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
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A Bill that falls short of the bold action we need
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
WE WILL BE HEARD: Convenor for GMB Scotland Chris Mitchell speaks as members of the Unison, GMB, Unite and the EIS trade unions stage a lunchtime protest outside City Chambers, George Square, Glasgow demand a one year no-cuts budget, February 19 2025
While working people face austerity, arms companies enjoy massive government contracts, writes ARTHUR WEST, exposing how politicians exaggerate the Russian threat to justify spending on a sector that has the lowest employment multiplier
ANYA COOK reports from the Newcastle citizens’ assembly, where over 240 people gathered to create a people’s manifesto ahead of next year’s local elections – part of former mayor Jamie Driscoll’s Majority movement
While claiming to target fraud, Labour’s snooping Bill strips benefit recipients of privacy rights and presumption of innocence, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE, warning that algorithms with up to 25 per cent error rates could wrongfully investigate and harass millions of vulnerable people
Real security comes from having a secure base at home — Keir Starmer’s reckless and renegade decision to get Britain deeper into the proxy war against Russia is as dangerous as it is wasteful, writes SALLY SPIERS
The plan is to stigmatise and destabilise South Africa in preparation for breaking it up while creating a confused and highly racialised atmosphere around immigration in the US to aid in denying rights to non-white refugees, explains EMILE SCHEPERS
ALAN SIMPSON warns that Starmer’s triangulation strategy will fail just as New Labour’s did, with each rightward move by Labour pushing Tories further right
FOR decades, workers in Britain have faced a steady erosion of their rights, job security and real wages.
The objective of the Employment Rights Bill, rightly heralded as the most significant expansion of workers’ rights in a generation, is to reverse this trend and improve working conditions.
However, its passage through Parliament highlighted just how significant the gaps in employment law and trade union legislation have developed over the decades and have so limited the effectiveness of unions in their task of fully defending their members.
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Labour's New Deal for Working People is central to combating in-work poverty and ensuring fair treatment for all — it’s a flagship policy that has the potential to be transformative to workers' lives, writes ANDY McDONALD MP
Middlesbrough MP ANDY McDONALD on why unions must press Labour for a comprehensive new deal for workers
ANDY McDONALD MP says there's still a great deal to welcome in Labour's planned reforms to workers' rights, but calls for clarity on some key issues
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Falling short of what was promised: many of the new rights in the Employment Rights Bill have defects or escape loopholes that all need addressing, writes LORD JOHN HENDY KC
Labour’s long-awaited Employment Rights Bill does not do nearly enough to remove the restraints on trade unions or to give them the powers they need to make a significant difference to the lives of the millions of workers, write KEITH EWING and Lord JOHN HENDY KC
Unite's Sharon Graham says the Bill fails to end zero-hours contracts and fire-and-rehire