Scotland: Abellio fight continues
Further strikes have been taking place in the long-running dispute between ticket examiners and conductors in Scotland and their employer, Abellio Scotrail.
HGV drivers: Why the shortage?
The Road Haulage Association has reported that there are currently 70,000 vacancies for HGV drivers, a shortage of “catastrophic proportions”. There’s a simple remedy…
Fighting for Glasgow's libraries
On Saturday 5 June trade unions and local communities came together in a rally in George Square in central Glasgowin a united display of anger at Glasgow City Council – and its “arms-length” cultural body Glasgow Life.
Workers want cleaner air -- but not Birmingham ULEZ scheme
11 June 2021
Charges of £8 a day for drivers of highly polluting vehicles in Birmingham's Ultra Low Emission Zone are to be enforced from Monday 14 June. The zone includes some of Birmingham’s most deprived neighbourhoods.
Free speech has to be defended
28 May 2021
The report into events at Batley Grammar School in March has lifted supensions on the teachers involved. But it does not deal with the threat to free speech and educations posed by the fundamentalist demonstrations.
Swiss break off EU negotiations
26 May 2021
To the delight of the country’s leading trade union federation, the Swiss government has abandoned talks with the EU over replacing its 120-odd treaties with Brussels with one overarching “framework” agreement.
Rail: underneath the changes, fundamentally the same
21 May 2021
The Williams–Shapps Plan for Rail – a government White Paper – has finally been published. And like too many of Britain’s trains, it arrived very late and was truly underwhelming.
Belfast court hears challenge to Northern Ireland protocol
20 May 2021
A judicial review on the Northern Ireland protocol began in the High Court in Belfast on 14 May. The protocol is part of the Brexit deal that has created a trade border between Britain and Northern Ireland.
Senedd to increase in size?
20 May 2021
Labour in Wales did not mention it in its manifesto, but now it wants to spend millions on creating yet more seats in the Senedd assembly – at public cost but without public benefit.
Universal Basic Income - no solution
20 May 2021
A universal basic income sounds nice and fair, but behind the superficial attractiveness is the flawed concept that the future for our society will not involve productive work for all.
Nurses: stop the poaching!
20 May 2021
In the midst of a global pandemic, what is a country like Britain doing importing nurses from India, itself in desperate need of medical staff?
Bus drivers win victory over ‘fire and rehire’ [updated]
18 May 2021
Manchester bus drivers, members of the union Unite, working for Go North West have defeated a plan by the company to fire and rehire them on worse pay and conditions, ending a strike that began at the end of February.
Setback for separatists
16 May 2021
The much-trumpeted “super-majority” for Scottish separatists never materialised when the SNP and the Alba Party faced the voters last week.
Protocol denies life-saving drug to Northern Ireland
16 May 2021
A hard border for medicines between Northern Ireland and Britain imposed by the EU is denies people in the province early access to a new life-saving cancer drug.
Teachers win reinstatement battle
11 May 2021
Louise Lewis, the suspended National Education Union rep at North Huddersfield Trust School, has finally been reinstated after a seven-month battle by her fellow union members.
Library users bring council to book
5 May 2021
Library users in Glasgow have reacted to closure proposals from the SNP-run council with weekends of read-ins and demonstrations at the threatened sites.
Young workers need a future
22 April 2021
A new report describes the sharp grow in youth unemployment since the pandemic began. Britain’s young adults are disproportionately impacted by the economic crisis.
No future without steel
Even banana republics look after their bananas. But in Britain, built on iron, steel and industry, nothing is now sacred.
Full backing for rail strikes
Four separate days of strike action have been solidly supported by RMT members who work as conductors and ticket examiners for ScotRail...
Free movement? Come on in, says government
Listen to Home Secretary Priti Patel and other ministers and you might get the idea that the government is cracking down on all immigration, legal and illegal. But cheap labour is still being encouraged into Britain…
Training: employers still the ghost at the feast
Business and governments want skilled workers, but not to have to train them or pay for their training. Instead, they want to go on importing labour from abroad – leaving young British workers bereft of opportunities…
Talking defence, planning wars
The government calls it an integrated defence review, but it’s full of offensive policies that will give the green light to military aggression in all corners of the world…
Why we all need the Union – and sterling
The threat to the unity of the British working class comes not just from separatists, but also from those throughout Britain who kid themselves that it doesn’t matter to them.
Grow for independence, plan for the people
It’s one of the central tasks of any government: to be able to ensure that the population can be fed. That can’t be left to market forces, just-in-time logistics, or the whims of foreign governments…
Nuclear – our best guarantee of energy security
If Britain is to be self-reliant in energy, nuclear is going to have to be part of the mix. The alternative is either reliance on unstable governments and blocs or a radical reduction in industry and living standards…
Western power play in the Pacific
This extraordinary book gives a much-needed perspective on the Asia-Pacific region, where the USA and its Western allies are aligned against China…
1941: Seven against the state
During World War Two, the government prosecuted seven workers because they defended their union convenor. It did not turn out how they expected…
For a united Britain
16 April 2021
This book makes the case for continued and renewed union as better both for Scots and for their fellow British citizens.
Defence and independence
12 April 2021
What should Britain’s relations be with other nations? There’s a straightforward working-class response to that – and it’s not “Global Britain”.