Tomorrow sees not just the budget but also the debate on the Trade Union Bill in the House of Lords. The Bill includes a provision to allow the Government to restrict access to facility time for…Read more…
Solidarity with the NUT!
http://www.teachers.org.uk/members-reps/6th-form-teachers/pay-and-funding-campaign
Today is a good day not simply because thousands of members of our sister union the National Union of Teachers (NUT) are striking against spending cuts in sixth form col…Read more…
Scotland must recognise the poor state of social work, says UNISON
UNISON is calling for political parties to agree to allocate more resources for social work and social care workers. This call is being made on International Federation of Social Workers World Social Work Day (Tuesday 15 March 2016)
The reality for social work workforce in Scotland is they have bigger caseloads, shorter timescales, and greater demands leading to greater risks. Social workRead more…
Why can’t actuaries make their minds up?
This is an article that I wrote recently for Professional Pensions magazine
“John Gray asks why agreement can’t be made on appropriate discount rates for the LGPS. Currently I sit on three different open defined benefit pension bodies in different employer and employee roles. While I think…Read more…
‘Thin edge of the wedge’
Co-op drivers have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action over the proposal to transfer 87 drivers in the Midlands to controversial haulier Eddie Stobart Ltd (ESL). Because of the…Read more…
Austerity: it’s not working
In 2010, Chancellor George Osborne first laid out one of the central aims of the then coalition government in his first budget – to eliminate the deficit by 2015. Having failed to meet…Read more…
Budget 2016: Osborne’s five year failure to tackle the real problems
On Wednesday, Chancellor George Osborne will deliver his sixth budget. In his first budget back in 2010, he identified a number of challenges for our imbalanced and over-indebted economy that his strategy indended to resolve. He’s had five budgets since to tackle them, but looking back at his…Read more…
Time to improve energy efficiency in buildings
Governments must do more to reduce energy bills by improving the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings.
MPs on the Westminster Energy and Climate Change Committee report that the energy…Read more…
How much does the Canadian government want a trade deal with the EU?
Before the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the USA comes the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada. It has been ‘agreed’ several times, but it’s not over yet. And it’s still seriously deficient…Read more…
Looking forward – further education pay campaign
Following the UNISON in colleges one-day strike over pay on 24 February, UNISON’s further education committee met last week and has put out the following statement: The FE & 6th Form Committee…Read more…
‘A credible alternative’
Labour’s announcement of a fiscal responsibility rule to drive investment and tackle the deficit has drawn praise from eminent economists, as well as Unite’s general secretary Len McCluskey. …Read more…
Don’t tell young people that unemployment, low pay and insecure work are good for them
The way in which young workers (or want-to-be workers) is discussed in the media and public debate is something which frequently grates on me, and I can’t be the only young person who feels like this. The article “jobs for the boys and girls” in this week’s Economist was no…Read more…
TUC Budget Statement: Fiscal consolidation has failed. Make it stop.
In their June 2010 Budget the coalition expected the economy over 2010-2015 to grow in cash terms by 29%; instead it grew by only 20%. This amounts to a cash shortfall of £140bn (on the basis of today’s NA definitions, as on the chart). £140bn is a big number that reflects a double hit,…Read more…
Britain, EU and NATO Are Culpable for the Refugee Crisis
Prime Minister David Cameron has been widely condemned for his government’s approach to the refugee crisis that has engulfed Europe. One former senior politician referred to what he called an…Read more…
Government to Ban Political Strike
Government seeks High Court ban on sixth-form strike. Strike plans by sixth-form college teachers are “unlawful”, the Government will argue in the High Court later. Teachers are to be…Read more…
A social pillar to shore up Europe’s cracking foundations
Last week the European Commission suddenly woke up to the needs of working people. After years of almost no initiatives in the social and employment fields, reinforcing the perception of the EU as just a business club, we got something to deal with the pay of workers temporarily sent to work in…Read more…
What’s changed about attitudes to free trade?
I’ve already blogged once about the Wilton Park conference I attended recently on the subject of the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) in terms of the impact of investor…Read more…
USA & right-wingers: looking for regime change in Venezuela?
Last week, Venezuela’s right-wing opposition launched a new campaign to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power, including by calling for his immediate resignation. The last campaign to oust the…Read more…
The Letting Agencies rip-off
“The problems of high cost and poor standards are not confined to a few “rogue” agencies but are widespread across the industry. Many of the complaints we and other organisations have heard do not only relate to egregiously poor practice by a minority of agencies, but are widespread, and related to…Read more…
LOBOs are a National Scandal
Last week there was extensive coverage in the Standard and Independent on the UK LOBOs scandal. I have posted before on LOBOs (see labels)
Yesterday the Independent published a new report that John Mann MP and Chair of select committee, Clive Betts MP…Read more…