The vote on tax credits is a tremendous win for ordinary people struggling to get by on low pay – but it’s only a beginning
The article Lords tax credits vote is an important first step first…Read more…
Economy growing at around half the pace of last year
At 0.5%, today’s preliminary estimate of GDP quarterly growth in 2015 Q3 was a little weaker than expected (0.6%), down from 0.7% in Q2, and continued the run of below-par growth throughout 2015. Comparing with the same quarter of last year, growth was 2.3%. Looking at the measure of GDP excluding…Read more…
Sports Direct: Six strikes and you’re out?
What if we subjected Sports Direct to its own six strikes policy?Read more…
Ending union check-off arrangements would be disruptive, centralist, and make absolutely no sense
Just as it seemed the Trade Union Bill couldn’t get any worse, the government confirmed last week that it is pushing ahead with its last minute amendment to the bill – bringing in new plans to scrap check-off arrangements across the public sector. Check-off is the system through which…Read more…
Know your enemy: 4 trade deals that threaten our rights
CETA, TTIP, TISA, TPP … confused? Here’s the second of our handy infographics about these menacing trade deals. Download hi-res file See the original graphic CETA is coming first –…Read more…
“Its official Barnet Council UNISON members to take 24 hour strike action on 2 November”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: “Its official Barnet Council UNISON members to take 24 hour strike action on 2 November”
read moreRead more…
Ex-Federal Reserve boss rejects the Chancellor’s approach to spending cuts and surplus legislation
Yesterday was a bad day for George Osborne. After the Newsnight coverage of the defeat in the House of Lords, Evan Davies introduced (here at 20:25 mins) the previous Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke (in the UK to promote his memoirs). Ex-bosses of central banks can speak more freely…Read more…
The Committee, the amendment and the threat to DOCAS
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2015-2016/0058/amend/pbc0582710m.1-7.html
While the Today Programme is explaining statutory instruments and a Tory Government is finding out what it’s like not to have a majority in the Lords, those …Read more…
UNISON declares war on government over Trade Union Bill
Union says every one of its members will fight against the Tories’ anti-union legislationRead more…
Lively Public Sector Pension Fringe #Lab15
This report is late but the affordability of public sector pensions schemes keeps coming up. Picture is of me taking part in my latest verbal duel with Michael Johnson (pink shirt on-the-right) on public sector pensions at the CIPFA fringe during the L…Read more…
Prison officers to strike after colleagues sacked for defending themselves against violent patient
POA members at Ashworth Hospital vote to take action in defence of colleaguesRead more…
Children tax credit reprive – Gawd bless yer Britney Spears!
Well done to the House of Lord tonight for blocking attempts by multi-millionaire “Old Etonian” and future Baronet, Gideon “Mockney” Osborne, to take children tax credits from millions of low paid working (strivers) British families.
I saw him being i…Read more…
Today’s tax credit debate – what is the independent assessment going to reveal?
Today the House of Lords debated regulations to cut tax credits, scheduled to be introduced next April. They voted to delay this introduction until an independent assessment of their likely impact has been carried out. In this post I want to look at wh…Read more…
A chance for the government to think again on tax credits
Commenting on the tax credits debate in the House of Lords today (Monday), UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis said: “Across the country nearly three million low and middle income working families…Read more…
The Labour Party – catching up with devolution
One of the finest and lasting achievements of the last Labour government was devolution. It is simply impossible to imagine a Scotland without a devolved parliament, able to devise Scottish solutions…Read more…
No justification
Unite has challenged the justification for 3M’s announcement of thirty-four job losses, after it informed the workforce compulsory redundancies are likely at its Bangor (Northern Ireland) site….Read more…
Save NHS from trade deal
David Cameron has so far refused to sign up to a historic pledge to protect the NHS from the EU/US trade deal that could spell the irreversible sale of our NHS. Politicians across England,…Read more…
A ‘good time to lose your job’
As the UK steel industry teeters on the brink of collapse – devastating entire communities after more than 5,000 jobs have been shed in the last month alone – former deputy prime minister Lord…Read more…
No one is fooled, Chancellor
Cuts to tax credits – which will amount to a £4.4bn raid on the country’s poorest working families – are in the spotlight again today (October 26), as peers are set to vote on motions that may stop…Read more…
UNISON launches #ChooseWellChampion campaign in ‘groundbreaking initiative’
Largest NHS union puts its weight behind Welsh government’s Choose Well call
The article UNISON launches #ChooseWellChampion campaign in ‘groundbreaking initiative’ first appeared on the UNISON site.Read more…