As part of our Pay Up Now! campaign calling for an end to the pay cap, members have been telling us their stories of living without enough money…
The article ‘I go without lunch and tell my…
Essex Walks: Matching – Sunday 6 August 2017
Off message but Gill and I did a lovely rural circular 5.3 mile walk today around Matching in Essex (near Harlow). You start at the ancient village church and walk down the road to the most glorious english duck pond ever. You then cross lush meadows s…
I resign from Democratic Socialists of America
I was a member of DSA’s parent organization, DSOC, from 1975 until 1981, served on its National Board and also worked as a staff member in its national office. I joined DSA after a lapse…
Brexit: The EU Thinks We Have A “Cunning Plan”
Reports from the EU say some of the EU 27 think that the UK has hatched a cunning plan behind the shambles currently afflicting the Government and our UK negotiating team! This helpful little guide…
What has a Labour Government ever done for us? Oh Yes, Redundancy payments
Hat tip Labour history website & twitter feed “On this Day” OTD in 1965. Redundancy Payments Act. “Gives workers the right to receive financial sum should they lose a job”.
Great picture of Labour Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, with his famou…
Rich pickings for the Culture Vulture – Edinburgh Festivals Preview
It seems like some time since I posted anything vaguely cultural here, but that is about to change!
Last Saturday our friends in the Morning Star printed my preview of the Fringe at this year’s…
Black History Month, Carnival & Conference 2017
Black Members – please see important information below to action or note, thanks.
Notting Hill Carnival, London, 27-28 AugustNotting Hill Carnival is Europe’s largest street festival representing London’s multicultural past and present. UNISON has a regular presence every year at the carnival…
We Take a stand for the Just Cause of the Venezuelan People to Uphold the Bolivarian Revolution!
The Ryde Trades Union Council is unapologetically taking a stand to expresses its support for the Venezuelan people in their struggle to defend the Bolivarian Revolution and the sovereignty of the…
Excess household lending + deficient business lending = no New Hope for galaxy
Worries about excessive bank lending to households are (understandably) never far from the headlines, but there is too little concern about the very low levels of lending to firms. The point of departure is a speech by Alex Brazier of the Bank of Engla…
‘Hat trick’ protests
In a stunning display of solidarity, workers involved in three separate disputes were joined by Unite Community branches from across London in a protest against low pay under the banner of…
‘Fat cat’ pay
An ordinary worker would have to toil for two lifetimes to earn the average yearly salary of a FTSE 100 boss, according to new research which lays bare the UK’s shocking levels of pay inequality….
‘Out of control’
The number of people considered self-employed has risen to a record-breaking high, now comprising 15 per cent of the entire workforce. But don’t think for a second that this army of…
Unison Succeeds in Court Case to Scrap Tribunal Fees
How Unison won the most significant judicial intervention in the history of British Employment Law. On Wednesday 26 July, a grey and rainy morning, UNISON members and staff gathered outside the Supreme Court in London, awaiting the outcome of a … Continue reading →
Poorest pensioners hit by rise in state pension age
Raising the state pension age for women is hitting the poorest hardest – and is having an impact on some men too. Two pieces of research published this week show the dangers of restricting access to the state pension to attempt to force people to work longer. The first was from the Institute for…
“Dozens pay their respects to war victims killed when a bomb hit their bus”
Hat tip Newham Recorder “Cllr and members of the public attending a vigil on Dames Road where a V1 flying bomb landed killing people on a bus outside the Holly Tree pub
Dozens gathered to pay their respects to Forest Gate’s war dead on the anniversary of the night a bomb hit a bus during the…
Mary Turner (GMB), R.I.P
Mary Turner obituary Guardian Trade unionist who led the GMB for 20 years and was the authentic voice of ordinary men and women Mary Turner spoke a commonsense language that chimed with the hospital…
Act for our Future – help make new #ClimateChangeBill bigger and better
UNISON members are being urged
to help make Scotland’s new Climate Change Act as strong as possible.
With other members of Stop
Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS), we are disappointed that the Scottish
Government’s proposals for the new Bill are not ambitious enough.
The SCCS Act for our Future
campaign has an easy online E Action. You can click here to email First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
Pay the rate!
Construction unions Unite and GMB have warned that further protests are likely in a dispute over companies failing to pay industry rates and employ local workers on the £175m energy from waste…
Scandal of Miners’ Pensions:
A freedom of information request has uncovered a major government scandal AUGUST 24TH, 2016 STEVE TOPPLE UK The Canary UK The miners’ strike of 1984/85 is a well-documented event, and is one of…
What would it take for trade deals to protect workers’ rights?
Protecting workers’ rights in trade deals is essential to ensure trade is fair. If trade deals don’t contain effective protections for workers’ rights, they just make it easier for companies to locate themselves in countries where wages are lower and workers are less able to resist…