The Prime Minister used her speech to the CBI this morning to appear to dilute her previous commitment to put workers on company boards. If this is the case, it represents a huge missed opportunity to put in place a different model for British business…Read more…
Standing up to ‘corporate greed’
Workers at drinks giant Diageo have voted to take industrial action over plans to slash their pensions at a time when the company is making massive profits. Members of Unite voted by an…Read more…
Bleak future?
On the eve of the government’s Autumn Statement on Wednesday (November 23), Unite has revealed the necessity of immediate state intervention following a survey of the offshore…Read more…
Young worker’s Challenge #7: Precarious working conditions
This month we’re counting down the ten most significant challenges faced by young workers. Young people’s experience of work is increasingly dominated by precarious working conditions. It might be…Read more…
The vindictive policy that punishes children for having more than one brother or sister
Last year, in his summer Budget, George Osborne announced a couple of measures designed to penalise large low-income families. One was the reduction in the Benefit Cap, from £26,000 to £23,000 in London, £20,000 elsewhere. The limit mainly applies to people who need to claim Housing Benefit for…Read more…
ACT NOW! Freedom for Iranian teacher union leader Esmail Abdi
The international trade union movement continues to deplore the actions of the Iranian government in its heavy handed stance of imprisoning trade unionists on unjust, trumped up charges. One such…Read more…
Brexit means Brexit. Workers on boards means workers on boards
We’re looking forward to the Prime Ministers speech this morning to the CBI, and any detail on the pledge she made in her conference speech to build ‘a country that works for everyone’. Theresa May’s signature policy to date has been her plan to include workers on company boards. In her pitch to…Read more…
Public sector cuts are stalling progress on closing the gender pay gap
Now at 9.4%, the gender pay gap has barely budged in recent years. Since 2011 the full-time gap has fallen by just 0.2 percentage points a year. At this rate it will take over 40 years to achieve pay parity between men and women. This means a young wom…Read more…
For trade unions, Trans Day of Remembrance reminds us we must organise for trans equality
A trans person is killed globally every 1.4 days and black trans women are most heavily represented in these figures. Trans Remembrance Day is a time to remember the lives lost through hate and violence. In the workplace, three in five (60%) of trans workers have experienced some form of…Read more…
From gender reassignment to trade union activist – my story
Unions: not them; us. “Think not what your union can do for you but what you can do for your union.” Actually when I went through gender reassignment, my thoughts were very much with what my union…Read more…
Working people’s rights after Brexit: campaigning for continued compliance
This morning I was pleased to be asked to address a European policy forum in Yorksire & the Humber by the local Labour MEPs Linda MacAvan and Richard Corbett. Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Keir Starmer spoke for Labour. Here are some of the remarks I made about…Read more…
Globalisers’ response to popular concern on trade agreements? Shut down debate
When the Walloons finally agreed to accept the passage of the Canada-EU so-called trade agreement, or CETA, one of the concessions they secured was that the legality of the investor protection element of the deal (known as ICS) would be tested in the E…Read more…
Why the ‘National Living Wage’ is bad for Britain’s Young Workers
On the 1st April 2016 the Government brought in the ‘National Living Wage’ – essentially a slight increase on the national minimum wage, with a different name. Employers must now pay workers at least…Read more…
Cuts reversal call
For today’s spot we have not so much quote of the day as quotes. Ending cuts now has become a rallying cry that has united MPs across the political spectrum. “I have a guiding principle in…Read more…
Unions push Qatar’s door open as they secure hard-fought deal with World Cup 2022 Committee
The TUC has welcomed the signing of an MOU between Qatar’s Supreme Committee for the 2022 World Cup and the global construction union BWI. The deal, which will allow access for the BWI to inspect…Read more…
Feudalism ‘alive and well’
The treatment of workers at the ancient Port Eliot Estate in Cornwall, following the death of the 10th Earl of St Germans, smacks of ‘a modern form of feudalism’, Unite has said. The union…Read more…
‘Nothing short of robbery’
Dodgy recruitment agencies are cheating the taxpayer out of “hundreds of millions” of pounds, a Guardian investigation has found. Temp agencies have raked in cash through “contrived” financial…Read more…
Tougher times ahead?
The pressure is on for the Treasury to help ‘just about managing’ families in next week’s Autumn Statement, with groups and MPs from all sides calling for measures to help those households who are…Read more…
‘Wholesale betrayal’
More than 200 jobs are under threat at aircraft frame manufacturer GKN, after the company announced yesterday (November 17) that it will close a plant in Yeovil, Somerset. Unite slammed the…Read more…
We must be unselfconscious about defending the values we share- Ruth Davidson, Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party
Scotland’s cultural and racial diversity continues to be one of our nation’s great assets.
We have a reputation as an open, tolerant and welcoming society – one that values all people, no matter…Read more…