All the union news that's fit to blog...
Our economy is broken. Our public services are in crisis, from the NHS to the dozens of local councils facing bankruptcy. Our industries are in crisis, as infrastructure collapses from transport, to water, to the electricity grid. From Port Talbot to Aberdeen, tens of thousands of workers face job cuts from an unjust “transition to […]
The post ‘We must make different choices now’ appeared first on Unite Live.
The last vote countedpuffed up special advisers(spads in the parlance) happy to bebag carriers to triumphant MPsflock to Members Lobby forintrigue and gossip. Eager for an office in hallowed groundbehind the speaker’s chairclose to the Chamber under Big Ben. Or go with the buzz in Portcullis Houseprize offices with large windowslooking out at the famous […]
The post We won appeared first on Unite Live.
My parents were still in nappies when the 1984 Miners’ Strike that the play ‘We’re Not Going Back’ is based upon took place. As a 15-year-old, I was not aware of the history of the strike. I enjoyed going to see ‘We’re Not Going Back’ at Goole Junction Theatre. The play is an excellent and […]
The post ‘We’re Not Going Back’ Miners’ Strike play more relevant than ever appeared first on Unite Live.
Forty years ago, 14 civil servants working in the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) lost their jobs for being members of a trade union. In 1984 Margaret Thatcher enforced a ban on union membership at GCHQ. She claimed that it wasn’t possible for someone to be both a trade unionist and faithful to the security of […]
The post ‘The power to make change’ appeared first on Unite Live.
There was something in the air that day
It had been coming for weeks
As Jack went out that morning
Like every morning
Looking for work, looking for hope
The atmosphere felt heavy
The post A sister’s story appeared first on Unite Live.
This year will be another defined by the political choices we make. With the severity of our predicament becoming ever clearer, the only difference will be the importance of the decisions being taken. If Britain were a hospital patient most doctors would mark us down as being in a “bad way”, our recovery touch and […]
The post ‘This year will be defined by political choices’ appeared first on Unite Live.
As the TUC meets to plan its response tomorrow (December 8) my message is clear: don’t back down, strikes are a vital part of how we improve pay and conditions.
The post ‘Don’t back down’ appeared first on Unite Live.
More than 1,300 Go North East bus workers have taken two weeks of strike action ending today (October 20) over fair pay and conditions. But their fight is only beginning – as management continues to dig its heels in, the bus workers will now embark on all-out continuous strike action from next Friday (October 28). […]
The post ‘Go North East – just pay us what we’re worth’ appeared first on Unite Live.
In the early 1970s the American liberal philosopher John Rawls wrote “A just society is a society that if you knew everything about it, you’d be willing to enter it in a random place”. The quote sums up the aspirations of the age. Ever-rising living standards allowed ordinary workers to believe that their kids would […]
The post Labour ‘must be bold’ appeared first on Unite Live.
Labour’s recent reshuffle has sent a clear message. They want to take us back to the 90s. The trouble is, times have changed. Tinkering around the edges is not enough. To fix our broken economy we need intervention. Not politicians who are scared stiff of doing anything other than stand on the sidelines as profiteers […]
The post Five ways Labour can win appeared first on Unite Live.
Today (August 23), Unite marks what has been designated by UNESCO as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. Unite Equalities urges everyone to commemorate the day and fight the racist legacy of the transatlantic slave trade in their statement below: In 1555, John Lok became the first recorded […]
The post ‘We must all stand up and be counted’ appeared first on Unite Live.
Last week, iconic independent cinema Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) signed an historic voluntary recognition agreement with Unite. Earlier this week, we highlighted this key victory in the hospitality sector. Today, we hear from Unite rep and GFT worker Katie Mack who explains how she and her colleagues changed their workplace for the better – and […]
The post ‘Only the beginning for us’ appeared first on Unite Live.
For thirteen years they weakened us.Cut doctors and nurses who treated us.Devalued social workers who cared for us. Bosses mocked and taunted us.Self-employment became bogus.Secure jobs – precarious. Cyclists were turned into modern day pack horses.Eight hours to zero they texted us.In warehouses they tagged us. For ten years we’ve had austeritypushing us into poverty.China […]
The post Value appeared first on Unite Live.
Commenting on Labour’s energy plan, which includes proposals to halt new oil and gas production in the North Sea, Unite general Secretary Sharon Graham said, “Grabbing the headlines is easy, developing a serious plan for more renewable energy is not. “When Keir Starmer decided to let the world know that he would halt new oil […]
The post Unite will not accept ‘jam tomorrow’ appeared first on Unite Live.
Every day over the Christmas period, UniteLive is running a different story from our top stories of 2023. Today, we look back at Unite general secretary Sharon Graham’s inspiring May Day message. – May 1st is an important date for trade unions. For us it marks International Workers Day. It is time to reflect on […]
The post UniteLive stories of the year – ‘Change starts in the workplace’ appeared first on Unite Live.
Every day over the Christmas period, UniteLive is running a different story from our top stories of 2023. Today we look back at a comment piece from Claire Peden, Unite organiser and team leader of Unite for a Workers’ Economy about their Feed the Weans campaign wins. — In September last year, hundreds of trade unionists […]
The post UniteLive stories of the year – ‘From the ground up’ appeared first on Unite Live.
The British Veterinary Union in Unite are disappointed but not surprised that 4 out of 10 companies in the recently published BBC survey on the top ten UK companies with the worst gender pay gap, are companies providing veterinary services in the United Kingdom. These four companies employ over half of the veterinary workforce in […]
The post Veterinary services among worst offenders for gender pay gap appeared first on Unite Live.
As Irish trade unions, including Unite, step up to challenge the false narratives of the far right today, we draw inspiration from events nearly 40 years ago, when Dunnes Stores workers took strike action after a colleague was suspended for refusing to handle goods from apartheid South Africa. The suspended worker, Mary Manning, had refused […]
The post The Dunnes Stores Strike – lessons in solidarity appeared first on Unite Live.
Dear Chancellor: We’re told it’s the ‘Budget for Growth’. That is – apparently – what everyone is talking about. Well yes Chancellor. You’re right. Our members are indeed talking about growth. Because as you release your Budget and spout on about your GDP and your business incentive drives, my members are talking about the sickeningly high growth in their weekly […]
The post A letter to the Chancellor appeared first on Unite Live.
Although spiders’ webs froze on treesand overflows’ constant drip became shafts of iciclesLidia still bedded down in Kentish Townon cardboard under polystyrene Born in Bolivia her face lit upwhen someone spoke to her in SpanishHer heart gave out on TuesdayOn the railings a bouquet of red tulips For Lidia we gathered. We walked behind the […]
The post A Cold Spell appeared first on Unite Live.