By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. A week on from Ed Miliband's sixth re-launch, it would be timely to review his progress. Has he managed to persuade the public of his credibility at last? Has he managed to thrash the Coalition in the polls? Is his Party settled and united behind his leadership? It seems […]
Labour controlled Thurrock Council at a full council meeting last week debated the following motion from Cllr, Danny Nicklen, a Conservative councillor: “This council does not endorse the union strike action held on November 30th and regrets the inconvenience this caused to Thurrock’s residents, including the movement of the council meeting”. Two of the Labour […]
The Government is due to come up with proposals to end the abuse where public sector staff spend their time working for trade unions while being paid by the taxpayer. But, of course, councils can choose to put a stop the the practice themselves if they wish to. Supposing a motion was put to a […]
In my borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, eight out of ten of our non-school staff work as usual – many providing services to the vulnerable. Among schools 50% of teachers worked and 75% of school-based support staff. As noted yesterday academies and free school were much less likely to strike than council run schools. In […]
It is a routine arrangement in the public sector for employers to collect the membership subscriptions for trade unions without charging for this service. HSBC charge businesses 18p per transaction, for automated credits (i.e. incoming direct debits). Across 12 months (monthly sub) this would be £2.16 + VAT per customer. 62.4% of all union members […]
In a letter to The Guardian today a group of Labour MPs and councillors pledge that they will not cross picket lines during the strike taking place tomorrow: Instead we will be joining picket lines to do what Labour politicians should do: be on the side of labour. It sounds to me like a […]
In April the Conservative MP Dominic Raab proposed a change in law. He asked for "a Bill to prohibit strike action in the emergency and transport service sectors unless a majority of employees in the unionised workforce has voted in favour of such action." For Boris Johnson such a change in the law would be […]
The Government are tackling the "pilgrims." This is practice of "trade union facility time" where Council staff work for trade unions, often full time, yet have their salaries paid by the Council Taxpayer. It also applies in the NHS and central government departments. However arrangements should also be reviewed where councils collect the trade unions […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Will Ed Miliband open up Labour's leadership elections to the public? Not quite. Mr Miliband has tabled proposals at a meeting of Labour's National Executive Committee to create "tens of thousands" of "registered supporters" who will be eligible to vote in future leadership elections. However, the "registered supporters" would be included in the […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Labour Leader Ed Miliband gave a speech to the TUC Congress this morning. He treated those assembled in the hall to the usual Miliband line about unions – they play a vital role, union members should have a say in the Labour Party, and the government is wrong to […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter. On the eve of this week's TUC Conference the Unite leader Len McCluskey uses remarks in The Observer to signal that the long-awaited union onslaught on the Coalition is about to begin. "My view is that we should rule nothing in and nothing out," he told the newspaper. "Every […]
By Jonathan IsabyFollow Jonathan on Twitter I don't regularly follow First Minister's Questions in the Welsh Assembly, but I have been alerted to yesterday's session at Cardiff Bay. Labour's First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, announced that his ministers would not be crossing any picket lines tomorrow. He told the Assembly: "Ministers will not be […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter. See The Mail and Sun for reports of the TPA research. The TaxPayers' Alliance came to national prominence for exposing high pay and expenses abuse in the public sector and they have, today, turned their attention to the trade union movement. The TPA finds that 37 trade union leaders […]
By Matthew Barrett Follow Matthew on Twitter Earlier on this week, the head of public-sector union UNISON, Dave Prentis, used belligerent and class-war rhetoric to call for "a campaign for strike action without precedent". You might think it would be politically sensible for Ed Miliband and his team to shut this story down and remove themselves […]
By Matthew Barrett Follow Matthew on Twitter Dave Prentis is the General Secretary of UNISON, one of Britain's largest unions, and one with a huge grip on public services. He is also auditioning for the position of 2011's Arthur Scargill, if this speech is anything to go by. In the above video, Prentis starts off with some […]