The word is ‘cruelty’. That’s the only way to describe how people on benefits are treated, says Unite Community activist Colin Hampton. The current benefits regime seems to operate like a…Read more…
Foodbanks: Solidarity not charity
#stuc15 The rise of foodbanks in the 6th richest country in the world is a national scandal and the STUC will continue to campaign vigorously against austerity, low pay and benefit sanctions which see so many people reliant on them.
It will also work to support foodbanks with advice on trade union and employment rights until the need for them can be eradicated.
Supporting the motion, UNISON’sRead more…
Poorer students are being failed
#STUC15. Too many students in Scotland drop out of full time education due to inadequate financial support.
Speaking on behalf of a motion from the Annual STUC Youth Conference, UNISON Scotland’s Ryan Boyle said that ‘students from poorer backgrounds are being failed’
Ryan supported the STUC Youth Conference motion calling for significant investment in further education support, increasedRead more…
Change society so women can live free from violence
#stuc15 Gender equality is at the root of violence against women and girls and the STUC will campaign to keep this issue at the heart of the agenda for all public bodies in Scotland. Delegates commended the Scottish Government’s “Equally Safe” strategy and the STUC pledged to lend its full support to groups campaigning to build a Scotland free from violence against women and girls.
SupportingRead more…
Bin lorry drivers on strike after managers attend ACAS but refuse to talk to union
More than 100 bin lorry drivers take action over £1,000 pay cutRead more…
“Unions protect workers” – veteran campaigner Harry Leslie Smith on the importance of civil society
The 92-year-old talks to USi about work, unions and the importance of the NHSRead more…
Save migrants’ lives in the Med
The TUC has joined the international chorus calling for the European Union to restore the funding needed for initiatives like ‘Mare Nostrum’ to protect the lives of refugees and migrants attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing. Ahead of the emergency leaders’ summit today,…Read more…
Hey Jude’s! Teachers begin six-day strike
NASUWT members angry at attacks on their working practicesRead more…
Campaigning for West Ham, Stratford & Thurrock
Picture collage of West Ham Labour Party campaigning for Polly Billington in the marginal seat of Thurrock and in Stratford & New Town ward.
In Stratford we managed to get into the new residential blocks either side of the High Street and were abl…Read more…
Unions call on Cameron to take action over Mediterranean deaths
TUC says EU leaders must resume ‘Mare Nostrum’ search and rescue operation.Read more…
Leave our Kids EDUCATION ALONE!
What is the NUT’s view on Academy schools? The NUT opposes Academy status. It believes that Academies have a damaging impact on children teachers and the whole community. These are summarised below…Read more…
Workers Memorial at Three Mills Green Park,, Stratford, London
I went this evening to check out the memorial and the site for the remembrance ceremony next week.
On Tuesday 28 April it is Worker Memorial Day (also known as the International Day for Workers Safety). Which is a United Nations sponsored event suppor…Read more…
Somali government tries to take over trade union movement
We’ve reported before on some of the terrorist outrages that make trade unionism in Somalia more difficult than we could possibly imagine. Despite those next-to-impossible obstacles, the…Read more…
mortgage approvals down 16 per cent on last year.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders have released figures for February 2015. Its bad news for would-be home-owners as the number of mortgages approved continues to decline (see CML chart below). The latest figure of 40,600 approvals is 1 per cent lower than January but a whopping 16 per cent lower…Read more…
Rent strikers’ centenary marks MayDay celebrations
100 years after the success of the Glasgow Rent strikers’ in changing the law, their struggles are taking centre stage amongst the range of events announced around this year’s MayDay…Read more…
Ideology over treatment
The Tory recipe to improve cancer services has resulted in lost momentum and their health reforms have created confusion and fragmentation. Waiting times for treatment hit the lowest point…Read more…
Call to challenge gender equality in apprenticeships
#stuc15 The STUC will press the Scottish government to work with them to tackle gender inequality in apprenticeships and to encourage women to take on apprenticeships in under-represented sectors.
Grahame Smith, STUC General Secretary also committed to taking up incidents of abuse in the apprenticeship sector in his capacity as a board member of Skills Development Scotland.
Seconding theRead more…
End 1 in 5 children living in poverty in Scotland
#stuc15 is appalled that 100,000 children live in poverty in Scotland and called on both the UK and Scottish Governments to adopt polices that will tackle the scourge the of child poverty across Scotland.
The STUC called for a review of the benefit system to ensure that it acts as a genuine safety net against poverty; and a wider provision of good quality, affordable childcare to improveRead more…
Tackling poverty to tackle education inequalities
#stuc15 Poverty affects the education and life chances of our children, and delegates condemned the disgrace of one in five Scottish children living in poverty and will campaign for additional resources to tackle educational inequalities, for the full implementation of the Scottish Government’s Child Poverty Strategy and for better training for teachers and other school staff on the effects ofRead more…
Scandal of epic dimensions
If you read the statistic that Britain is the sixth richest country in the world, you’d assume that it’s a nation virtually free of certain social and economic ills, such as poverty and disease,…Read more…