Apologies, but it’s been very hot and muggy all day, and I find that makes me less active and more thoughtful. So it was a good time to read this blog by Kemal Dervis, former economics minister…Read more…
NHS union to discuss pay bargaining
Date: Thursday 11 June 2015
Over 60 stewards and union staff from NHS union UNISON meet in Ayr today (Thurs) to plan the union’s future strategy on pay in NHS Scotland.
Speaking at the annual policy event Tam Waterson Chairperson of the Scottish Health Committee said: “UNISON believes in the NHS and UK bargaining on pay and conditions, however our members across the UK have experiencedRead more…
Syriza’s struggle is our struggle
The Greek Syriza government is still locked in crisis negotiations with ‘the group formerly known as the Troika’ (the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission) over releasing…Read more…
UNISON demands pay uplift for further education staff
Sun 24 May 2015
UNISON today calls for Angela Constance, Cabinet
Secretary for Education, to intervene in national pay negotiations for
further education staff, which have all but broken down.
UNISON leaders are astonished at the responses they have recovered from further education employers.
UNISON lodged its pay claim on 3 February 2015. The
union is looking to agree a newRead more…
Collective Bargaining, What’s It Good For?
If you really want to tackle low pay and inequality in this country then find out how by watching this video. Read more…
Workers arrested and sacked during collective bargaining for unpaid social welfare benefits
It’s been a month since workers from a Shenzhen based factory started requesting the factory to pay back workers’ pension and other social security benefits. Workers staged a strike shortly after the…Read more…
Pledge for collective bargaining as Fair Work Convention welcomed
#stuc15 The STUC Congress in Ayr gave its full backing to the Mather Commission “Working Together” report which “sets out a new blueprint for industrial relations in Scotland.”
Welcoming the Scottish Government’s commitment to establish a Fair Work Convention to take forward its recommendations, the STUC pledged to ensure a robust industrial relations framework is established, based onRead more…
China’s labour activists unhindered by government clampdown
Peng Jiayong, a Chinese labour rights activist who was severely beaten and hospitalised due to his active involvement in the Cui Heng factory workers’ strike, told USi despite the threat and violence…Read more…
USi China Exclusive: Wu Guijun: my new labour centre
This week, USi talked to Wu Guijun, a former worker who was criminally detained for over a year before trial due to his leading role in a furniture factory in Shenzhen. He was then acquitted and released, and set up his own labour organisation to support labour activism. He shared with USi his view on the current labour movement in China, his new centre’s upcoming projects, and his observation on the official trade union.Read more…
USi Exclusive: young Chinese labour activist: I want to set up my own NGO
This week, USi talked to a Shenzhen-based labour activist, who has been involved in major labour conflicts in the past few years. Recently he quit his job from a prominent labour NGO. He shared with USi his observations over the challenges of China’s labour movement, and his plan of setting up his own labour NGO.Read more…
The case for Collective Bargaining
Great Youtube video produced by the Institute of Employment Rights’ featuring Professor Keith Ewing and John Hendy QC. I don’t think even trade unionists really understand that the most important thing we do is collective bargaining with employer…Read more…
IMF says unions are key to tackling inequality: Are you listening Osborne?
18 March 2015
By Sabina Dewan and Gregory Randolph
As George Osborne delivers his last budget under this Coalition Government, we wonder if he has paid any attention to a recent report published by…Read more…
Troika attacks bargaining systems across Europe
5 March 2015
By Thorsten Schulten, collective bargaining expert at the Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI).
Real pay and collective bargaining coverage are falling dramatically and…Read more…
Solidarity with Greece
The TUC General Council yesterday agreed a statement of solidarity with the Greek people and their unions in supporting the actions of the Syriza-led government elected last month. Our support for its programme and attempt to escape austerity adds to t…Read more…
What’s REALLY bugging Eurozone hardliners about Syriza?
The brinkmanship and rhetoric surrounding the renegotiation of Greece’s memorandum with the Troika was ramped up this week as a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers on Monday broke up without…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…
Why Cameron’s belief in freedom doesn’t extend to workers
If David Cameron really wants workers to get a pay rise, then he’s got a funny way of going about it. Over the last five years we have seen a sustained attack on workers’ rights and protection at…Read more…
Learning & Organising in Greater London UNISON 2015 (defend members & fight union busters)
If you are a London UNISON activist then download our training programme and application form for 2015 courses. I will be applying to go on the refresher steward course this year (under the Employment Rights Act unions are obligated to make sure that t…Read more…
UNION BUSTING BY UK PUBLIC SERVICES PROVIDERS
The motion below on Union Busting has been sent to by UNISON Housing Association branch to next year’s Greater London Regional Council AGM in February 2014. If it is passed it will also be considered as a regional motion for the National Delegate Confe…Read more…
The world needs a pay rise: Oxfam recognises the union role
Oxfam has today issued a guide for businesses on implementing living wages throughout their global supply chains, and it puts collective bargaining and trade unions centre stage. The paper is full of…Read more…