andrew james
16 February 2015
By Andrew James, Solicitor
Much has been reported in recent months about the inequity of zero hours contracts (ZHCs). ZHCs are quite rightly seen as a form of…Read more…
Fair Pay Fortnight begins today
A timely reminder of what five years of a Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government has meant for the pay packets of working peopleRead more…
Government cuts to legal aid made on the basis of no evidence, reveal Public Accounts Committee
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has released a report of their inquiry into the impact of the cuts to the civil legal aid budget, introduced under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO). The report provides a damning indi…Read more…
Fair Pay Fortnight – Scotland and the UK needs a pay rise
Scotland and the UK needs a pay rise. It’s necessary for hard pressed workers and their families, but it’s equally vital for the economy.
The next two week’s will be Fair Pay Fortnight, a series of…Read more…
In a fast-changing world, how should a curriculum and assessment system enable all learners to achieve?
William Stewart is a reporter at the TES. Opinions on the kind of curriculum pupils should be taught have tended to become steadily more polarised in recent years. On the one side is the…Read more…
Fair Pay Fortnight: Tweet for fair pay?
It’s Fair Pay Fortnight from 16 February to 1 March – two weeks of campaigns and activities tackling our growing pay crisis.Read more…
West Ham & Ilford North Valentine’s Day Labour doorstep
Picture from our Valentine “on the knocker” for Labour candidate in Ilford North, Wes Streeting.
West Ham Labour had two canvass teams working with local activists in Fairlop ward. While Lyn Brown MP ran a telephone canvassing bank at the Ilford North…Read more…
Germans showing solidarity with Greeks
If you get your news from the papers or broadcasters, you’d think that the dispute over Greek austerity and debt is a national struggle between (primarily) Greece and Germany. In reality, of course, this is simplistic and wrong. The German government – and in particular the CDU members…Read more…
Education is the Key: CWU Black Leadership Weekend School
Colleagues,
A brief post as I am just back at Ruskin to do some email before dashing to Belfast for a few days with my family for a fine blend of politics/culture.
I wanted to send a note of thanks to the black CWU activists I have been with since Fr…Read more…
Speech: Greece Solidarity Campaign demonstration
I bring you greetings from Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the TUC and greetings from the General Council of the TUC. The victory of Syriza is an inspiration for the whole working class…Read more…
Election 2015 – What’s at stake?
CLASS, the labour movement think tank, has published the first in a series of general election guides. Election 2015: What’s at stake for work, pay and unions?
This timely…Read more…
Night Workers by Helen Dunmore
All you who are awake in the dark of the night,
all you companions of the one lit window
in the knuckled-down row of sleeping houses,
all you who think nothing of the midnight hour
but by…Read more…
UNISON Housing Association AGM: Branch Secretary report 2014
On Tuesday next week it is my branch AGM at GLA City Hall. At the meeting the Annual Report for 2014 will be tabled (see here).
I have been re-elected unopposed again as Branch secretary for 2015/2016 and below is my contribution to the 2014 annual re…Read more…
Barnet Council to vote on NOT paying London Living Wage
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Ryde Academy & ‘Lazy Teachers’
– by Mat Thomas To listen to the Labour Party leadership the other day talking about getting good teachers and some of the complaints made by Conservatives one would think that the Country, let alone…Read more…
Aberdeenshire cuts impact ‘devastating’ says UNISON
Aberdeenshire UNISON has warned that the council’s planned cuts over the next five years will hit jobs and services hard and will continue to have a devastating impact on the quality of life in Aberdeenshire, especially for our most vulnerable.
The branch has called on Aberdeenshire councillors to minimise job losses and to keep their commitment to no compulsory redundancies and to maintainRead more…
UNISON wins Comhairle living wage backdating
UNISON’s Western Isles Local Government Branch has welcomed the Comhairle’s recent agreement to backdate payment of the National Living Wage to its lowest-earning staff to April 2013.
Back in November the Comhairle, following an intensive campaign by UNISON, agreed to pay the Living Wage for 2014 exclusive of Distant Islands Allowance. However, the council disagreed with the union over itsRead more…
“tax avoidance, everyone does it”
Brilliant. Tories justifying tax avoidance by rich. Hat tip Wrexham for Labour Facebook. Read more…
Ed & Education, Education, Education
On Thursday lunchtime I went to see Labour leader Ed Miliband at a policy launch on Education which took place at Haverstock school in Camden, North London. This state run comprehensive was where Ed and his brother David were educated.
While waiting …Read more…
What kind of laws do we want? A report of an IER Conference
13 February 2015
By Roger Jeary, IER Blogger
The Institute’s conference on 11th February saw a fine array of trade union and political leaders alongside legal experts and academics debate the…Read more…