All the union news that's fit to blog...
A report launched today (Thursday 26 March) reveals that London NHS’s crisis has moved into intensive care. London’s NHS – into the unknown outlines a further unravelling of services as the NHS becomes more fragmented and financially squeezed. Roy Lilley is the chair of the inquiries that formed the basis for the reports. […]
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The growing connection between Unite’s community and industrial members saw the unveiling of the world’s first dual-purpose trade union banner by the Derby Unite Community branch last week (March 19). Historical images of a Derby strike pre-dating the Tolpuddle Martyrs have been combined with a 21st century communication Quick Response (QR) code. When scanned […]
The post Keeping the fight alive appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Guest post written by Laura Gardiner of LSE and Abigail McKnight of the Resolution Foundation. Britain’s wage squeeze has been well documented. But the public narrative on pay trends has recently suffered from some confusing – and at times highly inaccurate – claims in relation to pay rises for…Read more…
The industrial, lobby has its work cut out for the next Parliament. The government’s 2050 roadmaps to decarbonise our most energy intensive industries, published today, reveal the enormous scale of investment needed. At a time of intensive international competition, our foundation industries are…Read more…
Reassurances about future UK job security are being sought by Unite, following today’s (March 25) announcement that US food giant Heinz is to merge with Kraft Foods Group. Unite national officer for the food sector Julia Long said that in addition to discussing job security, the union also wants to know the combined […]
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A group of MPs have raised serious concerns about the risks of TTIP—the EU-US trade deal currently being negotiated in secret. The Business, Innovations and Skills committee issued a sharply critical report of the trade deal, saying that the government needed more evidence to substantiate claims that TTIP will boost the economy by £100bn a year. […]
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For a number of years now I have covered Turkey as a member of the TUC’s European Union and International Department. During those years I have written protest letter after protest letter to the…Read more…
As part of a national day of action against benefit sanctions (March 19) Unite Community members in Southampton paraded ‘Iain Duncan Smith’ through the streets of the city before ‘jailing’ the work and pensions secretary for ‘crimes against humanity.’ Pretty strong stuff and with good reason. Unite believes the sanctions – which have seen […]
The post Guilty: ‘verdict’ on IDS appeared first on UNITElive.org.
A huge corporate power grab of health care and public services would have a devastating impact on UK citizens. But that’s just what could happen if the “Trojan Horse” – an EU-US trade deal known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)–now being drawn up behind closed doors, goes ahead. By removing “regulatory […]
The post TTIP must be opposed appeared first on UNITElive.org.
In January this year, in a move that received little media coverage at the time, this government introduced secondary legislation that would enable them to extend benefit sanctions to low paid workers who aren’t doing ‘enough’ to earn more money. Sanctions – the withholding of benefits – have been…Read more…
Trade unions have been at the forefront of fighting for women and men to be treated fairly and to avoid discrimination in the workplace. As Chief Executive of a charity working with and on behalf of young women as they enter employment for the first time I wouldn’t, of course, argue that this isn’t…Read more…
The British Bankers Association said today that there were “signs that the mortgage market is recovering”. This view is based on the fact that in February bank mortgage approvals reached a five-month high. whilst any morsel of good news is always welcome,it is certainly not time to…Read more…
The UK Statistics Authority has now responded to TUC analysis on earnings estimates for those in continuous employment. We argued that newly calculated figures showing annual earnings growth of 2.3% for those in continuous employment (in their March Ec…Read more…
Mark Harper, MP, minister for disabled people announced (23 March) a commitment by government to helping disabled people in work or into work who need adjustments or support to enable them to carry out their jobs. The Access to Work (AtW) scheme has be…Read more…
A community and 270 people’s livelihoods have been put on 12 months’ notice as Scottish Power announced yesterday (Monday 23 March) that it will be forced to bring Longannet’s closure forward to March 2016. Unite had previously called for both Scottish and UK government interventions to resolve a dispute between the company and the […]
The post The struggle for power appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Inflation fell to zero in February 2014; down from 0.3 per cent in January. Once more the figure came in lower than expectations, on this occasion for 0.1 per cent (including the Bank of England in their latest Inflation Report). CPI records only began in 1989, but ONS projections show figures…Read more…
Days before the start of the election campaign, a Committee of MPs with a government majority has just published a report worrying that benefit sanctions “do not always” avoid causing severe hardship or hurting vulnerable people. This is an important point. As I’ve pointed out in previous posts,…Read more…
Two years ago, the coalition government, vowing to tackle tax avoidance, introduced new legislation that would bar tax-shy companies from procuring government contracts. Not one company has been stopped from bidding on a contract for this reason since. Now, Unite research published on Sunday (March 23) shows that the one state service most in […]
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Saturday, March 21 marked UN Anti-Racism Day, which inspired marches and rallies all over the world.
A strong Unite contingent (pictured) joined the thousands at the rally in London, where protestors assembled in front of the BBC and marched to …Read more…
X-factor judge and former girls aloud singer, Cheryl Fernadez-Versini has joined the Unite backed campaign No Vote No Voice (NVNV) to urge young people to use their vote. Cheryl has come out in support of the campaign after ending speculation that she was considering turning her back on her Labour roots over the […]
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