Fourteen years ago this week I was at a small gathering in Farringdon Street to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the modern day Labour Party. It’s a treasured memory that has stayed with…Read more…
Unions21 unions and the Lobbying Bill
Unions21 is a trade union network that shares best practice and new ideas between its members. For the first time, its steering committee have decided that Unions21 should put forward a position on…Read more…
Zero power for workers on zero hours contracts
The Thompsons Solicitors Union Home blog Following an informal information gathering exercise last year, the government recently announced a consultation on zero hours contracts to investigate…Read more…
11% pay increase for MP’s- sounds reasonable to me!
It appears that MP’s truly get a bad press and when they get some good news we cannot help but knock them for six. Take the 11% increase in pay announced by the independent parliamentary…Read more…
Handling small-scale redundancies
The regular Thompsons Solicitors blog British workers are feeling less secure than at any time in the past 20 years. Below-inflation pay cuts are creating a cost of living crisis whilst…Read more…
‘Making a killing’ or protecting Royal Mail workers’ rights?
Most of the media focus has been on the government’s ‘hugely successful’ sale of our 400+ year-old Royal Mail at a knockdown price to their chums in the City. Over at the postal…Read more…
Straws in the wind?
At the Labour Conference fringe in Brighton, there was a distinct change of mood. It wasn’t just Ed Miliband’s one hour ‘tour de force’ but also the warm reception given to…Read more…
Government advice to interns fails to address the root cause of their exploitation
The Thompsons Solicitors UnionHome blog Internships have become a way for unscrupulous employers to undermine and evade the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and the government has recently…Read more…
Holding a mirror, shining a light – Trade Unions, Liberty and Human rights
The annual Human Rights awards, hosted by Liberty, has rightly become an important fixture in each autumn’s calendar. An opportunity to be humbled and inspired in equal measure – a chance…Read more…
The tide must continue to turn against the likes of Serco | Mark Serwotka
Let’s see Britain taking public services back from Serco and G4S – so they can be run properly
Serco is a company in trouble. Under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office over the electronic…Read more…
Filtering “common sense” to benefit the employer
The Thompsons Solicitors blog David Cameron has stepped up his campaign against worker’s rights by asking for a “common sense filter” on EU ‘red tape’. A business task force…Read more…
Ineos, Unite and the worrying return of union-busting | Gregor Gall
The escalating dispute at Grangemouth is indicative of an alarming heavy-handedness among major employers
The biggest company you’ve probably never heard of is engaged in a titanic battle with…Read more…
Postal workers’ strike: Royal Mail should expect a battle royal | Gregor Gall
The CWU may have lost the battle on privatisation, but industrial action will send a powerful message on pay and conditions
It’s been a case of third time unlucky for the postal workers’ union (CWU)….Read more…
Firefighters’ strike: a smart, strategic move by the union | Gregor Gall
The way the FBU has gone about calling its four-hour strike provides a lesson for other unions preparing industrial action
The announcement by the firefighters’ union of a four-hour strike next week…Read more…
Ed Miliband’s plan to reform Labour’s link with the unions – panel verdict
Miliband has given a speech outlining how he’d like the relation between Labour and the unions to change. Did he get it right?
It is normally sensible to check the small print beneath politicians’…Read more…
Workers recognise the importance of unions in protecting their rights | Gregor Gall
Despite a rise in unemployment, union membership has also increased, reflecting the need for collective action
Against all the odds, union membership rose in Britain last year for the first time in a…Read more…
Tory equality policy is a sick tribute to the memory of Stephen Lawrence | Mark Serwotka
Twenty years on from Lawrence’s murder, government plans to remove a key equality law would roll back years of progress
Our Tory-led government will today mark the 20th anniversary of the racist…Read more…
Forget Europe – the markets hold the real unaccountable power | Mark Serwotka
An unholy matrimony between finance and politics has undermined democracy: it’s time it was reinforced
Listening to economics being discussed in the media is like being read a fairy story. In any…Read more…
Autumn statement 2012: expert verdict
Our experts give their reaction to George Osborne’s autumn statement on the economy
George Osborne has spoken. But what he said on tax will disappoint most people who listened. Continue reading…Read more…
Slashing and privatising public services: David Cameron’s ‘aspiration nation’ | Mark Serwotka
The Tories’ ideological cuts will hit us all, not just public servants’ jobs. Join the new coalition of the dispossessed to protest
Earlier this week civil servants learned – through a combination of…Read more…