Northern Ireland’s manufacturing workforce was dealt another blow as aerospace firm Bombardier announced today (February 17) that more than 1,000 jobs would be axed in its Northern Ireland operation,…Read more…
The ‘Chancer-lor’ and the tax avoiders
The Google tax scandal reached new levels of absurdity last week when the tech giant’s president of European operations Matt Brittin told a parliamentary committee that he did not know how much he…Read more…
Earning your own poverty
More working people in the UK are living in poverty than when the global financial meltdown reached its apex nearly eight years ago. Despite an unemployment rate that continues to drop – it is…Read more…
‘A very small step’
Nearly 50 after the Ford Dagenham sewing machinists strike, when heroic women (pictured above) walked out and paved the way for legislation that made unequal pay between men and women unlawful, the…Read more…
Tories’ volte-face steel shame
The UK has been haemorrhaging steel jobs over the last seven months – by the latest count, more than 5,000 posts have been axed as the steel industry teeters on the brink of total collapse. …Read more…
Service charge swipe
This piece by Natalie Bloomer originally appeared on Politics.co.uk on Tuesday, February 9. Last Friday, as diners enjoyed a meal at the upmarket London restaurant STK, a noisy protest took…Read more…
Tory fears exposed
The government’s controversial trade union Bill is starting to unravel, as a recently leaked letter exposed Tory ministers fearing a defeat of the legislation as it passes through the House of Lords….Read more…
Speaking as one
A shadow is cast over Aberdeen, as one of the most prosperous cities in the UK now bears witness to queues outside the door at food banks, formed virtually overnight. The oil industry has been…Read more…
Worst fears realised
As UNITElive reported last year, the government rushed through the introduction of a new voter registration system that requires voters to individually register themselves. This replaced an…Read more…
‘Damning indictment’
The government’s productivity plan has been slammed by a committee of MPs as “vague”, and not worth being called a plan at all. The business, innovations and skills (BIS) committee noted in a…Read more…
Shrinking state
The present government has surpassed a record set by Margaret Thatcher after selling off public assets in 2015 worth 26.4bn, beating the previous highest figure sell-off year, 1987, by £6m. …Read more…
‘Sweetheart’ deal
Multinational tech giant Google cut a £130m back tax deal with HMRC last week on profits amounting to more than £6bn over the last decade, a settlement that has outraged the public, tax campaigners…Read more…
Northern poorhouse
Last summer, chancellor George Osborne pledged that his government would create a “higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare” country; that the vaunted ‘Northern Powerhouse’ would, over the next few…Read more…
The ties that bind
Rupert Murdoch’s plan to set up a new non-union printing works in Wapping was well over a year in the making. It involved Farrers, the Queen’s solicitors and strike busting advice from…Read more…
‘National scandal’
As it couldn’t get any worse for beleaguered steelworkers, today’s (January 22) Mirror front page reports that the government could be considering building new Royal Navy warships with cheap imported…Read more…
Steel: job losses make grim news
The UK steel industry workforce faced one of its worst blows yesterday (January 18) as steel giant Tata announced the loss of just over 1,000 jobs, the majority of which will be axed at the…Read more…
A workforce dehumanised
When the SSI steel works in Redcar closed in October the 2,200 skilled workers that lost their jobs knew things were going to be tough. Redcar, Middlesborough and all of the surrounding towns…Read more…
Bellies full of hope
Salisbury isn’t necessarily a community you’d think is plagued by homelessness but that’s because it’s often invisible. Look beyond the town’s picturesque veneer and you’ll find many people down on…Read more…
Big Boss becomes Big Brother
Bosses can now spy on their workers’ electronic communications, following a landmark decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Wednesday (January 13). Any form of communication…Read more…
A levy too far?
Unite is hoping that government plans to create three million apprenticeships in the coming years will lead to a new generation of youngsters being told: You’re hired. But the Chancellor’s…Read more…