35 years for exposing criminal activity

Bradley Manning’s courageous decision in 2010 to release US diplomatic cables and other information exposed to the world the machinations of the US military industrial complex and numerous violations of international law. Yesterday at the conclusion of his show trial Manning received a 35 year prison sentence. It’s worth remembering that the Wikileaks publication of US embassy cables also revealed disturbing and subservient channels of communications within the UK labour movement as well as close monitoring of trade union activity.

Bradley Manning is a prisoner of conscience and deserves our solidarity:
http://www.bradleymanning.org/

The UK's newest anti union law explained

A superb dissection of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill by Thompsons Solicitors who conclude that this proposed anti union law, which is being fast tracked through parliament, is 'contrary to international law and a serious infringement of the legitimate rights of millions of citizens'
http://www.thompsonstradeunionlaw.co.uk/information-and-resources/transparency-lobbying-non-party-campaigning-union-administration-bill.htm

Austerity imposed unlawfully on Greece

Professor Keith Ewing argues that the ECB/EU/IMF Troika have shown "a contempt for legality and an indifference to legal obligations" in imposing austerity measure as a condition for offering Greece financial support. He cites the destruction of "an entire collective bargaining system in Greece" and the enforcement of public sector pay cuts and wage reductions - as contrary to a treaty signed by the EU in 2008 and Greece's own constitutional rulings on managing labour relations. "The impact in Greece has been devastating, the consequences greater than on any other EU country and the impact on the national labour law system has been so dramatic that it requires some kind of legal response. Who has the right to determine the constitutional structures of a sovereign state? That's what's at issue in Greece"
http://www.ier.org.uk/blog/greek-austerity-illegal-says-uk-professor

Lord Wedderburn Co-founder of the Institute of Employment Rights - Obituary

The Guardian today includes an obituary for one of the names, although possibly unknown to most trade union activists, that was one of the most influential in the UK in the world of employment law.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/mar/12/lord-wedderburn-of-charlton

Equal pay victory in Bury

It is a notable success for Bury UNISON that it has won a settlement of thousands of Equal Pay claims against Bury Council in the North West of England. A combination of hard work on the ground and the backing of the Region's Equal Pay Unit delivered for the low paid women of Bury Council.

Con Dems to unveil Sacker's Charter

After 15 years of settled albeit inadequate employment rights in the UK, today the Con Dem coalition will unveil plans for a major attack on individual and collective workers' rights:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/camerons-war-on-employment-rights-6266355.html

High Court Lobby to protest at 'multi-million pound raid on public service pensioners

Hundreds of public service trade unionists are assembling in London this morning to demonstrate outside the Royal Courts of Justice - in support of the unions’ legal challenge to the imposed switch from RPI to CPI for up-rating of pensions. Dave Prentis said: "UNISON is backing this judicial review because we cannot allow the coalition to run roughshod over pensioners:

High court showdown on RPI/CPI sleight of hand starts this week

John Hutton, in the Independent Public Service Pensions Commissions Interim Report, stated that the change in indexation from RPI to CPI will reduce the value of public service pension benefits by 15%.

Unions & The Law‏

In 2010 trade unions looked on with disbelief as High Court judges granted injunctive relief to employers over minor balloting irregularities – thus overturning democratic decisions of workers to take strike action in high profile disputes such as the BA cabin crews.Radio 4’s Unreliable Evidence last night explored the law relating to trades unions and industrial action.

Attack on right to strike in Guardian online article‏

Tony Blair famously said in 1997 that even allowing for New Labour's fairness at work legislation the UK would have 'the most restrictive labour laws in the western world'. http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/1997/04/feature/uk9704125f.htm

BA High Court injunction is a grotesque abuse of the employment law‏

For the second time in 6 months the British judiciary has granted BA an injunction to thwart democratically supported industrial action on spurious grounds. The Pavlovian judge Justice McCombe using a bogus balance of (employers) convenience argument to uphold claims that all individual union members had not received full ballot results.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/mobile/business/10119196.stm

Anti-strike injunctions are becoming commonplace‏

Over the past 6 months two high court injunctions – at BA and Network Rail - have overturned union mandates for industrial action. These are widely seen as opportunistic abuses of trade union legislation by employers using spurious technicalities in biased courts – a case made emphatically by Professor Gregor Gall in a recent Morning Star article:http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/88946