Steel workers at Tata will be balloted for strike action in an attempt to save their pension scheme from being closed down by Tata Steel Europe. Steel unions today (Monday April 13) announced…Read more…
Launch of Scotland Against TTIP
Full version of article written by STUC Deputy General Secretary Dave Moxham for the Herald in advance of the launch of Scotland Against TTIP, 11th April.
The case made by the supporters of TTIP…Read more…
Attlee and Cameron may both have enjoyed no interest rate rise but there is one key difference: Attlee’s policies were successful
Yesterday the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged, generating a flurry of commentary on how rates have been unchanged for the whole parliament, and looking back to the Attlee government when rates were last unchanged over a parliament. For Ca…Read more…
Rocking the boat
The 19-month dispute at packaging company, Crown Packaging in Canada is set to rock the boat at the annual meeting of Carnival Cruise Lines in London on Tuesday (April 14). The United…Read more…
‘Resilient and steadfast’
A four day strike at corrugated packaging company Smurfit Kappa in Northampton will start next Friday (April 17) over the sacking of two senior stewards, both members of Unite. The four-day…Read more…
Decisive Labour lead
As the nasty party showed its true colours again yesterday, following a blatant ad hominem attack of Labour leader Ed Miliband, polls show that the public will always choose substance over theatrics….Read more…
Conservative rail fares pledge masks high costs of privatisation
The Conservative Party have pledged to freeze regulated rail fares for the next five years. What this announcement obscures is that even if capped at the level of inflation (what is meant by the term ‘freeze’), fares will still rise at wage-busting prices. At the same time our heavily…Read more…
Use your voice
Get your voice heard on May 7. Go and vote! Sue Johnston, Ricky Tomlinson and others share their stories to inspire all of us to use our voice and vote in the video below. And…Read more…
Construction and production output suggest a slower start to 2015
Today’s production and construction figures continue to suggest a loss of momentum into 2015. While manufacturing was up 0.4 per cent on the month, this did not fully compensate for a fall of -0.6 per cent in January; the more stable three month on three month change shows growth of only 0.1 per…Read more…
David Cameron’s 3 day boost for trade union organising
David Cameron is launching a new election policy today, giving everyone working in a firm over 250 employees and all public sector workers, the right to three days’ extra paid leave every year to do voluntary work. He has described the pledge, which covers half the UK workforce as the “clearest…Read more…
Coalition court threat to the poorest
While the poorest are put through the mincing machine of council tax arrears, the Tories want to keep tax loopholes for the wealthy. Three million of the poorest people in England have been…Read more…
Saving Our Safety Net Fact of the Week: local government cuts are hitting the poorest areas hardest
Back in 2010, the Spending Review announced that funding for local authorities, fire and police services would be cut by more than a quarter by April 2015. The same day, Eric Pickles wrote to local authority leaders, promising them Local finance reform…Read more…
Sham consultation
A public consultation on train service cuts in Northern Ireland has been called a sham by Unite, with Translink providing only 12 days for the public to respond, well below the typical 12 week…Read more…
Market competition is stifling vital innovation in our NHS
It is increasingly clear that any government coming into power after the next election will be faced with unprecedented challenges across the NHS. The legacy of five years of government-imposed austerity and top down restructuring is a growing financia…Read more…
End non-dom status call
Ed Miliband and Ed Balls launched their policy on scrapping ‘non dom’ tax status (April 8) to ensure that super-wealthy individuals can no longer avoid paying tax in the UK. There has been…Read more…
Don’t let future be mean streets of my past
Lonely Planet/Mirrorpix It was in Bradford that I wounded my spirit in the Great Depression of almost 80 years ago. For me it is a city that contains both wonder and unimaginable…Read more…
Oil deal: jobs alert
As the announcement of a ‘mega merger’ between Royal Dutch Shell and exploration firm BG came yesterday (April 8), Unite has warned against crude cost cutting and job cuts. The merger might be…Read more…
Exports revolution
A beefed up role for a trade minister with a seat in the cabinet to coordinate and boost UK exports – a central plank of a new report on delivering an export-led recovery – has been welcomed by Unite. Unite echoes the call for a revolution in export culture to boost manufacturing outlined in […]
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‘Totemic’ tax move
As the general election nears, campaign promises are a dime a dozen. Elections are usually a flurry of predictably vague pledges, with politicians revealing just enough of one policy or another but conveniently omitting the fine print. This time round, however, is decidedly different. Labour has hit out with bold, clear policies, and their […]
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NHS squeezing laid bare by top docs
A group of the nation’s senior doctors have come together to deliver a damning indictment of the coalition’s record on the NHS. In a letter published in today’s Guardian, the health professionals conclude that this administration’s record is “characterised by broken promises, reductions in necessary funding and destructive legislation, which leaves health services […]
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