Unite has offered an ‘olive branch’ to troubled outsourcer Mitie, to create an opportunity to resolve the scheduled industrial action at the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing site in Cumbria. …Read more…
Llanelli job losses warning
The threat to 95 jobs at Calsonic Kansei in Llanelli is yet another sign that the automotive industry has been badly affected by the lack of a UK-wide manufacturing strategy, Unite said today (April…Read more…
Security staff strike to go ahead
Security staff at Southampton General Hospital, who are being attacked in the A&E department, will go ahead with a second day of strike action on Good Friday (April 19). Unite said today…Read more…
Brexit on our terms
Nearly three years have passed since the Brexit referendum and still the final outcome remains unclear. In this unprecedented period of political and economic uncertainty for British…Read more…
‘I didn’t get help’
Protracted isolation, long hours and stressful work conditions have created a toxic mix that’s fuelling mental health problems among British farm workers. A new BBC analysis of the latest…Read more…
UNISON #UNEC19 Elections – Regional seat contests
My recommendations for UNISON regional seats. You can vote for regional and national candidates and for those in your own “service group” (see below – Health, Local Government, Community, Higher Education and Energy)
Service Group Seats
Health – Gener…Read more…
Reform of Private Rental Sector (& really end no fault evictions)
Great news that the Government is considering ending Section 21 “no fault evictions” of tenants who pay their rent, don’t cause a nuisance and respect their property.
This is a major victory but we need to make sure that this current Conservative…Read more…
Unpaid overtime scandal
Unite has expressed its anger and dismay after commitments to ensure that workers on the HS2 project would receive the correct overtime rates were reneged on. Last month Unite exposed how…Read more…
Safe staffing levels threat
Unite has slammed the decision to scrap a system for recording nurse staffing levels and replace it with one which distorts true staffing levels – a move the union believes will put patients at risk….Read more…
Building on the success of Grovember
As we go for some spring growth in may, what does the data from Grovember tell us? What useful lessons can we pick out from it?
The article Building on the success of Grovember first appeared on the…Read more…
Cautious welcome for eviction plans
New government plans to ban “no-fault” evictions for renters have been given a cautious welcome by housing campaigners. Although the plans will give renters more security by ensuring landlords…Read more…
UNISON NEC Elections: Make Your Vote Count
What’s the election for?All seats are up for election on UNISON’s national executive council (or ‘NEC’).The NEC is a diverse group of 67 ordinary members like you, working in all areas of public services, who make decisions about how our union is run.W…Read more…
Workers’ health shouldn’t be a postcode lottery
Newham Council Declares a Climate Emergency
Newham Mayor, Rokhsana Fiaz and Councillors agreed unanimously to support this motion. My local Councillor, Sasha DasGupta moved the motion which was seconded by Stratford Cllr Joshua Garfield.
Many thanks to Fossil Free Newham. Now to implement.
Review: The Battle, by Richard Overy
This book has now gone through several editions, and was recently re-issued with a slightly different title. It is a very short history of the Battle of Britain of 1940-41 and in just a few…Read more…
Second strike vote for Newham council
Beleaguered Newham council is facing a second strike ballot over the way it treats a key group of workers, Unite said today (April 15). Unite said that 75 employees working in housing repairs…Read more…
‘Disgraceful but not surprising’
Staff at a luxury Scottish hotel owned by Donald Trump are being paid below the legal minimum according to a whistle-blower. Unite said the way employees are treated at Trump’s Turnberry golf…Read more…
More history and less economics?
“We need more historians and fewer economists”.
This was the somewhat tongue in cheek claim made by the historian Rutger Bregman in an interview with Dan Snow on his ‘History Hit’ podcast….Read more…
UNISON NEC elections 2019 – Ballot papers out from tomorrow
My recommendations if you are a member of UNISON in London. You can vote for regional and national candidates and for those in your own “service group” (Health, Local Government, Community, Higher Education and Energy)
Greater London RegionMale seat – …Read more…
“Half of UK’s Largest Housing Associations see gender pay gap grow”
Inside Housing this week had a number of stories and features on the growing gender pay gap in large Housing Associations.
See here (paywall) for links to full reports.
I was asked to comment “John Gray, national executive committee member fo…Read more…