This morning’s Today programme covered the industrial dispute at Southern Rail. Justin Webb talked live to his correspondent Ben Thompson at Victoria station (Listen at 47:38), who expressed…Read more…
Lowest-ever strike figures: So why did we need the Trade Union Act again?
0.0029%. That’s the proportion of working days lost to strikes in the UK last year. 81,000. That’s the number of people who went on strike in 2015. It’s actually the lowest-ever…Read more…
Will young people swing the vote of the European Referendum?
The debate around mobilising young voters in the EU Referendum was the topic of the live studio debate organised by visual think tank COVi in partnership with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) last…Read more…
Solidarity with those killed in the Orlando massacre
James Baldwin wrote: “not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced”. We, as trade unionists, have always faced down bigotry, campaigning against…Read more…
Getting the work-football balance right
The 2016 European cup is already underway and a very sizable proportion of the country will be football fanciers for the next few weeks. So many people at work will want to watch the matches, so wise…Read more…
Young and LGBT – be out, be proud and be part of a trade union
Coming up to Pride season, you’d be forgiven for thinking that being young and LGBT has never been more acceptable. Young LGBT role models in the media? Check. Music and fashion icons pushing the…Read more…
Campaigning for LGBT equality in the workplace
On the face of it acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people has never been greater. The passing of legislation ensuring legal parity in marriage for lesbian and gay couples is an…Read more…
Trade Union Bill: Stand up for union rights
This week saw the latest skirmish in the battle against the Trade Union Bill. Through cross-party working in Parliament and campaigning hard across the country, we have forced the Government into…Read more…
10 workers’ rights #Brexit would risk
The EU certainly isn’t perfect. But lurking within all the directives and regulations are a whole set of rights and protections for British workers. These rights came from the EU, and are…Read more…
Votes at 16 Voted Down
Last night MPs rejected an attempt by the House of Lords to give 16 and 17-year-olds a vote in the planned referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. The amendment put forward in the Lords…Read more…
Behind the blue lights: Life in the frontline of Cameron’s NHS
Dave, a paramedic from the Midlands, shares a frank view of life in NHS emergency services starved of funding and struggling to meet the demand Friday. Just started a 12 hour late shift. On again…Read more…
5 surprising things about the Trade Union Bill debate…and 3 unsurprising things
The government’s controversial Trade Union Bill was just debated in the House of Commons, before making its merry way on to the House of Lords. The Surprising Bits: 1. Some Conservative MPs…Read more…
Protect young workers’ right to strike
When you’re just starting out in a career, the idea you might one day be going out on strike is hardly likely to cross your mind. The right to strike is a last resort, and one you often don’t think…Read more…
European Commission says still no action on worker health
This year the European Trade Union Institute published a paper on work-related cancers in the EU. It showed that 102,500 deaths take place each year because of exposure to carcinogens in the…Read more…
Violence in Turkey’s Capital
The violence in Ankara on Saturday marks yet another step in Turkey’s decent into the mayhem that engulfs many of her neighbours. It would seem that there were two suicide bombers responsible…Read more…
New research says EU regulation working.
Two years ago this week, the Prime Minister’s business taskforce said relaxing the European Commission’s rules on health and safety risk assessments would save £2.7bn. Meanwhile a piece by…Read more…
Free Mahdi Abu Dheeb
In May last year I blogged about the disgraceful treatment of trade union activist, Mahdi Abu Dheeb, by the Bahraini authorities. Sadly the only developments since then have been negative. Mahdi…Read more…
Iraq’s new labour law: positive but ‘clipped’
Iraq has finally issued a labour law that complies with ILO conventions, up to a point. It is a good day for global justice. The law provides legal protection for organised workers in the private and…Read more…
Using agency temps to replace striking workers will threaten the basic right to strike for all
Two years ago this September, workers at Hovis in Wigan took strike action and won a landmark victory over increasing zero-hours work in their factory, safeguarding an important source of secure…Read more…
5 types of tosh people are talking about the #TubeStrike
The #TubeStrike hashtag today isn’t one for the faint hearted. The Independent have thoughtfully compiled a tutorial for those who’d rather simply block it all out, but I’ve a kind…Read more…