The UK media this weekend has reported the death of the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the EU-US so-called trade deal which – as Buzzfeed reported this week – would legalise corporate malfeasance and profiteering by including a discredited Investor State Dispute…Read more…
Colombia still needs human rights monitoring despite peace deal
UNISON calls for renewed pressure on right-wing paramilitary groups, as the peace process moves towards a referendum
The article Colombia still needs human rights monitoring despite peace deal first…Read more…
ONS migration statistics show action on low pay and deregulation needed across Europe and at home
The Office for National Statistics today published figures on the number of migrants in the labour market up to the end of June. Given that this only captures information from a few days after the referendum, it’s not possible to read from these findings any impact of Britain’s vote to leave the…Read more…
UAW backs Kurdish solidarity call
Unite has welcomed the backing from the 400,000 strong US union, the UAW, for the freedom of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdish Workers’ Party who remains imprisoned in Turkey. In a…Read more…
Rio Olympics – workers pay a high price for poor planning
Rio 2016 is no Qatar, but a succession of mistakes and willingness to risk workers’ lives to compensate for bad planning has tarnished Brazil’s Olympic moment. If London 2012 is anything to go by, the excitement of the Olympics will really catch alight once the opening ceremony is properly underway…Read more…
Aid & trade: toxic mix or magic bullet?
New aid-sceptic International Development Secretary Priti Patel MP has annoyed many in the aid NGOs with an article in the Daily Express which could be taken to mean that Britain’s large overseas aid budget should be used to encourage developing countries to sign trade agreements with…Read more…
Even with Brexit deal unknown, the government can act now to manage migration better
While there is still considerable uncertainty about whether or how free movement will feature in any Brexit negotiation, today the TUC has released the report Managing migration better for Britain. It makes clear there are actions the government could take now which would tackle the negative…Read more…
What Byron Burgers (and Casablanca) tell us about policing migration
A lot has been written about the immigration raids at Byron Burger restaurants across London a month ago which saw 35 people arrested and led to protests recently. Many have criticised the company for getting more involved than legally necessary, where…Read more…
FIFA must stop foul play in Qatar.
FIFA bought a manual on how to end human rights in its world cups, and so far it’s refusing to follow the instructions. But now fans have a chance to make FIFA play by the rules. When FIFA commissioned a UN human rights expert to advise them how to clean up world football’s act, there…
The…Read more…
How is the Brexit vote affecting workers?
The simple answer, of course, is that it is too early to tell. The electorate’s decision on 23 June was just a decision, not the actual act of leaving the EU. Since then, we’ve had a substantial fall in the value of sterling which will make imported goods and components more expensive…Read more…
Priti Patel: right this disparity
The new international development secretary Priti Patel is being asked what steps are being taken for the 200 NHS workers and academics, who risked their lives in combating the deadly Ebola virus…Read more…
They think it’s all over … but there are 5 tests before we start negotiating Brexit
One of the strangest views you hear expressed about the result of the EU referendum a month ago is that the impact on the economy has not been as severe as the Remain campaign claimed. Apart from the political turmoil in both the Conservative and Labou…Read more…
EU acts against exploitation of migrants. Bit late.
Last month, before the referendum, I took part in a meeting of the Executive Committee of the European Trade Union Confederation in Brussels. The European Commissioner for Social Affairs, Belgian liberal Marianne Thyssen, addressed the meeting and disc…Read more…
G20 China: The diagnosis is in, but not the prescription
Its hot and smoggy here in Beijing Beijing, where G20 Labour and Employment Ministers have been meeting this week, but that’s not the main source of my frustration. Instead, I’m having a hard time getting my head around what Guy Ryder, head of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), described…Read more…
European attitudes to diversity & migration: room for improvement
A new analysis of European views on migration demonstrates that diversity is not as unpopular as the referendum result and right-wing populism in France, Germany and Italy might suggest. But it also reveals that British views are in some ways more like…Read more…
To tackle Brexit and a sluggish global economy, governments must invest in growth and jobs
I’m in Beijing, China for the annual G20 Labour & Employment Ministers meeting (LEMM). Priti Patel has already got on her plane and gone looking for work in Theresa May’s new Cabinet, but trade union leaders from across the world – known as the L20 – are still working…Read more…
Brexit’s implications for the rest of Europe: relaunch social Europe now!
As I’ve already reported on Stronger Unions, leaders of Europe’s trade union movement visited London on Monday. They were here in part to show solidarity with the British trade union movement post-Brexit. But they were also beginning to grapple with the implications for the rest of…Read more…
Unite Policy Conference 2016 – Tuesday’s business
The biggest debate of the day was around local government cuts. An Executive Statement strengthened Unite’s policy, but didn’t go as far as the motions which fell as a result of it passing.
Composite 1 (Motions 1 & 2): Campaigning Against Privatis…Read more…
The nation didn’t vote for a Brexit without a plan. Before triggering article 50, we need much broader negotiations
Two-thirds (66%) of voters want to see a broader team negotiating Brexit, including cross-party politicians, trade unions and employers. That’s the finding of a new GQRR poll we’re publishing today. That went for both remainers (69%) and leavers (65%). Only 10% of respondents thought the government…Read more…
Defend dockers’ rights
Liverpool dock workers at Seaforth container terminal will be taking part in an international day of action tomorrow (July 7). The day of action has been called by the International Transport…Read more…