We are gradually winning the argument that workers’ rights (known in the academic literature as Employment Protection Legislation, or EPL) are not only good for the workers concerned, but also beneficial – or at the very least not harmful – to the economy as a whole. See this OECD…Read more…
Forty years of progress on workplace rights at risk for workers if Britain Brexits
The TUC has published today a legal opinion from prominent legal expert Michael Ford QC – Employment Silk of 2015 – which warns of years of chaos as a post-Brexit government re-regulates British employment law. The advice he has given the TUC lists the workplace rights which are most…Read more…
Live reports from delegation to Palestine – UN and Kavla Oved
Second report from a delegation to Palestine and Israel by Sam Macartney, UNISON Scotland International Chair: Day 3: Met with the UN representative this morning, (Rodger Dalton) also at the meeting was Lord Warner Labour peer, and two forgettable Tory MPs. They were getting to travel to Gaza while groups with a real interest an agenda are barerd.
Meeting with Kavla Oved workers’ rightsRead more…
Poll shows workers’ voices aren’t being heard in #EUreferendum debate
The new polling released by the Fabian Society at the weekend has some hard messages for both Remain and Leave campaigners in the EU referendum debate. There’s one over-riding message however, that echoes what the TUC (and a few others) have been saying: The campaigns aren’t currently addressing…Read more…
Live reports from UNISON delegation to Palestine
Sam Macartney, UNISON Scotland International Chair, reports from a delegation to Palestine and Israel: Day one arrived Tel Aviv. As expected I was pulled in by Israeli security, thankfully only questioned for 20 minutes then released. It seems my reputation precedes me!
Another Israeli checkpoint, Jerusalem
On the drive to Jerusalem Noel our driver pointed out the security the PalestineRead more…
Join the fight for justice
For over 20 years there has been a virtually unreported war waged against trade unionists and the poor of Colombia. Unite is affiliated with Justice for Colombia and as the sister union of…Read more…
Climate film reminder, 8 April, Glasgow – & @sccscot job opportunity
UNISON and Global Justice Now are holding a free community screening this Friday of the climate film This Changes Everything.
Join us from 5.30pm for the 6pm prompt screening on Friday 8 April at UNISON Scotland, 14 West Campbell Street, Glasgow G2 6RX. All welcome. Hosted by our International Committee and Green Network, working with Global Justice Now.
Inspired by the Naomi Klein bestsellingRead more…
Sticking with the union: Why the EU referendum matters to working Britons
I grew up in Oxford and I was living there the last time we had a referendum, back in 1975. Only then, of course it was called the EEC, the European Economic Community. My dad worked at the Cowley car works and was a shop steward there. He was anti the EEC because he didn’t…
The post…Read more…
UNCTAD calls for investment agreements to uphold labour rights and democracy
Yesterday I spoke at the United Nations Conference on Development (UNCTAD) meeting ‘Taking stock of international investment agreement reform’ which looked at the options for reform to investment protections such as ISDS that are currently used in international investment agreements…Read more…
Climate inspiration – film and @SCCScot online debate, as UK CCC calls for strong action
UNISON and Global Justice Now are holding a free community screening of the climate film This Changes Everything next month.
And the union is supporting Stop Climate Chaos Scotland’s Climate Day #AskClimateQ Holyrood election online evening debate on 18 April, as well as holding a joint fringe with SCCS at the STUC Congress in Dundee that lunchtime.
Yesterday the UK Committee on ClimateRead more…
If Remain want our votes they have to make it personal
An article in today’s Telegraph should act as a spur to everyone in the Remain camp. Lynton Crosby – The Wizard of Oz – has been looking behind the poll numbers to gauge the motivation of supporters of Leave and Remain to go out and vote. The results which point to a possible Brexit,…Read more…
Government defeat in Lords may allow asylum seekers to work at last
Last week the government suffered two significant defeats in the House of Lords as two amendments the TUC supported to give rights and protections to asylum seekers and overseas domestic workers were added to the Immigration Bill. The Immigration Bill was introduced as part of the government’s…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…
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…
“Guten tag, pet!” Reforming the Posted Workers Directive
On Tuesday (8 March) the European Commission announced a long-waited revision of the twenty year-old Posted Workers Directive, which regulates the entitlements of workers sent by their employer to another EU country on a short-term project. Think of the characters in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet – they…Read more…
Reporting on modern slavery risks: the union factor
Modern slavery is an international phenomenon and comes in many forms ranging from East European migrants in the UK food industry in debt to trafficking gangs, to Nepalese workers on Middle Eastern construction sites with no access to their ID documents. The UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015 not only…Read more…
Interested in a fairer food system? Bring your NGO 07/03 #PLENTY #ScotFoodCoalition
There’s a new coalition in Scotland working for a just transition
to a new food system.
UNISON is hosting a
workshop on Monday, 7 March, at which the Scottish Food Coalition will launch a new report, ‘PLENTY’. A few places remain for interested NGOs and networks across all
sectors.
PLENTY: Food, Farming and
Health in a New Scotland describes a food system that is environmentallyRead more…
Brexit won’t raise wages: why Sir Stuart Rose is wrong
We got an object lesson yesterday in why workers and their representatives need to play a more prominent role in the EU referendum campaign. Sir Stuart Rose – former boss at non-union Marks & Spencer, and now chair of Britain Stronger in Europe – appeared to suggest that leaving the…Read more…
EU trade deal with Canada amended: not good enough
On Monday, European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström trumpeted what she called a major step forward on trade – a revised version of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada. The main difference was that in place of the infamous Investor-State Dispute…Read more…
How ISDS undermines the global march to democracy
I’m halfway through an event about the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) at Wilton Park, the FCO’s conference centre, and it’s the usual stimulating mix of stakeholders (a handful of business and union representatives), senior civil servants from various…Read more…