Universities: ballots on pay and pensions
The University and College Union has begun balloting its members in universities over action on pensions and pay.
Barnoldswick fight goes on
National negotiations between the GMB, Unite and Rolls-Royce over the future of the Barnoldswick jet engine turbine plant are at a virtual standstill.
Swiss to vote on nursing self-sufficiency
27 October 2021
The Swiss Nurses’ Association, backed by doctors and patients’ organisations and the country’s trade union confederation, has forced a national referendum on nurse training and pay and conditions.
Monopoly and regulation: a new path for Britain
Free market economics is coming unstuck. Many workers have always thought this would be the eventual outcome. The question is whether workers will assert their own control…
A community's fight against buy-to-let profiteers
Areas around Britain’s universities are being blighted as once-stable populations are replaced by student lets and multiple occupation – but communities are fighting back. Workers looks at an example from Liverpool…
Union and employers attack relaxation of restrictions on foreign hauliers
17 October 2021
The government is to allow foreign HGV drivers entering the country with a load from abroad unlimited licence to spend two weeks collecting and delivering goods before they return.
Walkout at Stagecoach South West averted as union receives new offer
17 October 2021
The RMT has announced that action on Stagecoach buses in the South West has been suspended while members consider a revised offer made in last-ditch talks.
Free speech and open discussion under attack
Increasingly, media ownership and a growing unwillingness among a minority to tolerate diversity of thought are threatening open debate for our class. It’s an unwelcome and damaging development…
The value of academic freedom
Extreme anti-feminist activists at the University of Sussex have waged a campaign of harassment and threats against a distinguished analytic philosopher, Professor Kathleen Stock, demanding in posters and social media posts that the university sack her.
Not so much a shortage of fuel, more a shortage of honest facts
How wildly distorted statistics helped an unholy alliance of EU-adherents and enthusiasts for globalism to turn a supply-chain glitch into a full-blown crisis.
Refinery workers vote for action on pay and pensions
7 October 2021
Essar has picked a dispute at Stanlow refinery during a petrol panic, trying to go back on a pay deal and worsen pensions – provoking a furious and united response from the refinery workers, members of the Unite union.
Just six months left to save ScotRail, say unions
23 September 2021
Four trade unions came together on 22 September to demonstrate in Edinburgh on Wednesday. Their message: that there are just six months left to save ScotRail.
Afghanistan – one woman's positivity
22 September 2021
Tucked away in the columns of the Daily Telegraph on 15 September, though not widely reported elsewhere, was a little gem of a story about one woman in Afghanistan and her determination to be optimistic.
Still no plan for energy
22 September 2021
This government’s refusal to plan for Britain to be self-reliant in energy has produced a crisis of soaring prices, disrupted gas supplies and domestic steel and other essential manufacturing output compromised.
AUKUS: the path to war
18 September 2021
The USA, Britain and Australia announced a new security pact on 15 September. Known as AUKUS, it is intended to set the direction and focus of Britain’s foreign and security policy for the long term.
Nursing shortages: move on from the blame game
14 September 2021
The shortage of nurses is worldwide. There’s no future in leaving it to the SNP or the British governmemt to resolve.
ScotRail: SNP bluster
11 September 2021
The rail union RMT is defending rail services and attacks on its members in Scotland from the train operating company and the hostile SNP government.
No end to foreign attacks on Yemen
10 September 2021
Many Yemenis have been killed since 2015 by attacks from a Saudi-led coalition backed by the US and UK governments
1951: the Festival of Britain
25 August 2021
Post-war Britain was beset by problems. For the majority of people, life was hard and difficult. The 1951 Festival of Britain was an antidote, looking to the future. It was immensely enjoyed and appreciated by the millions who attended.
Battle ahead for the future of Britain's rail system
Never waste the opportunity of a good crisis. So runs the capitalist mantra. Now the government and private operators have seized on the pandemic as an ideal time to cut down on costs and boost profits. A huge battle beckons…
SNP and Greens: a coalition born of weakness
The failure of the SNP to gain a majority in the elections to the Scottish parliament has forced them into a huddle with the equally separatist Greens – and into a series of increasingly unpopular policies…
Power grab threatens chaos in teacher training
Having struggled with the impact of Covid-19, the education profession is now facing turmoil as the government seeks to take control of all aspects of teacher training…
The real cost of the zero carbon lobby
Most of the breathless headlines are now penned not by scientists, but by self-styled climate activists, who believe that the problem with the world is people. They don’t want to talk about the real cost – or the possible solutions…
Planning for a better future
After the postwar boom in planning which was so important in rebuilding the country, Britain has been sliding back, with dire consequences…
Long-running pay fight engulfs ScotRail
21 August 2021
Scotland is currently hosting the longest pay dispute on the railways so far, with ScotRail guards striking every Sunday since 28 March.
ScotRail plans new wave of cuts
21 August 2021
Not to be outdone by the headlong rush across Britain to cut back rail services, Scotland has joined the fray announcing proposals to permanently slash its train services.
No more imperialist wars!
After twenty years of occupation the Taliban has swept back into power without a fight. Neither the British nor the US governments had the slightest clue how quickly this would happen. But then imperialists never do understand other countries (any more than they understand their own).
Would-be doctors face squeeze while NHS continues to hire from abroad
Medical schools saw an astonishing 21 per cent surge in applications to train to be a doctor for entry in 2021. But most applicants will be turned away – while Britain continues to import doctors trained abroad.
Technology sovereignty for an independent Britain
A new concept is emerged: technology sovereignty. It recognises that IT infrastructure lies at the heart of a modern society, and it is vital to a country like Britain.
Chinese firm buys Britain's biggest chip manufacturer (updated)
15 August 2021
Britain’s largest computer chip maker is being swallowed up by a Chinese-controlled corporation. Newport Wafer Fab has accepted a bid from Nexperia, based in the Netherlands but owned by Wingtech Technology of China.