As you may have noticed, Sports Direct had its AGM this week, and meeting was totally dominated by how the board intends to overhaul its workforce practices. The treatment of the workforce at Sports Direct’s Shirebrook warehouse has become a national s…Read more…
Sports Direct AGM on Wednesday 7th September
Next Wednesday see the AGM of Sports Direct take place. Since I last blogged about this it has become clear that a major investor revolt is underway.
The company has been publicly criticised by the Investor Forum (a first), which has called for a thor…Read more…
Sports Direct AGM: Vote FOR resolution 19
I’ve blogged quite a bit about Sports Direct previously, now it’s your chance to do something about it.
The Sports Direct AGM takes place on 7th September, and the company has just issued its notice of meeting. Resolution 19 has been filed by Unite an…Read more…
Sports Direct: investors now have to act or lose legitimacy
About a year ago, the group I’m involved in – Trade Union Share Owners (TUSO) – wrote out to major Sports Direct shareholders calling on them to challenge the company. Specifically we recommended that other shareholders join TUSO in signalling concerns…Read more…
Unions on the march & uniting across Europe, USA and Canada to say no to Market Economy Status for China
Today Unite, GMB and Community held a March of Steelmakers in London which brought steel workers from across the country to Westminster to demand the government ensure the responsible sale of Tata Steel’s UK assets and deliver a sustainable industrial strategy. A key cause of the crisis currently…Read more…
Promoting workers’ rights and solidarity in the debate on EU migration
Last month the TUC was involved in a roundtable organised by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung London office which discussed how to promote workers’ rights in the debate on EU migration. The event drew on…Read more…
NIESR report shows need to end race to the bottom on jobs
A report released this week by NIESR identifies low pay and precarious contracts as one of the key reason more local workers do not take up jobs in the hospitality, food processing and construction sectors leading employers in these sectors to draw on migrant workers from other EU countries, who…Read more…
Unions threaten HA strike over restructure
See “Inside Housing” website. “Unions are threatening one of the largest industrial actions in the housing association sector’s history over Circle’s plans to restructure ahead of the rent cut.
Unison, Unite and GMB are close to declaring an industrial dispute over the 50,000-home landlord’s…Read more…
Top lawyer’s report for Unite the Union warns that the TTIP trade deal could pose a “serious risk” to the NHS
Cameron has the power to exclude the NHS from the trade deal – he must actRead more…
International agreements coming back into fashion?
In the same week that the UK government ratified the ILO Forced Labour Protocol after pressure from the TUC and CBI, the Transport Minister has signalled that he will ratify the Hong Kong Convention…Read more…
Why did Sports Direct call ambulances 82 times?
Dear Friend
Sports Direct’s Shirebrook warehouse is the heart of the giant sportswear retailer, handling clothes and kit that will be sold all over the country. The pace of work there is relentless, and the harsh conditions have long been protested by Unite, who represent workers there. But now a…Read more…
Sports Direct chief exec faces criminal charge over USC collapse
Even since I blogged earlier things have got worse for Sports Direct. The Grauniad broke the news that the company’s chief executive Dave Forsey is facing a criminal charge over the USC collapse.
David Forsey, the chief executive of Sports Direct, has …Read more…
Sports Direct: you can’t say you weren’t warned
Sports Direct is back in the news, for all the wrong reasons. This week alone we have seen the following:
A BBC documentary revealed that ambulances were called to Shirebrook dozens of times in 2013 and 2014 because of employee illness. Some of t…Read more…
Proud Union Labour Activists
This collage is from the “Unions together” TULO Rally in London on Monday. Last week Ed Miliband and UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis spoke at the national TULO rally in Birmingham with over 1000 union members present.
General secretary of the G…Read more…
CRISIS IN THE OFFSHORE INDUSTRY
On the 20-22 April the STUC Congress will be meeting in Ayr. The theme of this year’s Congress is Decent Work and Dignified Lives. In the run up to Congress this blog will host a series of…Read more…
Joyous Johnstone Jamboree!
I’ve just realised that I promised to put my review of Arthur Johnstone and Friends at The Mitchell Theatre, Glasgow up once it had been published in the Morning Star, and I’ve forgotten to do this!…Read more…
Stars and family gather in Glasgow to celebrate life of Tony Benn
Excitement is building ahead of the range of events arranged to celebrate the life of Tony Benn next weekend. Two major concerts and a couple of discussion groups are planned for Sunday 30 November…Read more…
How Tory desperation to smear Labour sank the Carr review on unions | Gregor Gall
In its haste to attack unions, the Conservative party has shot itself in the foot and proved the review was just a cynical pre-election stunt
For as long as David Cameron has been leader of the…Read more…
Ineos, Unite and the worrying return of union-busting | Gregor Gall
The escalating dispute at Grangemouth is indicative of an alarming heavy-handedness among major employers
The biggest company you’ve probably never heard of is engaged in a titanic battle with…Read more…
Workers recognise the importance of unions in protecting their rights | Gregor Gall
Despite a rise in unemployment, union membership has also increased, reflecting the need for collective action
Against all the odds, union membership rose in Britain last year for the first time in a…Read more…