As Colombia approaches presidential elections next year, the US decision to decertify the country in the war on drugs plays into the hands of its allies on the political right, writes NICK MacWILLIAM
Education for the whole trade union movement
From AI to class-struggle unionism, the the GFTU's new courses aim to equip activists with skills to take on employers and halt membership decline, writes HENRY FOWLER
EDUCATING FOR STRUGGLE: Unite members on the picket line outside St Thomas’ Hospital, London in a dispute over pay on June 27 2024
The move against alleged PKK members that sparked outrage as a community centre in north London was raided last year has now come to trial, writes TONY BURKE, but in the meantime, the peace process abroad has changed the situation almost entirely
A new report points a way to overcome complacent framing of climate issues, ‘by sparking a wider public reckoning with climate realities,’ and reconnecting with working-class people. IAN SINCLAIR reports
We cannot understand today’s world without understanding the rise of China – and we cannot understand China without understanding how it was shaped by the second world war, writes JENNY CLEGG
NICK WRIGHT reports from Italy, where 80 cities saw Gaza strikes as unions paralysed transport and massive crowds clashed with police in Milan — but France is also kicking off, and Westminster, in a very different way, is facing a crisis of legitimacy too
Escalating anti-China rhetoric from the West has a clear purpose – to manufacture consent for the new cold war, and potentially a hot one, argues CARLOS MARTINEZ
TODAY the General Federation of Trade Unions Educational Trust launches its 2024-25 programme at the annual Durham Miners’ Gala. Building on the success of our programme in 2023-24, in this our 125th anniversary year, we’re clear that our mission is to be a place for education for the whole trade union movement.
As we look back at the last few years, with increasing levels of strike action, ballot after ballot “smashing” the anti-union thresholds, we have seen a renewal in our activist base and also a renewed sense of hope across our movement. This is all backed up by a historically strong show of support for trade unions and the action they are taking across society, characterised by the ongoing YouGov tracker polls.
Despite this incredible period for our movement, the most dynamic since the 2011 united front against the cuts to public-sector pensions, as workers and unions across the economy began to extract better offers from various government and private-sector employers, we have seen the acceptance of deals from unions and an ebb in the levels of formal strike action.
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HENRY FOWLER, co-founder of Strike Map, announces a new collaboration with UnionMaps, integrating two important sets of data that will facilitate the labour movement in its analysis, planning and action
Since 2023, Strike Map has evolved from digital mapping at a national level to organising ‘mega pickets’ — we believe that mass solidarity with localised disputes prepares the ground for future national action, writes HENRY FOWLER
Head of education, campaigns and organising for the General Federation of Trade Unions HENRY FOWLER explains why it is launching a fund to support trades councils and give them access to a new range of courses and resources
Although we are not at work, this pandemic offers a real chance for trade-union renewal in education and across the whole public sector, writes HENRY FOWLER, national campaigns manager of the NEU
