The National Farmers Union (NFU) of Scotland demanded yesterday (August 5) that the Scottish government abolish the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board (SAWB). Unite has slammed the NFU warning…Read more…
Bosses ‘not to be trusted’
The roll-out of a Smart meter installation programme across London and southern and western England will be hit when EDF Energy staff stage two days of strike action later this month in a dispute…Read more…
The ghost of check-off past – Danny Alexander returns to haunt Matt Hancock
Cabinet Office Minster Matt Hancock MP took everyone by surprise with today’s last-minute addition to the Trade Union Bill. In revealing plans to abolish check-off (the process by which employers deduct union subscriptions directly from wages) arrangements for union members in the public…Read more…
The Corbyn ‘phenomenon’
A tragedy is being played out on the outskirts of fortress Britain where refugees attempting to escape conflict and misery have gathered. Values of tolerance and social justice are being…Read more…
Come clean, ministers
Ministers should come clean about how stopping public sector union members paying their membership dues though the long-standing payroll ‘check off’ system will achieve a saving of £6.5m to the…Read more…
Stop end to check off threat
Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail spoke today (August 6) on BBC Radio 4’s World at Oneprogramme in defence of check-off, a system by which union members have their dues…Read more…
A most spiteful act
Check-off, the system by which union members’ subscriptions are automatically deducted from their salaries, has come under threat as the government unveiled today (August 6) measures that would end…Read more…
Nightmare of the night shift
As the second day of a two-day strike among tube workers kicks off today (August 6), many commuters may wonder what the fuss is all about. Don’t tube drivers get £50,000 a year? Hasn’t London…Read more…
‘Now we have a real voice’
With less than a week left to go for the deadline to sign up to vote in the Labour leadership election on August 12, Labour supporters up and down the country are preparing for what’s set to be a…Read more…
Monetary policy committee minutes betray worries about the economy?
In spite of fevered speculation about rate rises in the not too distant future, only one member of the MPC voted for interest rate rises (Ian McCafferty of the CBI). The minutes betray some concerns about the underlying momentum of the economy going forward. On GDP the Committee note that…Read more…
Government’s union membership changes are aimed at undermining public service workers’ rights
The Trade Union Bill keeps getting bigger as the Government find more ways they can rebalance power away from the workforce. The rapidly increasing package of measures contained in the Bill seeks to reduce the capacity of unions to represent people at …Read more…
FGM – Are we talking to the right people?
A longer version of this article was originally posted on Safer Schools. Over the past few years media attention on female genital mutilation (FGM) has increased dramatically. From a subject that…Read more…
5 types of tosh people are talking about the #TubeStrike
The #TubeStrike hashtag today isn’t one for the faint hearted. The Independent have thoughtfully compiled a tutorial for those who’d rather simply block it all out, but I’ve a kind…Read more…
Osborne’s fire sale only the first
As chancellor George Osborne rushed through the sale of £2.1bn in RBS shares on Monday night (August 3) – at a massive loss to the taxpayer – a new analysis shows that this most recent fire-sale of a…Read more…
Grasp the nettle!
Unite retired members, husband and wife Bill and Margaret Moores, have participated in many Labour leadership elections over the years – they’re both life-long trade union and Labour party members….Read more…
Rents through the roof
Osborne’s plans to raise council tenants’ rent to market value if their income is more than £30,000 or £40,000 in London could force hundreds of hardworking families out from London. Public…Read more…
Top tips for introducing night shifts
Last week I wrote a blog about the health effects of working shifts, in particular nights. Well today the TUC has followed up on that with a report on night working and “work-life balance”….Read more…
#TubeStrike: Why I’ll be striking over compulsory all-night shifts
I’m a ticket officer and station assistant on London Underground, and I’ll be taking 24 hour strike action this evening alongside members of my union, TSSA, and unions representing other tube staff,…Read more…
Amnesty makes jailed Iranian teacher union leader a prisoner of conscience
I blogged about the arrest of Iranian teacher union leader Ismail Abdi a month ago, and the bad news is that he’s still in jail (although no longer in solitary confinement for interrogation)….Read more…
Government fails to address BIS Select Committee’s concerns on TTIP
Last week the Government slipped out its response to the previous BIS Select Committee report on TTIP released last March. In light of the fact that one of the criticisms the BIS Committee’s report raised was the lack of engagement by the government with stakeholders concerned by TTIP,…Read more…