UNISON President Wendy Nichols addressed the elephant (not) in the room at the start of today’s meeting of the UNISON National Executive Council (NEC) (of which, more later) when she reported that UNISON is still waiting for the report from the Returning Officer appointed in relation to the…Read more…
Construction future at risk
Serious questions have been raised about the future of training in the construction industry, already plagued with skills’ shortages, as the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is set to axe…Read more…
Now a lost eleven years on pay, never before known in history
Real earnings grew in 2015 by 2.5%, a positive figure for the first time since 2007. I.e. 2015 was the first year when pay growth outstripped inflation in 8 years.* But there is a long way to go: real earnings still stand 5¾% below the 2007 peak. Projecting forwards using the official forecasts for…Read more…
Proof council cuts hit poorest areas hardest
Hat tip Ravi. “In recent days there has been a storm about the recently announced 2016/17 local government grant settlement from central government. The creation of a new £300m relief fund will mainly be used to help Tory-run councils, like David Cameron’s Oxordshire County Council, with…Read more…
U.S. spends more on military than the next eight nations combined.
The Rule of Private Military and Security Interests U.S. Military Spending Continues to Soar U.S. President Barack Obama said in his final State of the Union address on January 12 that the U.S….Read more…
Web links for 16th February 2016
Sponsored: Meet TulaCo Trusted Development Partner. From Start-Ups to Enterprise Sponsored: Meet TulaCo Trusted Development Partner. From Start-Ups to Enterprise Sponsored: Meet TulaCo Trusted…Read more…
British Blacklisting:
UK Construction Blacklisting: Union wins £5.6m compensation payout to 71 blacklist victims Seventy-one construction workers have received blacklisting compensation payouts averaging nearly £80,000…Read more…
Statue sculptor to be announced at Mary Barbour Concert
The five shortlisted statuesThe name of the successful sculptor chosen to create the statue of Mary Barbour will be announced from the stage of the Gala Concert scheduled for this Sunday, 21 February…Read more…
Hospitals need 15,000 more nurses as government cuts student bursaries, says UNISON
Responding to a report today (Tuesday) from NHS Improvement on the rising demand for nurses in the NHS, UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis said: “Reports that the NHS needs another 15,000 nurses…Read more…
Well-run charities don’t treat their staff with contempt
It is not too late to treat staff – who have given so much – with the respect they deserve, and to negotiate with them in good faith. By doing so, a strike that nobody wants can be averted, and…Read more…
The ‘Chancer-lor’ and the tax avoiders
The Google tax scandal reached new levels of absurdity last week when the tech giant’s president of European operations Matt Brittin told a parliamentary committee that he did not know how much he…Read more…
Caledonia update
Just to clear up the mystery of those donations tagged to the Conservative Party that I blogged about last year, I’ve had the email below from the Electoral Commission. Basically the Tories mucked up their admin –
Dear Mr Powdrill, You contacted…Read more…
Unite protests over ‘big mistake’ children’s cuts
The Oxfordshire community was out in full force today (February 16) at picket lines to demonstrate against cuts in a bid to save children’s centres and other council services as Oxfordshire county…Read more…
European Union Social Rights and Social Policy.
European Social Charter The European Social Charter is a Council of Europe treaty, which was adopted in 1961 [1] and revised in 1996. The Revised Charter came into force in 1999 and is gradually…Read more…
How the ‘public sector exit cap’ could hit those who serve their communities
This government is trying to have its cuts whilst avoiding the consequences. The very least that ministers should be willing to do is pay those they’re booting out of work the redundancy money…Read more…
‘Fulfil broken promises’ plea
One in four people suffer with mental health issues but 75 per cent get no help at all. And if that’s not bad enough, mental health patients are dying 15 to 20 years earlier than others and…Read more…
I was petrified
Experience of a first-time speaker at UNISON’s national women’s conference
The article I was petrified first appeared on the UNISON site.Read more…
The ******* union that works for you (if you are a New Yorker)
Love this video. Saw it on Facebook again last week. Not sure if language and speech would be in accordance with UNISON rule book?
🙂
(BTW this is a spoof)
Mental health services in dire state, says UNISON
Responding to the report of the NHS England Mental Health Taskforce, UNISON head of health Christina McAnea said: “The provision of mental health services in this country is in a dire state. “It is…Read more…
UNISON members at Action for Children overwhelmingly vote for industrial action
UNISON is urging managers at charity Action for Children to avoid a strike after UNISON members voted overwhelmingly for industrial action following a long-running dispute over pay.
The article…Read more…