All the union news that's fit to blog...
Asseem Allam, millionaire owner of Hull City AFC, wants to completely sever the link between Labour and the organisations that founded the party—trade unions. As the Sunday Times reported on March 15, Allam said he would offer a future one-off donation to Labour if it weakened its trade union ties, and pledged an […]
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Attempts by the management of the Dulwich Picture Gallery to water down the visitor experience by axing 19 of the 36 gallery assistants have been brushed away. Unite said that attempts to get rid of the knowledgeable assistants at the world’s first purpose-built public art gallery and replacing them with apprentices on training […]
The post ‘A masterpiece of solidarity’ appeared first on UNITElive.org.
As UNITElive has reported before, young people are among the groups least likely to vote. Many young people say they feel that politics simply doesn’t speak to them. But a new Ipsos Mori poll suggests that social media may be the key to engaging young voters, who are becoming increasingly reliant on platforms such […]
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Alarming numbers across the north east have dropped off the electoral roll which has prompted the #NoVoteNoVoice campaign to head to Newcastle on the final day of its whistlestop trip around England and Wales. Just 53 days from the 2015 general election the roadshow will hold a ‘mini carnival’ between 10am and 5pm with […]
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Anti-austerity campaigner and war veteran Harry Smith urges students at Manchester University (March 11) to register and use their votes as part of the No Vote, No Voice campaign For me politics is personal because in my lifetime the defining moments in our country’s history have been decided by elections. I have always seen free […]
The post Seize your destiny appeared first on UNITElive.org.
It’s the government’s own National Apprenticeship Week – a week celebrating the positive impact training schemes can have for those seeking a way into skilled, well-paying work. While many apprenticeships are little more than exploitative work arrangements, there are some on offer that truly change lives. Building Lives, a construction apprenticeship sponsored by the Construction […]
The post Apprentices locked out appeared first on UNITElive.org.
On the #NoVoteNoVoice bus we’re asking those to vote who usually don’t get asked. We paid a visit to Ty-Phoo tea in Moreton, Chester, to register the people behind 120 million cups of tea per week. Speaking to this well organised workforce it’s clear that there is a lot of interest in the upcoming general […]
The post Brewing up for change appeared first on UNITElive.org.
A new Unite guide aimed at encouraging women into engineering and science apprenticeships, Women apprentices, has been launched today (March 10) with the help of Labour MP, Gloria de Piero. As part of the pink bus ‘woman to woman’ tour of 70 key constituencies Labour’s shadow minister for women and equalities took time to speak […]
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“Journalists face an increasing challenge to secure their communications in a digital world,” the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) warns. It has produced a list of Tips &…Read more…
10/03/2015. 100% of publishers’ fees to freelances in Belgium can be treated as payment for “author’s rights”, Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt has confirmed. This can…Read more…
Northern Ireland, where public sector spending represents almost three-quarters of the region’s GDP, faces the worst cuts in 80 years. The 2015-2016 budget, which follows four straight years of austerity, entails slashing £1.3bn in funding in the next four years – a budget which public sector workers have unequivocally rejected. Unite members working […]
The post No to austerity appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Crossing the border to Wales late on Friday night with an air of excitement for what we all knew was going to be a big day, the bus crew were laying out voter registration forms, with pens on clipboards, so we’d be ready bright and early the next day. Reflecting now, we’re glad […]
The post ‘Sorry, I’m not political’ appeared first on UNITElive.org.
Unite’s members working for Parcelforce overwhelmingly rejected a pay offer that management went ahead with, prompting the union today (March 6) to warn the courier company that it risks inciting industrial action. The bosses of Parcelforce, a subsidiary of the Royal Mail, implemented a paltry 2.8 per cent pay rise backdated to July 2014, […]
The post Taken for granted appeared first on UNITElive.org.
The story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs – six farm workers imprisoned and transported to Australia for their attempt to prevent falls in their wages by forming a “friendly society” in 1834 – is the story of trade unionism’s birth in this country. The six men who ignited a movement are remembered in books and […]
The post Where the Martyrs worshipped appeared first on UNITElive.org.
As UNITElive reported last week, the taxpayer-owned bank RBS announced that a major restructuring program was on the horizon but failed to give any details. But two unnamed sources familiar with the matter revealed to the Financial Times March 3 that up to four out of five jobs in the bank’s investment division might […]
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Walking into a room of Unite members – bus drivers working on the South East coast, I mention the upcoming general election. This raises a grunt, followed by a laugh, and then a nervous silence. Politics has become a taboo subject, many don’t think it’s their place and certainly don’t feel comfortable discussing it […]
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Workers maintaining tens of thousands of miles of UK motorways secured a much improved pay deal today (March 3). The Unite members, working for Amey in four different depots in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Buckinghamshire, accepted the two-year pay deal following the first day of an unprecedented week-long strike action. Amey’s workers, who grit […]
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The NoVoteNoVoice whistle stop bus tour is off to Brighton and Hove tomorrow (March 4) and then onwards to Southampton the following day (March 5), in an unprecedented voter registration drive that’s hoping to reverse the millions of people missing from the electoral roll. The bus tour, organised by a coalition of groups including […]
The post The value of voting appeared first on UNITElive.org.
3 March 2015
By Keith Ewing, President, Institute of Employment Rights
Many readers will recall the great controversy that was provoked by the clumsily entitled Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party…Read more…
Hundreds gathered outside US-based health service firm Maximus’ headquarters in London today (March 2) to protest the tick-box regime that robs disabled people of their rightful benefits entitlements. Unite community joined the Disabled People against Cuts (DPAC) demonstration in criticism against Work Capability Assessments (WCA), degrading tests carried out by profit-hungry firms on behalf […]
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