Last summer, chancellor George Osborne pledged that his government would create a “higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare” country; that the vaunted ‘Northern Powerhouse’ would, over the next few…Read more…
Emergency control room mergers are only about cost-cutting, says UNISON
Government plans, which could see the merger of the control rooms that take 999 calls for the three emergency services in England, are purely and simply about cutting costs and will do nothing to…Read more…
Courses coming up with places available!
Please find below a list of upcoming training courses where we still have availability. For more details of the courses below see http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/education/index.html . Contact your branch to apply for any of these courses.
Organising for Health & Safety (Residential) – Glasgow – Part 1 on 5-7 February & Part 2 on 11-13 March
Covers the role and rights of the safety repRead more…
Tory mission impossible
Owning your own home is for many people their biggest aspiration. So why is the Tory party, who claim to be the party of aspiration, making it impossible for most people to ever realise this dream?…Read more…
Building a world-class bus system for Britain
Buses are a life-line for millions, providing access to employment, education and training, public services and leisure activities. But instead of a world-class bus service, bus deregulation has delivered higher fares and worsening services resulting in a drop in usage. The government’s austerity…Read more…
End-of-year accounts: branch audits
Information for honorary branch auditors from UNISON head of audit John Nagle
The article End-of-year accounts: branch audits first appeared on the UNISON site.Read more…
Reassuringly bad arguments
I haven’t blogged about the High Pay Centre for quite a while. They have successfully managed to establish themselves as a sort of mirror of the Taxavoiders Alliance, with the same kind of well-evidenced but populist campaigning stance. Which is great …Read more…
Why we need the Working Time Directive strengthened
Construction worker David Brown has won his case against his former employer after he was forced to work unacceptable hours. According to a report in Planning and Business Control Today: “Brown said he had raised concerns with his bosses on several different occasions, yet nothing was done to…Read more…
Online voting: Safe as Houses of Parliament?
All the way back in January of 2015, the Speaker’s Commission on Digital Democracy reported their findings. Top of the list was that the 2020 general election should provide a mechanism for people to vote online. Campaign group Webroots Democracy have been following the progress of the Commission’s…Read more…
UNISON London Regional Council Elections
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Wake-up call
Crane operators at the UK’s largest mobile crane hire firm, Ainscough, have delivered a wake-up call to management, after voting overwhelmingly for strike action in a pay dispute. Unite is…Read more…
Co-operative Bank: Important information for branches and members
Run-off period for the closure of branch deposit accounts and the migration of personal individual accounts ends on 28 January
The article Co-operative Bank: Important information for branches and…Read more…
Gardening on the curriculum
By Anne Heavey, Education Policy Adviser at ATL. On Friday afternoon I had the pleasure of visiting Grassmoor Primary School in Chesterfield and I wanted to share some of what I saw. Grassmoor have a…Read more…
Closer to justice
A High Court judge on Friday (January 22) ordered 30 construction firms including Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd and Balfour Beatty to disclose all emails and correspondence relating to blacklisting after…Read more…
The ties that bind
Rupert Murdoch’s plan to set up a new non-union printing works in Wapping was well over a year in the making. It involved Farrers, the Queen’s solicitors and strike busting advice from…Read more…
Acts announced for Mary Barbour Gala Concert
This release was featured in the Evening Times on the 19 January. It updates earlier news with some of the artists who have signed up to play in the GalaConcert. Get your tickets NOW!!A galaxy of…Read more…
Next meeting: Tuesday 2 February at 7.30, Craft Beer Company
Next meeting: Tuesday 2 February at 7.30, Craft Beer Company
Also this SaturdayUnprecedented cuts to local council funding by the government is meaning vital services are under severe threat. Across…Read more…
Insurers take another pot-shot at the victims.
The insurers seem to be going after our compensation again. The last government gave them a huge bonus by making it far harder to take claims and recover all your costs by introducing legislation…Read more…
Is the EU-Canada trade deal hitting the rocks?
The election of a charismatic young Liberal Prime Minister – Justin Trudeau – is just one development that has cast doubt on the future of the Canada-EU trade deal negotiated under his Conservative predecessor Stephen Harper. Although firmly committed to signing the Trans-Pacific…Read more…
International agreements coming back into fashion?
In the same week that the UK government ratified the ILO Forced Labour Protocol after pressure from the TUC and CBI, the Transport Minister has signalled that he will ratify the Hong Kong Convention…Read more…