While riding the No 3 bus in Glasgow MATT KERR has ample time to dissect the moribund Scottish Labour decline into near oblivion and watch intriguing bus passenger dynamics
Reasons to be hopeful: introducing the TUC's free organising conference
Unions have risen to the challenge of the coronavirus, from saving jobs to keeping those jobs safe — it is no wonder our membership is growing rapidly too, writes PAUL NOWAK
TUC deputy general secretary Paul Nowak
The best wildfire service may begin with the community, argues KOMAL RAJ ARYAL
Dignity is important to all humans, argues the Marx Memorial Library and Workers’ School, but it does not come about automatically. In a less than perfect world, dignity can accompany suffering, but the collective dignity of working people is achieved through acting together to change the world.
The US aim to reshape the existing order in the Middle East needs to be resolutely resisted, argues PAYAM SOLHTALAB
Concessions to Washington by the post-Maduro leadership in Caracas are designed to preserve the core of the Bolivarian Revolution not betray it, argue Roger D Harris, Francisco Dominguez and Mara Paez Victor. How the solidarity movement responds is critical
ALMA EGAN suggests four days out that bring the region’s history of protest to life
THESE are hard times to be upbeat. But in pulling together the programme for Organise 2020, the TUC’s three-day organising festival, I’ve been inspired by examples of trade union successes and struggles from around the globe. That sense of inspiration and optimism has never been more important, because these past few months have been incredibly hard for us all.
In Britain alone, tens of thousands of people have lost their lives to Covid-19. Hundreds of thousands more have suffered ill health. And millions have seen their jobs and livelihoods threatened.
The pandemic shone a light on the fragile state of our public services, battered after a decade of relentless cuts. It exposed how fragile and unfair our labour market is, with the lowest paid and least secure workers hit hardest — and yet depended on most too. And it highlighted other injustices, with racial injustice and inequality meaning the virus has taken a greater toll on Black and minority ethnic communities.
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