I saw two speeches recently that contained points that I reckon are worth repeating. First, I was lucky enough to see James Galbraith speak about inequality at a recent conference. I won’t rehash his argument, but one thing that stuck with me…Read more…
No Living Wage for homecare workers?
Heather Wakefield Read more…
Challenges & Opportunities for Organised Labour in the USA
Colleagues,
I spent last week in the US as part of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Empire State College (ESC) New York and Ruskin College.
The labour studies department of ESC is housed in the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. Centre and is on…Read more…
Wiltshire FBU resonse to the ‘consultation’ on merger
The Wiltshire FBU has written a detailed response to the ‘consultation’ on merger with Dorset Fire Service. It deserves wide circulation. Anybody interested in the impact of central government cuts should read it. You can dowload it here FBU WILTSHIRE RESPONSE DOC Read more…
A Hero No Longer Forgotten
EDWARD RUSHTON (1756-1814)
IT is just a few years since I heard about Edward Rushton, Liverpool’s blind poet, anti-slavery campaigner and radical revolutionary.
Born in John Street, Liverpool, in…Read more…
They shall not pass!
This is the speech I gave today in Trafalgar Square at the demonstration in support of Kobane — part of an international day of action. Comrades and friends, brothers and sisters, good…Read more…
Government ‘economic fairytale’ unravels
In the first 6 months of the financial year, from April 2014, government borrowing was £58 billion. In September alone it was £11.8 billion. Total government debt in September was £100 billion higher than a year earlier, at £1.45 trillion. By the standard of its own aims this shows the failure of…Read more…
How Tory desperation to smear Labour sank the Carr review on unions | Gregor Gall
In its haste to attack unions, the Conservative party has shot itself in the foot and proved the review was just a cynical pre-election stunt
For as long as David Cameron has been leader of the…Read more…
Civil servants to join public sector strike for higher wages
Our pay freeze is actually a 20% pay cut against inflation. That’s why the PCS union will join the mass strike on 10 July
Is it any wonder public sector workers are angry? They have seen executive…Read more…
Labour Party special conference secures Ed Miliband’s status as one of the great reforming leaders in Labour’s history
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…