Unite has responded with concern to the emerging news that Tata steel is looking to break up its remaining UK operations as it continues to seek a buyer for its businesses. According to…Read more…
Project hope
There is no need for a spoiler alert – Unite is fighting all the way for a remain vote and for Britain and British workers to build their future in unity with workers in the rest of Europe….Read more…
Yet another trade unionist speaks out for Remain
Today, a long-time member of one of the TUC’s affiliated unions spoke out in favour of a Remain vote in Thursday’s referendum. The union is the Professional Footballers’ Association…Read more…
‘Broken promises’
Weymouth bus bosses have been accused of ‘broken promises and bad faith’ as a further four days of strike action from (June 27) were announced to follow on from this week’s strike in the ‘poor…Read more…
‘Absolutely disgraceful’
Protests were held outside the French embassy in London over the weekend, after a 250 vehicle aid convoy on its way to Calais was refused entry into France. The convoy, organised by a number…Read more…
Less a ‘miserable failure’?: some facts about recent EU growth
This morning I woke to a Brexit mantra that the EU economy is a “miserable failure”, with “low growth”. (*) On the latest GDP quarter-on-quarter growth figures, in 2016Q1 the EU moved marginally ahead of other economies regarded as important in this type of comparison. GDP:…Read more…
Will young people swing the vote of the European Referendum?
The debate around mobilising young voters in the EU Referendum was the topic of the live studio debate organised by visual think tank COVi in partnership with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) last…Read more…
Diseases don’t respect borders
In UNITElive’s second instalment of our series in which we ask members what being in the EU has meant to them, we talk to Beverley, a biomedical scientist. The EU referendum debate has…Read more…
The profession that cried wolf: ‘expert opinion’, the referendum and the IMF
A dominant theme in the referendum campaign is the unwillingness of the public to listen to expert advice. The economics editor (Chris Giles) of the Financial Times despairs: “Economists have never been more united in supporting a vote to remain, yet the profession increasingly appears incapable of…Read more…
Save Chorley A&E
Unite members are leading the battle to reopen the Chorley District Hospital A&E. The A&E was closed on April 18, when Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust, which runs Chorley and…Read more…
Passengers want a properly staffed railway, not more driver-only-operated trains
“We were travelling on a Southern train from Shoreham by Sea to Southwick just after 11pm one night when the train suddenly stopped just short of Southwick. Someone had got onto the track, so the power was cut. The guards announced that the lights would be turned off to keep some power in the…Read more…
Being in the EU saved my job
With just days left before the UK makes a historic decision on June 23 – whether to leave the European Union or remain – UNITElive this week speaks to members about what being part of the EU has…Read more…
When we stand together, we thrive
As this referendum campaign draws towards a close, I think everyone can agree on two things. First, it matters. As the moment of decision looms, this will be one of the most important…Read more…
Solidarity with those killed in the Orlando massacre
James Baldwin wrote: “not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced”. We, as trade unionists, have always faced down bigotry, campaigning against…Read more…
No James Herriot idyll
The reasons why almost half the vets regularly think of leaving the profession – with nearly 10 per cent of young vets planning to leave as soon as possible – will be explored at the inaugural…Read more…
Stand and deliver!
Unite Community in Chesterfield staged on Monday (June 13) a protest outside the offices of Best Connection, one of two employment agencies that supplies Sports Direct with labour. Singing a…Read more…
‘Let’s carry on her work’
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey has offered Unite’s most sincere condolences to the family of Jo Cox, the MP who tragically lost her life in her constituency today (Thursday, June 16). …Read more…
European unions take a stand on the platform against undeclared work
Undeclared work, if not properly confronted, threatens to undermine employment, wages and conditions for workers across Europe. The launch of the European Commission’s ‘Undeclared Work Platform’ was a long overdue initiative to tackle the exploitation of workers and unfair competition for…Read more…
women’s health most at risk from long working hours, says 30-year study
Women who put in long hours for the bulk of their careers risk life-threatening illnesses, including heart disease and cancer. Work weeks that averaged 60 hours or more over three decades appear to triple the risk of diabetes, cancer, heart trouble and arthritis for women, according to new research…Read more…
Extra, extra, read all about it?
Newspaper deliveries to newsagents across the UK could be hit as staff at Menzies Distribution gear up for strike action for the first time ever over a ‘pitiful’ pay offer. Unite warned that…Read more…