Torygraph Stirs the Spoon on Our Pension Pots

Our friends in the Daily Torygraph were happy to see the banks saved from collapse by the Labour government; after all they have most to lose in this system. What they are not happy with is the additional borrowing costs for doing this which have reached a staggering £1.4 trillion for the banks alone.

Raison d'être of public service trade unions

The Economist is running yet another attack on public sector trade unionism.

National Minimum Wage Redux - the battle for the labour movement

The Institute for Government recently ran a 'policy reunion' seminar on the National Minimum Wage. The contributors included Rodney Bickerstaffe...

A Poem for Nelson Mandela by Elizabeth Alexander

Here where I live it is Sunday.
From my room I hear black
children playing between houses
and the El at a Sabbath rattle.
I smell barbecue from every direction
and hear black hands tolling church bells,
hear wind hissing through elm trees
through dry grasses

Nationwide strikes decisive in final push to oust Mubarak

Wednesday's general strike by thousands of Egyptian state and private sector workers gave decisive momentum to the succesful campaigh by anti-government activists to oust President Hosni Mubarak: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/09/egypt-labor-strikes-break_n_820909.html

Building the biggest, broadest possible alliance against Con Dem cuts

An excellent report on last Saturday’s Northern Public Services Alliance seminar and demonstration is available on the TUC website.

Social and economic agreement in Spain

Spanish Union federations UGT and CCOO last week signed a social and economic tripartite agreement with the Spanish Government and employers' organizations CEOE-CEPYME.

'Don't handcuff our councils' says UNISON as cuts hit Scotland

UNISON Scotland says Government moves to dictate how council budgets are spent is effectively ‘handcuffing’ local authorities and sounds the death knell for democracy. http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/news/2011/janfeb/1002.htm

We must raise our game to fight cuts - Angela Lynes

“A modern and confident building for a modern and confident union” was how Angela Lynes, President described the new UNISON centre when she kicked off the annual Leadership Seminar in London today.

Divide and evaporate the Lib Dems

In contrast to the smiley happy people around the cabinet table, the Lib Dem leaders in local government have finally woken up and smelt the coffee.