Martin Luther King famously said that “The Vietnamese must look upon us strange liberators.” So must the Iranians in the … MoreRead more…
‘Almost unthinkable’
An NHS at breaking point continues in crisis as the latest figures show A&E wait times in England have soared to the worst on record. Data out on Thursday (January 9) revealed that nearly…Read more…
‘Unfair and unjust’ pay cut
Lifeguards at Blackburn and Darwen leisure centres will take part in strike action on Saturday (January 11) over Blackburn and Darwen borough council’s decision to cut their wages by up to £3,000 a…Read more…
Short time working threat
Unite has pledged to ensure that workers at the Michelin tyre factory in Stoke on Trent, affected by the announcement today (January 10) of the introduction of short-time working arrangements, will…Read more…
100 Years of Council Housing (plus!) Bourne Estate, Holborn
Yesterday I went to a Housing & Regeneration Round-table on the Sadiq Khan Labour Mayoral manifesto for the May election with other London Council leads on Housing and regen.
I got lost looking for the venue but in doing so I had my own tour of th…Read more…
Our new government must address the burgeoning household debt crisis
Our new government has a long list of urgent issues to tackle. On this list should be the on-going rise of household debt.Read more…
Sheerness dock strike suspended
Drivers at logistics firm GB Terminals (Southern) Ltd based at Sheerness docks, Kent, have postponed scheduled strike action after the firm agreed to talks mediated by the conciliation service Acas,…Read more…
Hitachi job losses
Unite has challenged the government to radically review its procurement policies after the Hitachi Rail company in Newton Aycliffe County Durham announced a quarter of its staff face redundancy, due…Read more…
Data and unions: TUC Digital Lab workshop report
To date, making decisions based on data to improve union experience has mostly been an aspiration, rather than the reality for most trade unions. There are some good examples of testing and…Read more…
Forced to look for new work
Unite has warned that many construction workers in Liverpool are facing a difficult time finding work after two high profile projects were halted following a fraud probe. Last month Elliott…Read more…
Underpaid electricians ‘have had enough’
Sandwell council tenants could be left without power after local authority electricians voted for strike action over an ‘unfair’ pay evaluation that is costing them £1,000 a year, Unite warned today…Read more…
Liberty Steel job losses
Unite has vowed to defend its members after Liberty Steel announced on Thursday (January 9) that it would be cutting roughly 350 jobs due to what the company called “challenging” market conditions….Read more…
Christmas debt blues
Struggling workers are waking up to the New Year with a hangover of debt after the festive period, with nine million people beginning 2020 owing between £2,000 and £10,000. As the cost of…Read more…
New low in A&E performance shows NHS needs urgent treatment
System struggling to cope even in a mild winter
The article New low in A&E performance shows NHS needs urgent treatment first appeared on the UNISON National site.Read more…
Review: It Was a Long Time Ago, and It Never Happened Anyway: Russia and the Communist Past, by David Satter
First of all, that’s a great title for a book. And this is a very good book. Veteran journalist David Satter explores the difficult terrain of historical memory in post-Communist Russia. He…Read more…
UNISON backs Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner as Labour Leadership dream team
This morning I chaired a regular quarterly meeting of Greater London UNISON Regional Labour Link committee. Labour Link is the voluntary political fund for UNISON members who support the Labour Party.
At this meeting of elected lay members of UNISON L…Read more…
Red Tories
One of the most interesting things I read over the holidays was Little Platoons by David Skelton. If you don’t know him, he’s a Conservative policy wonk who has spent several years looking at ways to broaden his party’s appeal beyond its traditional el…Read more…
Northumbria Police sign Dying to Work charter to protect terminally ill staff
‘Our officers and staff help so many people in their times of need – it’s only right that our organisations do the same’
The article Northumbria Police sign Dying to Work charter to protect…Read more…
Wage theft scandal
As the government’s mandatory minimum wage is set to rise to just £8.72 an hour in April, new research reveals that an astounding 25 per cent of minimum wage workers are being underpaid illegally….Read more…
School bus pay victory
A long running dispute between Hackney council and school bus staff has been brought to an end after workers secured increased pay and a commitment to make agency roles permanent. The pay deal…Read more…