The sector needs to be properly funded and wages increased
The article Migration Advisory Committee report exposes government’s muddled immigration plan first appeared on the UNISON National…Read more…
Barriers to overseas recruitment will disrupt care, says UNISON
Christina McAnea warns proposals will cause uncertainty and instability
The article Barriers to overseas recruitment will disrupt care, says UNISON first appeared on the UNISON National site.Read more…
GPM&IT NISC June 2018
This is my personal report, not an official one. It omits most of the industrial business, as this is often confidential. Other than that, if you are aware of any errors please let me know.
This was the first meeting of the new National Industrial Sec…Read more…
Report: Unite Policy Conference 2018
This isn’t an official report, but is accurate to the best of my knowledge. If you spot any errors or omissions, please let me know. I have also uploaded the official “progress of business”.
You can refer to the conference agenda (the pack of motions …Read more…
International Migrants Day – 18 December 2017
“International Migrants Day is an international day observed on 18 December as International Migrants Day appointed by the General Assembly of United Nations on 4 December 2000 taking into account the large and increasing numbe…Read more…
Report from Unite GPM&IT national sector conference 2017
Last week delegates from each of Unite’s industrial sectors met in Brighton for their National Sector Conferences. This report covers the plenary, shared between several sectors, and the conference for my own sector – Graphical, Paper, Media & IT.
…Read more…
Immigration – confusion and inaction from government
The Home Secretary’s announcement yesterday on post-Brexit immigration plans was barely out the door before the government’s all-encompassing confusion over Brexit enveloped it. Amber Rudd’s junior minister, Brandon Lewis, contradicted her spin if not her substance, almost…Read more…
Putting the foxes in charge of the migration hen house
The Financial Times has a story today (behind the paywall) suggesting that the government’s new visa system for EU migrants will have to be enforced not by the Home Office or the Borders Agency but by employers, landlords and universities, because of cuts to the civil service. That would,…Read more…
#Brexit bad news hidden in #Budget2017
Last week’s Budget speech by the Chancellor had very little to say about Brexit. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a Brexit angle – you just have to look at what wasn’t there, rather than what was. First, there was very little in the Budget to prepare for the…Read more…
New institutions needed to address concerns about migration
The Government has decided that ‘taking back control’ of the UK’s borders is more important than anything else, more important in particular than working people’s jobs and living standards. Even if immigration numbers don’t actually come down as a result, the…Read more…
One day without us: fairness for migrants & a better deal for all
Today, Monday 20 February, is UN world day of social justice, with the global theme of preventing conflict and sustaining peace through decent work. So it’s appropriate that grassroots…Read more…
What does Brexit mean now? (According to the White Paper)
Last Thursday, the Government published its hastily promised and delivered white paper on exiting the European Union. The United Kingdom’s exit from and new partnership with the European Union was longer than many expected, but did not really add much to what the Prime Minister said in her…Read more…
Tackling precarious work & addressing migration concerns
Last week I spoke at a conference organised by the TUC and Exeter University on ‘Confronting change: Globalization, Migration and Precarious Labour in the Age of Brexit.’ This is a summary of my speech. As conditions have become more insecure for workers since 2006 – a recent TUC report showed 1 in…Read more…
Why liberal approaches to migration won’t work
While he was a member of the coalition government, Vince Cable was one of the main proponents of a liberal immigration policy, in particular arguing for greater openness to Indian migration as a necessary and even beneficial component of an EU-India tr…Read more…
What Migration Watch aren’t telling you about what leaving the single market would mean
Migration Watch, the anti-immigration organisation, published a report yesterday calling for the UK to leave the single market to reduce net EU immigration. Like so much of what is said about migration, the incomplete nature of the argument is deliberately misleading. In particular, Migration Watch…Read more…
Businesses and unions across the country call for right to remain for EU citizens
Today chambers of commerce representing businesses and TUC offices across the country put out joint statements calling for the government to stop stalling and give EU citizens the right to remain in the UK after Brexit. These joint statements back the …Read more…
Theresa May should stop playing politics with people’s futures
This weekend the TUC and the British Chambers of Commerce issued a call to the Prime Minister to break the logjam on the #right2remain for EU citizens living and working in the UK, and take the bold,…Read more…
McCluskey in disarray on free movement of workers
When I launched the campaign for General Secretary of Unite on Thursday evening, Len McCluskey’s backsliding on free movement of labour was one of the issues I raised. Little did I know how the issue would explode yesterday, with McCluskey and his supp…Read more…
‘Organising after the Brexit vote’ event calls for solidarity to fight insecurity at work
Building solidarity between workers, no matter what passport or contract they hold, is a trade union priority after the Brexit vote. That was the message of the TUC event on ‘Organising migrant and…Read more…
Something we can (almost) all agree on: the #right2remain
Yesterday the immigration think-tank British Future launched a report setting out hot to put into effect the right for EU citizens living and working in the UK to remain in the UK after Brexit. The report was drawn up by a panel chaired by Labour MP an…Read more…