MPs from the cross-party Exiting the EU Select Committee today heard evidence on how Brexit could affect the world of work, from the TUC’s Frances O’Grady, CBI’s Carolyn Fairbairn and former BCC Chair turned Brexit campaigner, John Longworth. We’ve heard a lot of promises in…Read more…
A bargaining win for disabled workers is what unions continue to fight for
To mark Disability History Month I thought this would be a good time to share the great progress unions have made on disability issues. Community have negotiated an adult apprenticeship agreement and…Read more…
‘Don’t mess with our pensions’
Workers at AWE plc – the Atomic Weapons Establishment – who staged a successful lobby of MPs today (December 6) over their pensions’ ‘betrayal’, have pledged to continue the fight into…Read more…
‘In the hands of the membership’
The Executive Council of Unite has today (December 6) agreed that the timetable for the election of the union’s general secretary will be brought forward to the first months of 2017. This will…Read more…
IMF in radical challenge to “accepted truths” on globalization
The IMF has published a new feature on globalisation. It promotes a radical debate, with contributions from leading economists and public figures – not least TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady – and no-one defends the status quo. This blog summaries the contributions, with a few observations of…Read more…
Haud the bus!
People across Scotland are backing Unite’s Haud the Bus campaign to bring buses back under public ownership. Unite’s Community section set up the ‘Haud the Bus’ campaign to protest against…Read more…
Rethink bank branch closures
Unite the union has urged MSPs to back a motion calling on RBS and other banks to think again about ‘slash and burn’ branch closures. Last week, RBS announced plans to close a further 86…Read more…
Passenger safety threat
Plans to strip Network Rail of complete control of England’s railway tracks are a retrograde step that raises the spectre of the Hatfield train crash in 2000 which happened under the watch of…Read more…
Foodbank comes to parliament
Unite is calling on MPs from across the political divide to take a stand against UK hunger by supporting the Hope not Hunger pop-up foodbank when it comes to parliament on Wednesday (December 7)….Read more…
‘Forgotten face’ of insecure work
Unite and the TUC have called for stricter legislation to prevent the exploitation of agency workers, after a study found that 1m people will be working for employment agencies in Britain by 2020….Read more…
Blacklisting: justice fight goes on
While trade unionists spent years being monitored by construction firms in a shocking blacklisting scandal uncovered seven years ago, with many workers not being able to find work for decades, it is…Read more…
UPS parcel strike off
Strikes scheduled for Wednesday (December 7) and Friday (December 9) by UPS parcel workers at the delivery firm’s Camden depot have been called off Unite announced today (December 5). Over 140…Read more…
‘Draconian’ management style
Unite working at the Doncaster waste transfer station will be taking part in a one-day strike on December 12 over a ‘draconian’ management style and a ‘derisory’ pay offer which will leave workers 30…Read more…
Pension scheme ‘betrayal’
Workers at AWE plc – the Atomic Weapons Establishment – will be lobbying MPs over their pensions’ ‘betrayal’ at the Houses of Parliament tomorrow (December 6). The lobby will coincide…Read more…
Small claims changes – another attack on workers’ rights
The Government are planning to change the rules for compensation claims that would make it much more difficult for workers to get the money they are entitled to when their employer’s negligence…Read more…
Should Brexit be left to politicians and mandarins?
The online media platform reporting on EU matters, euractiv.com, has published a list of the 50 most influential people in the Brexit debate. Angela Merkel tied with Theresa May for top spot, which…Read more…
Happy International Day of Disabled People from the UK Government
Today is the 25th International Day of Disabled People. As of Thursday the government didn’t seem to have anything planned, so I will try to fill the gap by discussing what the Day should mean to our government and what’s actually happening in the UK. As it’s an international day, the most obvious…Read more…
Privatising East Coast is a bad deal for passengers and taxpayers
Virgin Trains is set to increase rail fares by 4.9% overall in 2017, compared to the average 2.6% rise across the UK. In 2015, Virgin Trains won the East Coast Main Line franchise when the line was hurriedly re-privatised ahead of the General Election,…Read more…
‘More than tinkering at the edges’
Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner on buy-to-let tax loopholes: “Solving the housing crisis and protecting private tenants facing spiralling rents will require a lot more than…Read more…
At the mercy of landlords
Buy-to-let landlords are using loopholes to avoid new taxes which come into effect April of next year, with many saying that they intend to hike up rents, according to a new report. Chancellor…Read more…