Plan for the future
7 June 2016
Across the country people are talking about the referendum and the future of Britain. Here’s what was said at a community meeting in north London.
News
News
Rail company declares war on staff
4 June 2016
Britain’s biggest rail franchise company, Govia Thameslink Railway, has launched an all-out war on its staff. Now the High Court has entered the fray, barring drivers’ union ASLEF from taking industrial action.
Action spreads in universities
31 May 2016
University academic staff in the University and College Union began their campaign of industrial action with two-day strike on 25 and 26 May. More action will follow.
CalMac to remain in public ownership
29 May 2016
Operation of the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services is to remain in public ownership for at least the next eight years. This victory follows an RMT campaign against a possible takeover by Serco.
Unions say leave
20 May 2016
Three unions, RMT, Aslef and BAFWU have issued a joint statement explaining that they back Brexit because the EU acts against the interests of workers.
Coal free
16 May 2016
On 10 May 2016 no electricity was generated by burning coal in Britain. The previous day the National Grid had to issue a crisis call for additional generation to avoid power cuts. Deliberately taking out one source of power is reckless when Britain's energy supply is uncertain.
TTIP: the politically premature 'death' of a trade treaty
7 May 2016
Last week the headlines in the europhile press were all singing from the same hymn book. TTIP, they said, is effectively dead. Would it were so…
Ambulance workers ballot over pay
5 May 2016
Ambulance service workers are to be balloted this month on their attitude to a possible national ambulance strike over pay.
Cancer unit closure blocked
5 May 2016
Trade union Unison has managed to put the closure of a major cancer unit on hold – keeping, for the time being, a vital treatment centre run which serves over a million people.
EU: Why do Cameron's bidding?
4 May 2016
The CPBML’s London May Day rally heard a blistering attack on the European Union, and powerful arguments for leaving.
Doctors united
2 May 2016
The dispute over the junior hospital doctors’ contract has escalated further, with well supported strikes on 26 and 27 April. All health secretary Jeremy Hunt managed was an ill-advised attempt to paint doctors as the aggressors.
Economy: EU-driven decline
The UK’s overall balance of payments – now known as the current account deficit – deteriorated sharply last year.
Bankers: Voting with their snouts
No wonder the City of London and the banking mafia in Canary Wharf in their multitude of banking skyscrapers shriek so loudly about the “dangers” of Britain leaving the EU.
Safety requires strong union workplaces
28 April 2016
Workers Memorial Day was marked across Britain today, with construction workers taking the lead. Hundreds gathered by the Building Worker tatue in London.
Southern Railway strike over safety
27 April 2016
RMT members on Southern Railway have concluded a successful 24-hour strike over driver-only operation, forcing the employer back to the negotiating table.
Private ambulance chaos
Patients relying on Sussex ambulances for transport to and from appointments have been left stranded after the contract went to a private company.
Social care: children's report hidden
Two years after it was published the government is still refusing to publish a report it commissioned into children’s social care services.
Poverty: food banks on the rise
The Trussell Trust announced in April that 1.1 million people in Britain are now using food banks to obtain emergency food supplies.
Health bursaries scrapped
The government has confirmed it will push student nurses and other health care students into debts of at least £50,000 each by scrapping the NHS bursary.
Local government pay in disarray
Pay strategies in local government are now in disarray. Unison, the largest union in local government, has come to a standstill as the members reject the union’s direction of travel.
Network Rail: sleight of hand
25 April 2016
The government is revaluing Network Rail’s balance sheet in a transparent attempt to shore up its own crumbling accounts.
EU: no answer to unemployment
15 April 2016
Unemployment is endemic to capitalism and to all capitalist states. It remains high within the EU; remaining in will not change that.
Manchester meeting discusses why workers should vote to leave
13 April 2016
A meeting in Manchester on the referendum provided friends and colleagues with an opportunity to find out more about the nature of the EU and the reasons why workers should vote to leave.
Government U-turn over baseline tests for four-year-olds.
12 April 2016
Government ministers have abandoned controversial plans to judge primary schools based on new tests for four-year-olds.
Junior doctors carry on as government cracks appear
8 April 2016
Striking doctors have been manning picket lines and engaging with the public in the latest rounds of their battle against the imposition of new contracts.
EU drives record balance of payments deficit
2 April 2016
The UK’s overall balance of payments – now known as the current account deficit – deteriorated sharply last year, thanks to a phenomenal deficit with EU countries.
German rail takes over Northern services
2 April 2016
Rail union RMT members hoisted the German flag over Newcastle Central station on 1 April, the day that German state railway operator Deutsche Bahn took over Northern rail services.
Migration statistics in turmoil
31 March 2016
One set of official statistics suggests that around 1.6 million EU citizens came to Britain between 2006 and 2014 – but another set suggests the figure could be a million higher.
Housing at the mercy of speculators and the EU
25 March 2016
The government is running down social housing intending to prime the market for foreign takeover. Fearing that Britain may exit the EU, speculators are already leaping into the property scrum.
ENO chorus success
25 March 2016
Members of the English National Opera chorus have settled their dispute about wage cuts. They had overwhelmingly voted to strike and not sing during the first act the opera Akhnaten on the last night of this acclaimed production.