Pay strike at Wolverhampton College
10 April 2019
Wolverhampton College staff have been taking to the picket lines across three college sites in a fight for a more money.
News
News
Cold wind blows for jobs in offshore power
9 April 2019
Despite politicians’ promises, new contracts for wind farms in the seas off Scotland are not going to Scottish yards.
Euro finance shock - more to come
26 March 2019
The EU’s financial weakness from earlier financial crises reappeared at the end of 2018 after the European Central Bank announced that growth would be lower than expected and inflation higher. That was a dress rehearsal for what is to come.
Honda to end manufacturing in Britain
26 March 2019
Honda announced last month that it will close its only British factory as part of restructuring plans. Unite the union is organising a march and rally on Saturday 30 March in response, seeking to save the plant.
Reunite the NHS
18 March 2019
There are positive signs that fragmentation of the NHS in England is coming to an end. Professional bodies, unions and others are unanimous that the 2012 Health and Social Care Act should go.
Leavers are doing it for themselves
18 March 2019
Something is stirring in Britain. Away from parliament and the parliamentary parties, people are starting to organise to defend Brexit in organisations such as Leavers of Britain.
Leaving the EU: A practical guide to action
18 March 2019
Suggestions from a pro-Brexit activist on practical steps can we take to spread the fight to leave the EU.
Italian scientists take a stand against the ECJ
12 March 2019
Researchers from Italy took their campaign for scientific freedom to Brussels last week – by eating rice pudding in front of the European Parliament…
On the streets in Manchester
11 March 2019
Homelessness is growing in Britain, in part due to the shortage of housing. It's worst in London, but is growing fast elsewhere in England – the Midlands, Yorkshire, and the North-West.
Council tax - pay twice over
10 March 2019
Government is reducing the amount it pays out to local authorities. Services are cut or the shortfall is made up by increases for council tax payers, further damaging public services that people rely on.
Home truths - hard times
28 February 2019
Young workers are finding it harder to set up their own home. This is due to rising house prices, static wages and low levels of employment.
Union silence on online tax
Shop workers’ union USDAW was one of the many unions that fell tamely in line with the government in 2016
Free Movement: Is it ending or not?
The Immigration White Paper proposes to remove any cap on skilled migration (degree level) from anywhere in the world.
US dumps nuclear treaty [shorter version]
It’s a sign of the importance of Brexit that the otherwise headline-grabbing news coming out of Washington and Moscow has been sidelined.
Housing Crisis: Not just in the cities
The deliberate under-resourcing of publicly funded housing often raises images of cities, with tower blocks and urban decay.
Contracting: Uncompetitive practices
Research by the GMB union shows that the value of taxpayer-funded contracts - including central and local government - given to outsourcing companies increased by 53 per cent last year to £95 billion.
Swiss challenge to EU
Time is running out for the EU to get a new “Framework” agreement covering all aspects of its relationship with Switzerland.
Anger over yard closure
The Scottish transport secretary refused to face union delegation fighting for the retention of skilled railway work in Scotland.
Northern Trains - progress on guards
11 February 2019
RMT members on Northern Trains look to have brought their two-year dispute over guards on trains to a successful conclusion. Talks will now take place to put an agreement into practice.
'Austerity' alive and well as government dodges responsibility
11 February 2019
Millions around the country are experiencing every day the consequences of a political system that has washed its hand of the people and handed control over to the European Union, the market, or both.
US dumps nuclear treaty
8 February 2019
With all the news about Brexit, the US’s decision to withdraw from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty seems to have slipped under the radar.
Waiting for the bus
5 February 2019
Bus journeys continue to fall, according to government figures. This is due to higher fares and route cuts, and affects how people can move around for work and leisure.
Unions fight for UK employment on Brexit ferries
31 January 2019
The RMT union called yesterday for the government to publish the legal advice it received over the granting of Brexit ferry contracts to Seaborne Freight and others.
Union silence as EU halts plan for online sales tax
29 January 2019
Now that the government has said EU law will stop one of the key planks in Usdaw’s industrial strategy for retail, the Remain-supporting union has fallen uncharacteristically silent.
Infrastructure delays pile up
28 January 2019
An independent report from KPMG published last week found that the delayed Crossrail project is eating up cash at the rate of £30 million a week.
Child social care in the red
20 January 2019
New figures show that almost 9 in 10 English councils overspent on children’s social care in the last financial year, reflecting growing numbers of children being placed into the system.
Nuclear gap
19 January 2019
Hitachi has pulled out of building a new nuclear power station in Anglesey, two months after Toshiba dropped its project in Cumbria. Britain’s nuclear energy policy is now in disarray.
Revealed: the inside plot against Brexit
18 January 2019
Shortly after the overwhelming defeat of the government's proposed deal with the European Union on the evening of 14 January, three senior ministers held a conference call with ten representatives of big business…
NHS plan: still not fit
15 January 2019
The government's NHS Long Term Plan for England came out on 7 January. It includes significant spending and opportunities to improve the service. But there are also critical weaknesses for NHS workers to deal with.
Bridge repair backlog soars to £6.7 billion.
13 January 2019
The maintenance backlog for council-owned road bridges in Britain increased by a third in the past year, with billions needed to bring all structures up to standard.