Posted by Ian Hodson

Why one union wasn’t convinced by Labour’s reform package

Ray CollinsOn Saturday March 1st, the Bakers’, Food and Allied Workers’ Union (BFAWU) opposed a proposal supposedly geared towards transparency and democracy in relation to the link between trade unions and the Labour party. We were one of the only unions to do so.

We opposed it for a number of reasons. Had I been given an opportunity to speak at the conference where the ultimate debate and vote took place, I would have outlined these reasons to everybody present. However, despite trying to get called throughout the debate, I was denied the chance to put the BFAWU’s case forward. I find that both frustrating and extremely undemocratic – especially as I was sat merely a few rows from the front of the stage. Continue reading →

When politicians talk of ‘reform’, the klaxons start blaring

Special conferenceWhen any politician starts talking about ‘reform’, the klaxons start blaring as ‘reform’ usually means dilution, erosion or a total dismantling of a system for ideological gain.

Trade Unions are already an honest and transparent movement of mainly ordinary folk who want the voice of working people to be heard loud and clear in the political arena. The recommendations in this draft have the potential to silence the voice of ordinary people and hamstring their representation in Parliament.  Continue reading →

Hungry for fast food rights

fast-food-rights-logoAn upsurge of protests and strikes by fast food workers burst through at the end of 2013 in cities across the US, where more than half of the industry’s 3.65 million workers rely on benefits to top up their income, and 68 percent are the main breadwinner in their household. Fast food workers in New York City barely make enough to get by, many of them making minimum wage — just $7.25 (£4.37) an hour. Meanwhile, the Goliath corporations they work for, like McDonalds, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut, are part of a $200 billion industry, reaping huge profits and showering CEOs with exorbitant compensation while most of their employees qualify for food stamps.

In the UK, we’ve seen the extent of the scandal of zero hours contracts exposed, while the UK take away and fast foods industry raked in a total revenue of £5 billion. In 2012, fast food chains in the UK saw sales rise to a staggering £6.9 billion. Yet for example, McDonald’s, the leading player in the UK industry, boosts its mega profits through forcing 90 percent of its workforce to live on zero hours contracts. And despite the huge profits made by these corporations, the average fast food worker in the UK earns just £5 an hour according to PayScale figures in January 2014. Continue reading →