The insurers seem to be going after our compensation again. The last government gave them a huge bonus by making it far harder to take claims and recover all your costs by introducing legislation…Read more…
Is the EU-Canada trade deal hitting the rocks?
The election of a charismatic young Liberal Prime Minister – Justin Trudeau – is just one development that has cast doubt on the future of the Canada-EU trade deal negotiated under his Conservative predecessor Stephen Harper. Although firmly committed to signing the Trans-Pacific…Read more…
International agreements coming back into fashion?
In the same week that the UK government ratified the ILO Forced Labour Protocol after pressure from the TUC and CBI, the Transport Minister has signalled that he will ratify the Hong Kong Convention…Read more…
‘Affront to democracy’
The Tory trade union Bill will not only tie unions up in red tape, threaten fines and open them up to detailed investigations. It’ll cost £7m a year for the first five years according to the…Read more…
Uniting to save jobs
Unite today announced (Friday January 22) it is joining forces with European counterparts in a bid to save former Alstom workers from redundancy – in the wake of the recent General Electric (GE)…Read more…
‘National scandal’
As it couldn’t get any worse for beleaguered steelworkers, today’s (January 22) Mirror front page reports that the government could be considering building new Royal Navy warships with cheap imported…Read more…
Act of sheer brutality
Thirty years ago this Sunday (January 24) Rupert Murdoch made his move to Wapping – sacking 5,500 print workers employed on his newspapers overnight. It was an act of sheer brutality…Read more…
Early UK ratification of ILO Forced Labour Protocol is a major step forward
This lunchtime, I’m taking part with other trade unionists, CBI representatives and ILO Director General Guy Ryder at the ratification of the International Labour Organisation’s 2014 Forced Labour Protocol, a major step forward in the eradication of modern slavery, trafficking and other…Read more…
Flying another kite – has George Osborne solved his pension tax conundrum?
The sky above Number 11 Downing Street must be a mass of tangled string and paper. In the summer, the Chancellor flew a kite about changing taxation on pensions to resemble that of ISA accounts. Instead of up-front tax relief, savers would pay tax on t…Read more…
4 Ds that matter more than #Davos: Debt, Demand, Deflation and Denial
This week has seen global financial markets continuing to collapse. The UK FTSE entered so-called ‘bear market’ territory (falling at one point by over 20% from peak). Official figures showed the UK CPI was zero in 2015, the lowest annual figure since the great depression. In the policy arena,…Read more…
£37 million of new red tape for unions under the #TUbill
Remember the Red Tape Challenge? Every week, the 2010-15 coalition government would stick a pin in the statute book and ask what seemed to be the Daily Mail reader comments panel to let them know which regulations should be axed. The current Cabinet Of…Read more…
Steel: job losses make grim news
The UK steel industry workforce faced one of its worst blows yesterday (January 18) as steel giant Tata announced the loss of just over 1,000 jobs, the majority of which will be axed at the…Read more…
Don’t hold our jobs to ‘ransom’
Ballymena, Co Antrim and Hollywood. Worlds apart you might think. But such is the threat to jobs and the community that Ballymena-born award winning actor Liam Neeson has joined with Unite to fight…Read more…
Government concession on double strike ballot thresholds for ancillary staff in #TUbill
At the Lords second reading of the Trade Union Bill, the debate kicked off with complaints from opposition and crossbench Peers that the government was late in publishing impact assessment and consultation responses to show their justification for the …Read more…
A workforce dehumanised
When the SSI steel works in Redcar closed in October the 2,200 skilled workers that lost their jobs knew things were going to be tough. Redcar, Middlesborough and all of the surrounding towns…Read more…
‘Step aside’ call
The Post Office is to transfer another 39 Crown Offices to private companies like WH Smith and to close a further three branches. Branches in Shaftesbury Square in Belfast, Antrim in Northern…Read more…
‘Right that wrong’ now plea
Sheffield has been known as the ‘City of Steel’ since the 19th century when innovations like crucible and stainless steels were developed there. Today Sheffield Forgemasters is one of the last…Read more…
Ministers: act to save our steel plea
The UK government’s failure to act swiftly and decisively to support the British industry is leaving it on the verge of wipe out. Tata Steel’s latest announcement to axe a further 1,050 jobs takes…Read more…
Intolerable pressure
A new survey shows that GPs are under ever increasing pressure as patients report waiting more than a week for appointments. Last year patients waited over a week to see their GP on more than…Read more…
Speaking out for Scotland
Unite Scotland held its first ever policy conference last weekend (January 16/17) as the union deepens its commitment to its members and their communities to provide distinctive solutions for their…Read more…