With the death of Pope Francis, the world loses not only a church leader but also a moral compass that spoke out against inequality, discrimination, war, and climate destruction, writes MARC VANDEPITTE
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The end of the year – and a time to reflect
With new faces being elected to both to government and to my union, PCS, 2024 has been a year of change – with new challenges ahead for 2025, writes LYNN HENDERSON
PCS placards
LYNNE WALSH previews the Bristol Radical History Conference this weekend
Keir Starmer’s £120 million to Sudan cannot cover the government’s complicity in the RSF genocide or atone for the long shadow of British colonialism and imperialism, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE
Join the traditional march from Clerkenwell Green, which will bring together countless international workers’ organisations in a statement against the far right
Ecuador’s election wasn’t free — and its people will pay the price under President Noboa
Mountains of research show that hardcore material harms children, yet there are still no simple measures in place
We face austerity, privatisation, and toxic influence. But we are growing, and cannot be beaten
HOGMANAY, the last day of 2024, gives me the opportunity to reflect on the year gone by for my union, the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), and also our class, our struggles and achievements at home and internationally.
As I approach my 60th year, I also take time for personal reflection back over 40 or so years of activism — as a 14-year-old joining Scottish CND, as a further education college student activist, as a lifelong Labour and trade union movement activist, through the campaign for devolution, voluntary work for refugees, in the Scottish TUC and as a long-serving officer in the PCS.
This column however covers just a few key matters that stand out for me in 2024.
More from this author
In my union PCS, we know from experience that women are the first line of defence during this ongoing period of attacks from the government and employers on our living standards, writes LYNN HENDERSON
PCS senior national officer LYNN HENDERSON explains why the union is growing and taking more industrial action despite the hostility of the current government to workers’ demands
With PCS members themselves facing poverty due to poor pay and the cost-of-living crisis, industrial action was inevitable — it’s time to link up our struggles, writes LYNN HENDERSON
Trade unionists must unite workplaces and communities in refusing to pay for the cost-of-living crisis — that means industrial militancy and building locally towards a mass demo this summer, writes LYNN HENDERSON
