Once the bustling heart of Christian pilgrimage, Bethlehem now faces shuttered hotels, empty streets and a shrinking Christian community, while Israel’s assault on Gaza and the tightening grip of occupation destroy hopes of peace at the birthplace of Christ, writes Father GEOFF BOTTOMS
Rebalancing the power relationship between workers and employers
As the Employment Rights Bill enters Parliament, JAMES HARRISON introduces a podcast designed to help trade unionists, as well as MPs, understand its intentions and how to go about improving it
Members of the National Education Union (NEU) hold a rally outside the Department for Education (DfE) in London as strike action is taken by sixth form college teachers members across 32 colleges in England. Picture date: Thursday November 28, 2024
After years hidden away, Oldham’s memorial to six local volunteers who died fighting fascism in the Spanish civil war has been restored to public view, marking both a victory for campaigners and a renewed tribute to the town’s proud International Brigade heritage, says ROB HARGREAVES
The June 2025 attacks on Iran have heightened the risk of a wider war, exposed the fiction of a rules-based international order and left ordinary Iranians trapped between external aggression and internal repression, says the Committee for Defence of Iranian People’s Rights
While pretending to seek peace, Europe is heading toward a collision course with Russia – using security guarantees, troop deployments, expropriation and censorship as tools, writes SEVIM DAGDELEN
A WWI hero, renowned ornithologist, medical doctor, trade union organiser and founder member of the Communist Party of Great Britain all rolled in one. MAT COWARD tells the story of a life so improbable it was once dismissed as fiction
The long-term effects of chemical weapons such as Agent Orange mean that the impact of war lasts well beyond a ceasefire
AS THE Employment Rights Bill passes through its parliamentary stages, now is the time for trade unionists to cut through the exclusive, technocratic nature of parliamentary procedures and understand what the Bill really means for workers.
Where are the loopholes and how, with trade union lobbying, might it be improved?
As a trade union think tank, the labour law experts at the Institute of Employment Rights (IER), have been informing the debate on defending and restoring labour rights for over 35 years and we see the government’s Bill as a welcome step in the right direction. But can it be improved? As an independent trade union movement, we should be looking at the proposals with an informed and critical eye.
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Labour’s long-promised Act has scraped through the Lords. While the law marks a step forward, its lack of collective rights leaves workers short-changed — and sets the stage for a renewed campaign for an Employment Rights Bill #2, argues TONY BURKE
The Employment Rights Bill is a vital opportunity to rebalance power between workers and employers. As it passes to the Lords, pressure must be brought to bear to strengthen this key legislation, argues ANDY McDONALD MP