Unite delegate Jim Kelly spoke on the last day of the Labour Party Conference this week (September 30) in support of Colombian trade unionists whose struggle goes beyond anything we could even begin…Read more…
‘Real incentives’ needed for average workers to save for retirement
UNISON responds to government consultation on tax relief for pensions
The article ‘Real incentives’ needed for average workers to save for retirement first appeared on the UNISON site.Read more…
Pig sick Cameron barred from Salford pub during Tory conference
Trade union members receive 10% discount all weekend at the King’s Arms in SalfordRead more…
Every childhood is worth fighting for
By John Cameron, NSPCC Head of Helplines Everyday our ChildLine volunteers are contacted by children desperate for someone to talk to about the growing pressures in their lives. Sadly they often feel…Read more…
2,500 sign Wolverhampton care home petition
Petition launched by UNISON as homes are threatened with closure
The article 2,500 sign Wolverhampton care home petition first appeared on the UNISON site.Read more…
National Minimum Wage should increase to a Living Wage for all
Unite blasts inadequacy of today’s minimum wage increase as well as Tory ‘sham’ Living WageRead more…
Unions slam Tory ballot hypocrisy
TUC says if online voting is good enough for Tories it should be good enough for working peopleRead more…
Andy Burnham’s call for local funding & workers rights to tackle migration concerns
This week Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham delivered a speech at the Labour Party conference which called for action on the cause of anxieties communities have about EU migration linked with local services and undercutting, rather than scapegoating migrant for social problems. This is a welcome…Read more…
There’s still time to save the BBC – so let’s get moving
More than 20,000 people have signed BECTU’s petition to save the BBC.Read more…
West Ham Corbynistas Fashion Gurus
This brilliant photo was today featured in The Guardian’s fashion page “Get the Jeremy Corbyn look”. My fellow West Ham ward Councillor, John Whitworth, (left) is shown standing next to former Newham Councillor (and Labour Party activist) John Sa…Read more…
Local govt members vote to accept two year pay offer
Over 85% of Scottish local government members voting in their pay ballot have accepted a two year offer with a new Living Wage deal. Staff will now get a 1.5% rise from 1 April 2015 and 1% from April 2016.
Importantly, the Scottish Local Government Living Wage of £7.85 per hour will be put in place before the 1.5% rise, making it £7.97 an hour.
And in April 2016, the Living Wage will beRead more…
Finding her way with UNISON
Sinéad Liddy recalls her journey to becoming Northern Ireland’s first chair of the National Young Members’ Forum
The article Finding her way with UNISON first appeared on the UNISON site.Read more…
End pay discrimination
Unite secretary for Ireland Jimmy Kelly expressed his union’s dismay at the miserly increase in the UK National Minimum Wage which comes into effect today (October 1). “An increase of 20 pence…Read more…
Pay rise – no rise
More than a million workers earning the National Minimum Wage today (October 1) received a pay rise of 20p, with the adult rate going up to £6.70 an hour. Business secretary Sajid Javid said…Read more…
LGB statistics confirm social change?
The Office for National Statistics has published the Integrated Household Survey with the findings for 2014 for sexual identity and (bizarrely), smoking. The headline figure suggested that there had been little change in the overall number of people id…Read more…
Jobs blow for printers
Telephone book printers RR Donnelley is set to close at the end of the year with a “devastating” loss of about 200 jobs. Unite is due to have talks with the management at the Flaxby plant in…Read more…
Learning with Unite
It’s only been open a few weeks but already the new Unite learning centre at Vauxhall Motors in Ellesmere Port is proving to be a “fantastic” success. When Unite general secretary Len…Read more…
Digital Disruption or Digital Dividend?
It was a pleasure to speak at a fringe meeting on the digital economy, organised by Policy Network, at this year’s Labour Party Conference. I haven’t spoken or written on this subject before, so here are my slightly adapted comments to the meeting. “It is sometimes argued that the widespread…Read more…
Government holding back development of world leading low-carbon industrial zone
The great industrial and power centres in Yorkshire and the Humber’s Aire Valley have the potential to become Europe’s leading low-carbon industrial zone – but only if government unblocks its opposition to renewable energy and low carbon technologies. A new TUC report, Strategies for a…Read more…
A criminal record for defending your job?
What does the trade union bill have in store for average workers, and the public who rely on their services
The article A criminal record for defending your job? first appeared on the UNISON site.Read more…