Low-paid self-employed workers face a massive tax increase in April, which threatens to see many of those on the very lowest incomes in the economy fall through the cracks. Even though the…Read more…
Union to visit classrooms to highlight employment rights to pupils:
Union reps prepare to go back to school to teach pupils about workers rights Union will train members to visit classrooms throughout Scotland to highlight employment rights to pupils TRAINING for…Read more…
McDonald’s workers to coordinate strike with allies around world
Workers at two McDonald’s restaurants in the UK will go on strike on 4 September, the US Labor Day holiday, in an attempt to coordinate action against the fast food giant with allies around the…Read more…
‘Pushed into debt’
Nearly a fifth people struggling with debts have had their credit card limit automatically increased, a figure higher than for regular cardholders, new research shows. Citizens Advice found 18…Read more…
Oh joy, another Labour leadership contest
Scottish politics may be many things, but boring it isn’t. Just when you think we are in for a settled period, the Scottish Labour Leader, Kez Dugdale, resigns.
With hindsight, it was perhaps not a…Read more…
Divided Scotland
Picture it if you will. You are at a huge wedding reception and 100 guests are assembled in the hotel gardens sipping the Prosecco on offer. The hotel staff wheel out the wedding cake. It is set out…Read more…
What’s going on in the economy? Five key charts for September
It’s been a challenging summer for the UK economy with growth slowing, demand declining, business investment stalling and the UK’s balance of trade deteriorating. In happier news employment levels are at a record high, although real wages have continued to decline. So what’s going on in the…Read more…
Unison 2018 Diaries
(image shown is 2017 diary – 2018 version will have a different cover) The branch is now receiving orders for 2018 Unison Diaries. All orders and payments must be received at the branch office by Friday 6 October 2017. Requests … Continue reading →Read more…
Will the TUC respond effectively to the crisis of our trade unions?
Those of us with an interest in our trade union movement may sometimes peruse the Final Agendafor the Annual Trades Union Congress when it is published. Having attended Congress on UNISON’s behalf on eight occasions I know that the annual Parliament of our trade unions could (just possibly) be a…Read more…
Corporate Governance reforms offer greater transparency, but no real change
29 August 2017
Launching a consultation into Corporate Governance at the end of 2016, the government announced that workers needed a stronger voice to ensure businesses operated with regard to the…Read more…
Forest Gate North “Labor Day” Picnic/BBQ Sunday 3 September
Just a quick reminder that Forest Gate North Labour Party will be holding a Summer Picnic/BBQ on Sunday 3rd September on Wanstead Flats opposite the Golden Fleece pub from 3 to 6 p.m. Come along and bring a dish to share. Don’t forget to brin…Read more…
Umbrella company ‘rip-off’
Unite has called on the NHS to outlaw umbrella companies operating throughout the organisation. In April this year, the government introduced new rules which effectively outlawed agency…Read more…
Crane strike
Widespread disruption of construction sites across the UK is anticipated after Unite announced the first strike date at tower crane company HTC Wolffkran, in a dispute over pay. The initial…Read more…
Workers first
Unite has welcomed Labour’s announcement that it supports staying in the EU single market after the Brexit negotiations have finished. The policy would avoid a damaging economic cliff edge once…Read more…
Watered down
In the UK today, it takes a typical chief executive three days to earn what their employees earn in an entire year. Rising pay inequality has become front and centre in an ongoing national…Read more…
The Conservative corp gov calamity is an opportunity
I’ve blogged before about the political problem that executive pay has become. The Conservative government’s latest attempt to both look tough and do little is to my mind more evidence of it. I can see no positives in the outcomes for the government, t…Read more…
Reinterpreting the Milesians in Irish pre-history
Irish pre-history is a pain. Because Celtic culture was non-literary, it wasn’t until the arrival of Christianity that Irish myths and legendary history were written down. As a result, a lot of the myths were Christianised. St Patrick crops up a bit, meeting legendary figures like Oisín. One…Read more…
French Labour Law Reform – Why The CGT Says “Non”
In 2016, the French government, led by PM Manuel Valls, forced a law through Parliament, the so-called “El-Khomri Labour Law” (after the name of the then-Labour Minister). There is an article in the…Read more…
Radical Angles with a Cutting Edge – Edinburgh reviews 2
–> …And the second of the group reviews of both International and Fringe shows was published in the Morning Star on Saturday. It is available here. It covers reviews that I posted in my…Read more…
Ride to the Somme, Passchendaele & Arras 2017
The Battle of Passchendaele in the First World War took place from 31 July 1917 to 10 November 1917. There were an estimated 250,000 British causalities, killed or wounded during this battle.
The picture above on the left is of my maternal Grandfathe…Read more…