Prof Prem Sikka on 'How to Defeat Austerity?' Video now online

'There was absolutely no need for anything to do with austerity. It is really a political project which has been carried out in the UK for the last 30 or 40 years. It has eroded the purchasing power in the hands of ordinary people... it has resulted in concentration of wealth.. there has been an organised humiliation of normal people.' says Prem Sikka, Professor of Accountancy at Essex University, in a video from a recent Morning Star conference in Glasgow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqAtj3ZsFRM

Time to deliver for working people in Scotland

In the wake of last month's independence referendum, Lilian Macer, Convenor of UNISON in Scotland, has called for maximum unity in the struggle 'to create decent jobs, tackle low pay, end poverty - and deliver for working class people.' Speaking at a Morning Star labour movement conference last Saturday, Lilian said 'the outcome of the independence vote was about change — whether you were in the No or the Yes camp. People have demonstrated that they value public services, they don’t want more cuts, they reject privatisation and they want a fairer and more equal society.'
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-a3bb-Macer-Scots-must-put-referendum-aside-to-fight-poverty#.VDMA8VpwbIU

NHS alone can't solve health inequality

'Without addressing the fundamental inequalities in society the enormous efforts of our NHS staff will be like trying to push a giant rock up a hill. No matter how hard they try it comes pressing back down on them' writes UNISON Scottish Convenor and health worker Lilian Macer in a Morning Star article pointing out that policy on housing, employment and education all have an impact on health in Scotland and beyond:
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-f01f-The-NHS-alone-cant-solve-health-inequality

The Social Europe agenda has been parked long ago

Mike Kirby, UNISON’s Scottish Secretary, reflects on the political situation in a Morning Star interview to mark the end of his term of office as President of the Scottish TUC: http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/
content/view/full/118354

Kinder Trespass - a lesson in history

Yesterday marked the 80th anniversary of the mass trespass on Kinder Scout led by Manchester communist Benny Rothman. The mass trespass anniversary provides not so much a lesson in the right to roam, but a lesson in the right of the working classes to say no to the powerful elite, who continue to snatch a disproportionate volume of wealth and resources for their own ends.http://kindertrespass.com/index.asp?ID=26

Building a campaign against pay freezes

All pay-restraint policies in the past have been broken but only by unions mobilising for action against them. This is the challenge facing us in the coming months, writes UNISON Scotland's Stephen Smellie in the Morning Star. http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/117782

Tory campaign against union reps belies their contempt for democracy

Solomon Hughes, writing in the Morning Star, juxtaposes Tory MP Priti Patel’s support for the tyrannical Bahraini regime with her crusade against the workplace rights of trade union representatives:
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/113467

TUC: Con Dem cuts & the trade union response - Morning Star fringe‏

It is not surprising that the best debate at Congress took place at the Morning Star fringe at lunchtime today. Entitled the The Con Dem Cuts: The Trade Union Response – DEFEND OUR PUBLIC SERVICES , a packed hall heard speeches from trade union leaders across the movement.