TUC president and POA leader STEVE GILLAN speaks to Ben Chacko on the eve of Congress 2026
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No safety without the unions
The government has now released its own ‘guidances’ for a return to work by stealth — cutting workers’ representation out of the picture, writes KEITH EWING
DOUG NICHOLLS welcomes a turning point at this year’s Congress, where many motions call for a co-ordinated plan to revive British industry, a perspective outlined in his new book
HOPE VIRGO of campaign Dump the Scales warns MPs voting today they should be alert to the threat legalised assisted death poses to people with eating disorders
The Together Alliance is hosting two summits, North and South, to build power and plan action against the scourge of racism peddled by the right. DANIEL KEBEDE urges mass participation
The drift toward militarisation in Europe is not inevitable, left-wing and peace movements can preserve sovereignty and prevent war, says DÁIRE HUGHES MP
Whatever differences exist among international sympathisers of the Bolivarian revolution about its current trajectory, they should unite against the imperialist power that is the source of an enforced retreat, argues ROGER D HARRIS
Trade unions need to step up and force a turn in the policies of the labour movement to effectively confront the far-right threat, argues NICK WRIGHT
LAST week the gloves came off. The pretence of government consultation of unions was dropped with the vicious attack on the teachers who decline to go back to work without the assurance that it is safe for their members, their members’ families, the pupils and their families.
Their view is shared by the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish governments and the BMA. It is also shared by the leaders of English local authorities. And more particularly, it is shared by most parents who don’t want their kids to become carriers of the disease.
But the British government is desperate for teachers in England to get back to what it regards as their proper function: childminding — so that business can get back to normal.
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Our priority must be to defend hard-won protections while linking equality law to trade union power and wider social transformation, says MARY DAVIS, on behalf of the Women’s Liberation Alliance
![Union members and climate activists set up a ‘cool station’ outside Highbury and Islington station to hand out heatwave safety advice to workers [Pic: Immo Klink]](https://msd11.gn.apc.org/sites/default/files/styles/desktop/public/2026-08/07_Heatstrike-Islington-3924-Immo-Klink.jpg.webp?itok=-IIt7ME_)
More than 1,500 London bus drivers set for heatwave strikes this Friday
The unions are unhappy with the Employment Rights Act 2025 and with good reason. KEITH EWING and Lord JOHN HENDY KC take a close look at why the Bill promised more than it delivered