The trade union movement asserted its commitment to developing an active energy and climate change strategy, but Congress agreed that this must not happen at the expense of jobs nor can any strategy…Read more…
Step up on steel
British voters are backing the country’s steel industry with a widespread call for action by the government to step up its support for the beleaguered sector. According to Unite, which…Read more…
Time for action
Steelworkers, members of Unite and other steel unions, received a rousing round of applause yesterday (September 12) at the TUC conference after a composite, which highlighted the trade union…Read more…
#MayMonitor: A new campaign to track progress of Theresa May’s government
Theresa May became Prime Minister promising ‘a country that works for everyone’. She committed to fight the ‘burning injustice of inequality’, to support those who are ‘just managing’ but find life hard and to prioritise ‘ordinary working class families’ over the wealthy few. As Parliament returns…Read more…
Tackling debt is about more than personal responsibility
In the latest edition of the ESRC’s Society Now journal, Victoria Boelman from the Young Foundation discusses the need for greater education in order to help households avoid becoming trapped in high-cost debt. Well-intentioned as such work may be, it ignores the role of structural forces on…Read more…
Dangers of excessive workloads
Shelagh Hirst, ATL president, places this issue under the spotlight at TUC Congress 2016. Excessive workloads, caused by the current educational system, are detrimental to the mental health and…Read more…
Post Office has failed
Seconding a motion on the crisis in the Post Office, Unite EC member and delegate Ivan Monckton said that Unite was proud that, its post office managers had taken industrial action on pensions, job…Read more…
Last orders on zero hours?
Britain’s largest pub chain is the latest company to announce that it will offer permanent hours to staff working on zero-hour contracts, following pressure on businesses to end the practise by…Read more…
EU citizens’ right to remain & all workers’ right to respect
The TUC has submitted evidence to the British Future inquiry into the status of EU nationals in the UK. We are calling for the government to make a clear commitment to give citizens from all 27 EU countries living and working in the UK the right to remain. This is one of the five tests…Read more…
Don’t rule out basic income call
As rapid digitalisation and fragmented employment throws millions of workers into uncertainty, Unite is urging unions to consider a universal basic income as part of wider reforms to social security…Read more…
On the offensive
TUC Frances O’Grady highlighted today (September 12) the importance of reaching out to young workers in a revitalised movement which places the concerns of the next generation of trade unionists at…Read more…
Stop this anguish call
Trade unions affirmed their commitment to a zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment following an emergency motion at the TUC conference yesterday (September 11) which was unanimously carried. …Read more…
How the Grunwick strikers changed the face of British trade unionism
The striking women at the Grunwick factory reminded me potently that trade unionists, and trade union leaders, come from all walks of life. As a south Asian women trade unionist myself, the story of…Read more…
Building a movement of young workers
The buzzword during Congress this year is young workers: where they work, what they need, and how unions can help them. What we do know is that young workers –those aged under 30 and usually outside…Read more…
Railway infrastructure: a no-brainer for Britain
Since at least the financial crisis the TUC has argued for increased infrastructure spending as part of a coherent industry plan. From 2010 the coalition government did the opposite, cutting spending with no coherent strategy. In economic terms the con…Read more…
Economic Update: Brexit means… not having to say what Brexit means (yet)
“Brexit means Brexit” is likely to top the list of most repeated phrases of 2016 (at least in the press). But what does Brexit (means Brexit) mean for the economy, and working people’s jobs, rights and pay? In a new report, we attempt to survey the evidence. The problem is, there’s not that much…Read more…
Seize the opportunity
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey moves composite on the European Union. See and share our film below:
The post Seize the opportunity appeared first on UNITElive.org.Read more…
Out of EU must not mean out of work
Employers must not use Conservative in-fighting and the challenge of Brexit to let a shadow descend over the future of UK workplaces – warned Len McCluskey, Unite general secretary. Moving a…Read more…
More pay clarity call
It takes WPP CEO Martin Sorrell — the UK’s highest paid boss — less than 45 minutes to take home what an average British worker earns in an entire year. This fact was among the shocking…Read more…
Stem poverty and insecurity call
Over the summer, Tony Blair did some thinking. He came to the conclusion that he is baffled by the rise of Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn. The high priest of the third way has confessed that he…Read more…