last month, an overwhelming majority of the 2,000 members of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) replying to a survey said that their schools were providing support for children from deprived backgrounds. The same proportion – 84 per cent – said that they were providing more of…Read more…