Sounds familiar? If you work in the hospitality industry you can join www.unitetheunion.org – if you earn less than the Living Wage (£9.15ph in London, £7.85 outside) for just £2.10 per week. …Read more…
Better understanding
In the third part of our week-long series for Disability History Month, UNITElive speaks to Unite Welsh disabilites committee chair Ceri Wright, who was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome,…Read more…
Union voice: Looking ahead to 2016 in signing off my last TUC blog
As the government comes under increasing pressure after COP21 to reverse some £7 billion of cuts to the green economy, new data shows its emerging power: 233,000 employees in 96,510 businesses providing renewable energy and low carbon goods and services. The first report in a new official series…Read more…
Seeking truth and justice
Today (December 15) sees ex-miners, trade unionists, activists and more come to Westminster as they continue their fight for truth and justice over Orgreave. Campaigners will hand in a legal…Read more…
Mixed messages on deflationary/disinflationary pressures
November CPI inflation at 0.1% following October at -0.1% was in line exactly with the Bank of England forecast in their November Inflation Report. But it seems highly likely that their projected December figure of +0.4% will be wrong. Global deflation…Read more…
Responsibility Deal – Gone but not mourned.
The Government has now admitted that the “Responsibility Deal” which they set up in 2010 to deal with health issues is to be quietly left to disappear. In the words of the Government spin doctors,…Read more…
Episode 26: ‘We can do this together’
Sounds familiar? If you work in the hospitality industry you can join www.unitetheunion.org – if you earn less than the Living Wage (£9.15ph in London, £7.85 outside) for just £2.10 per week. …Read more…
Lend a hand
In part 2 of our week-long series for Disability History Month, UNITElive speaks to Unite vice-chair of the South East region Ian Lidbetter. Having a disability that isn’t immediately apparent,…Read more…
Fight for rights
As part of Disability History Month this month, UNITElive will publish one story each day featuring the many Unite members with disabilities who are fighting for a better world for all. Today,…Read more…
Workplace safety enforcement in freefall
I have just read a paper that was produced a couple of months ago on health and safety inspections conducted by Local Authorities. They inspect the majority of workplaces, including most offices,…Read more…
Historic UN deal – union resolve is “stronger than ever” – ITUC
The UN has reached an important, maybe even historic, Agreement after an unprecedented diplomatic effort in Paris. Yet it’s ambition is clearly not enough to avoid dangerous climate change. This can only be seen as the end of the beginning of climate change action, nationally and globally….Read more…
World-class standards threat
The Knowledge – a test that all black cab drivers must take in order to obtain a licence – is an integral part in maintaining London’s world-class black cab trade standards. But now, the…Read more…
Caught cold
Many parents well know the stresses and strains of having a child too ill to go to school when mum and dad need to be at work. This need not (and should not) be the case – as the TUC is…Read more…
Revving up
Confirmation that Jaguar Land Rover is to open a car factory in Slovakia has been hailed as “great news” by Unite. The deal with the Slovakian government will see the British based company…Read more…
Steel jobs saved
Unite welcomed the news today (December 11) of the further sale of businesses from the Caparo Industries Group to the Gupta family which secures over 600 jobs, based mainly in the West Midlands….Read more…
#COP21: Call to Action to Defend Humanity and the Planet
Global human rights, trade union and civil society organisations final appeal to French Presidency and all governments at COP21 to show true leadership, by ensuring that the protection of rights, equality and ecosystems are restored at the core of the …Read more…
Work and Well-being – How to get involved
In the past year or so far more employers in the UK have been introducing “well-being” schemes in the workplace. This follows a trend that we have seen in the USA where 70% of Fortune 200 companies…Read more…
“Robin’s alive!” European Financial Transactions Tax almost complete
On Tuesday, Finance Ministers from 10 countries around Europe negotiating the introduction of a Robin Hood Tax reached a landmark decision. It’s not the end of the process, but it is at least the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end: agreement to implement a broad-based tax, using…Read more…
China persecutes activists to prevent its own reforms from succeeding
The government of China has engaged in a nasty and bizarre campaign of repression against labour activists, just as its own reforms threatened to do some good. A few days ago, Zeng Feiyang, Director…Read more…
East European Migrants and the Welfare State
A new report was published today that ought to have a massive impact on what the politicians say about migration. It’s called Social dimension of intra-EU mobility: Impact on public services and it looks at the impact in West European countries of migration from the ten new member states in…Read more…