Robinson successfully defended his school from closure, fought for the unification of the teaching unions, mentored future trade union leaders and transformed teaching at the Marx Memorial Library, writes JOHN FOSTER
Towards June 18: rebuild confidence in the fightback
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
The massive TUC March for the Alternative makes its way through central London, March 2011
A judge in a German court ruled that the ban activity imposed on renowned Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah was unlawful, reports LEON WYSTRYCHOWSKI
At the very moment Britain faces poverty, housing and climate crises requiring radical solutions, the liberal press promotes ideologically narrow books while marginalising authors who offer the most accurate understanding of change, writes IAN SINCLAIR
From Gaza protest bans to proscribing Palestine Action, political elites are showing a crisis of confidence as they abandon Roy Jenkins’s apologetic approach for Suella Braverman’s aggressive ‘hate march’ rhetoric, writes PAUL DONOVAN
ANSELM ELDERGILL examines the legal case behind this weekend’s Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival and the lessons for today
Ben Chacko talks to RMT leader EDDIE DEMPSEY about how the key to fixing broken Britain lies in collective sectoral bargaining, restoring unions’ ability to take solidarity strike action and bringing about the much-vaunted ‘wave of insourcing’
The summer of 1950 saw Labour abandon further nationalisation while escalating Korean War spending from £2.3m to £4.7m, as the government meekly accepted capitalism’s licence and became Washington’s yes-man, writes JOHN ELLISON
LAST FRIDAY on April Fool’s Day every household faced the first rise in fuel bills from the private-sector utilities companies that have so much control over our lives. And this is just the start.
The day before that turned out to be a sick joke for civil and public servants too, as the government published the Treasury Pay Remit, forcing public-sector employers to limit pay rises for government staff to 2 per cent. Whilst Scottish government workers’ pay sits outside the pay remit, it is normal for devolved governments of all political shades to merely put a tartan cover over the British remit.
By the second day of April, trade unionists and community campaigners in 25 towns and cities came together under the banner of the People’s Assembly to protest over the cost-of-living crisis.
More from this author
LYNN HENDERSON reflects on turning 60, tracing her path from 1980s Youth CND and Red Wedge gigs, deindustrialisation and the rise of women trade unionists, to looking at today’s young organisers in Unite Hospitality and Living Rent, who offer hope for the future
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
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
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