The proxy war in Ukraine is heading to a denouement with the US and Russia dividing the spoils while the European powers stand bewildered by events they have been wilfully blind to, says KEVIN OVENDEN
Artists are workers too
Ahead of a motion to Congress on self-employment, ZITA HOLBOURNE explains why workers in the arts are so often overlooked, the problems this causes — and why we as movement must change this for good
One can only imagine what would happen if 2.2 million Palestinian refugees were pushed into Jordan, Egypt and other Arab countries, per Trump’s proposal, writes RAMZY BAROUD
This is the most anti-migrant government in decades, argues RAVISHAAN RAHEL MUTHIAH
VICTOR GROSSMAN reports, with a little chuckle, on how US readiness to work with Russia, not just on peace for Ukraine, has thrown a spanner into the German electoral machine
SOLOMON HUGHES probes the finances of a phoney ‘charity’ pushing the free schools and academies agenda
Freedom now for former PM Mir-Hossein Mousavi and other political prisoners
VIJAY PRASHAD examines why in 2018 Washington started to take an increasingly belligerent stance towards ‘near peer rivals’ – Russa and China – with far-reaching geopolitical effects
THE majority of our members are self-employed. Working as an artist is precarious work, with people working on a freelance basis, on temporary projects, commissions and contracts.
Self-employed arts and culture workers have already been hard hit by over 10 years of austerity and then we were hit hard by the pandemic — work cancelled with immediate effect and for the foreseeable future — and also found themselves falling between the gaps when it came to government measures to support self-employed people.
Because of the nature of their work, they may not encounter unions and local reps in the way some other workers do, but union organisation is much-needed for these workers. Self-employed workers make up a substantial number of British workers — over 4 million — and in turn make a significant contribution to the economy.
More from this author
Artists are frequently first in line when it comes to cuts, but society as a whole is left all the poorer – it’s time they were properly valued, says ZITA HOLBOURNE of Artists Union England
Joint national chair of the Artists Union England ZITA HOLBOURNE argues that artists are systematically neglected when it comes to paying them for their labour
As well as paying tribute to those who arrived in Britain from the Caribbean, African and Asian regions to work and to build a better future for themselves, we must recall the ongoing injustices they and their families still face, says ZITA HOLBOURNE
ZITA HOLBOURNE introduces some of the practical, political and legal challenges to racism that black and brown-led movements are making in Britain and globally
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Artists are frequently first in line when it comes to cuts, but society as a whole is left all the poorer – it’s time they were properly valued, says ZITA HOLBOURNE of Artists Union England
