How the NHS was won
Launched in 1948, the NHS wasn’t given to us by benign politicians. It was won by workers fighting over centuries for a health service for all. …
What’s next for workers?
No worker really thinks that one year’s success ends the necessity for future defence of pay. Yet perpetual, unending strikes are not the answer either…
Back to school - a national priority
School attendance is essential for both personal attainment and a key part of developing the skills we need as a nation.
Ticket office fight continues
Protests have been taking place across Britain against plans to shut our railway ticket offices. The action is part of the RMT union’s continuing campaign “Save Ticket Offices”.
Wales: Spending to be slashed
Spending on public services in Wales will be cut to deal with a £900 million gap in its £20 billion budget.
Mixed progress for doctors
Junior doctors in Scotland have voted overwhelmingly to accept a pay offer. In a ballot nearly 82 per cent voted for the deal on a 71 per cent turn-out.
Sewage swamps triathlon
After a recent triathlon in Sunderland, 88 people have now reported suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting. The swimming leg of the event took place in the sea off Roker beach.
Plastics: Polluters exposed
Surfers Against Sewage, a citizen science initiative, has named Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Pepsico as Britain’s biggest plastic polluters.
Students: Universities look abroad
The Russell Group of universities is now offering more places on courses to international students than to British students – and bringing in more income as a result.
University strikes resume
24 August 2023
University academic staff will resume strike action in their pay and conditions disputes before the end of September unless employers agree to return to negotiations.
Who should run London?
24 August 2023
The way London is run does not serve its people. Past improvements have given way to the dominance of the City of London and finance capital.
Teachers’ resounding victory
21 August 2023
The conclusion of the current teachers’ pay dispute has seen a resounding victory for schools in England and the unions involved, and has secured their biggest single pay rise in 30 years.
Bristol rail success
21 August 2023
Sustained campaigning has revived a Bristol rail line. The first of several new stations opened in July.
Packaging workers fight for pay and conditions
21 August 2023
Doncaster packaging workers began a 4-week strike on 14 August. They have rejected the employer's 8 per cent offer, tied to longer hours and worse conditions.
Stubborn inflation
21 August 2023
The rise in the consumer prices index in the year to July was a little lower than June – but prices are still rising faster than they have done for years.
Britain’s crippling debt
21 August 2023
Government debt headlines when it goes up or when the government says it wants to reduce it. The level of debt has spiralled out of control, and capitalism has no answer.
Campaign to keep ticket offices open
20 July 2023
Train operating companies are running a short consultation on plans to close railway ticket offices. Rail workers are campaigning in opposition.
Resistance to rail ticket office closures
11 July 2023
Nearly all railway ticket offices in England are planned to close. Rail workers face redundancy and passengers will lose that service. A campaign to oppose the closures is starting.
Making people vote in Wales
11 July 2023
Turnout for Senedd Cymru elections is low. Welsh politicians are seeking compulsory voting instead of asking themselves why voters don't bother.
Britain out of NATO - no to war, yes to defence
The NATO drums for war are beating loudly. British workers should not ignore this, still less support it…
Rail - a crisis created by government
Rail workers should ensure that the strong workplace organisation that has been developed when they built support for their campaigns of industrial action is not dissipated...
Research: take control of our funding
The government’s fear of real independence from the European Union is nowhere clearer than in funding for research – and it’s a fear shared by too many who work in research…
Britain-wide view gaining ground in Scotland
With the SNP administration in crisis, Scots can see that many of the strikes for better wages and conditions are Britain-wide – as is the financial crisis…
Steel: hanging by a thread
Without a steel industry Britain will be dependent on other countries for our strategic infrastructure. Yet the government will not take the steps needed to keep it alive…
Capitalism causes inflation, not Brexit
22 June 2023
Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of England, blames Britain’s inflation on Brexit. But inflation is, and always has been, a feature of capitalism.
Abandoning the dangerous dollar
Something significant is afoot in global finance. It relates directly to workers’ daily battle with inflation, potentially also having far wider impact. And it’s about the US dollar…
Inflation, capital and labour
22 June 2023
Inflation as a result of government policy since 2008 has now worked through to consumer prices. The underlying economics of inflation are the result of a poor bargain between capitalists and wage-earners.
Heathrow security staff win offer
Heathrow security officers have won an improved pay offer from Heathrow Airports Ltd (HAL) after voting by a majority of 85 per cent for strike action.
Health workers need a plan
Faced with an enemy operating a scorched earth policy, all NHS trade unions need to plan. And struggle will need to be persistent and protracted.
Assert the right to strike
The new Public Order Act, finally hurried through a pliant Parliament just days before the Coronation, is a giant step towards a far more repressive state. Peaceful protest is under threat.