Local councils will need financial support to oversee building projects
The article Investment must be bigger to protect and strengthen valued public services first appeared on the UNISON National…Read more…
OECD must involve workers in developing global rules on investment
On Tuesday I spoke at a conference held at the OECD in Paris on the costs and benefits of investment protection agreements like Investor-State Dispute Settlement. In the morning conference participants had heard something important – the experts gathered by the OECD had, in all their…Read more…
Economic Update: Brexit means… not having to say what Brexit means (yet)
“Brexit means Brexit” is likely to top the list of most repeated phrases of 2016 (at least in the press). But what does Brexit (means Brexit) mean for the economy, and working people’s jobs, rights and pay? In a new report, we attempt to survey the evidence. The problem is, there’s not that much…Read more…
What do Olympians and the champions of our public services have in common?
The work that public servants do each and every day is more important than sporting prowess, but it will rarely receive a medal, will rarely headline the evening news or the front pages of the paper…Read more…
Pensions round-up in #SpendingReview 2015
In contrast to recent budget speeches, which have included significant changes to pensions policy, the pensions announcements in this spending review do not herald any major new policy developments. However, the government has moved forwards on its pla…Read more…
Government investment still way down on the last parliament #SpendingReview
Some rabbits came from the hat today. New spending announcements, departmental cuts allegedly eased (others are looking at the potential horrors of the local authority position), and the tax credit U-turn. One area of some emphasis was investment spend…Read more…
Why diet-ISDS is almost as bad as ISDS, and why we should oppose both
The popular outcry against Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), the element of trade deals which gives foreign investors a privileged route to claim compensation for measures they claim cost them future profits, led the European Union Trade Commissioner to come up earlier this month with an…Read more…
Jobs, Fair Pay, Investment. Three things we need from Budget 2015
We recently set out our detailed, 35-page pre-budget statement. It sets out what we think working people in Britain need from this budget. At the core of it, there are three things we’re looking for. I’ve explained them briefly in the video below.
The post Jobs, Fair Pay, Investment….Read more…
Who’s really in favour of #ISDS?
The investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions in the proposed trade deal between the EU and the USA (TTIP) are the most controversial part of the deal. And they appear in all new trade negotiations, like the one between the EU and Canada (CET…Read more…