The Labour campaign continues to make good progress whilst the Tories lurch from one failed artifice after another, and Ed Miliband is increasingly taking command with growing confidence. The election has nevertheless drawn attention to a disturbing penumbra of alienation from the whole process. In poor white working class areas the number of households who […]
Posts under ‘Rights at Work’
Zero hours contracts are a weapon of workplace control
Apr 2nd, 2015 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.I’m glad Labour is making some good noises about zero hour contracts. It’s even better that they’ve met the stupid and entirely predictable letter from Tory supporting business chums that, shock horror, support the Tories with a signed letter of their own featuring people on zero hour contracts. For all their money advantage, so far […]
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Blacklisted – the secret war against trade unionists
Mar 16th, 2015 by Andy Newman.The new book Blacklisted by victimized trade unionist, Dave Smith, and investigative journalist, Phil Chamberlain, is an extraordinary achievement, both documenting in detail the sordid conspiracy by powerful corporations to deny ordinary working people the ability to earn a living; but also in giving those victims a voice: telling their own stories. The tales of skilled […]
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McCluskey leads attack on Farage’s promise to axe racial discrimination laws
Mar 12th, 2015 by Jon Lansman.Nigel Farage has said he would scrap laws designed to stop racial discrimination in the workplace that he claims are out of date because British society has moved on, making them redundant, and it is, he says, “ludicrous” that employers could not favour a British national for a role over a foreigner. In response, Len McCluskey, leader […]
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On the Mega Brothel and what to do about prostitution
Feb 4th, 2015 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.What to do about prostitution? To all intents and purposes it remains banned in England and Wales, though an individual sex worker can work out of a property at any one time. More than one and they fall foul of prohibitions against brothel keeping. The situation in Scotland is slightly different as the campaign to […]
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As Syriza win on an anti-austerity platform in Greece, Labour MPs seek a change in direction here
Jan 26th, 2015 by Jon Lansman.As Syriza wins a remarkable victory in Greece on a platform of ending austerity and greater state intervention in the economy, fifteen Labour MPs have today expressed concerns about elements of Labour’s policy agenda, and proposed a change of course in three key areas. They have issued a statement calling for an alternative to austerity, for public […]
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The on-demand economy is an even greater threat than zero hours contracts
Jan 26th, 2015 by Michael Meacher.Much of the debate about the fast-growing on-demand economy has centred around Uber. Their drivers get paid only when they work and are responsible for their own pensions and health care. Risks borne by companies are being pushed back on to individuals, and this has huge implications for the organisation of work, the potential insecurity […]
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20,000 London bus workers go on strike – with the public on their side
Jan 13th, 2015 by Jon Lansman.Picket lines were in place across London’s 70 bus garages today as over 20,000 bus workers working for 18 bus operators take part in a 24 hour strike to end unfair pay disparities across the capital’s bus network. With very solid support for the strike the bus workers’ union Unite urged TfL and the mayor of London […]
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The scandal over City Link shows private equity at its worst
Jan 4th, 2015 by Michael Meacher.Jon Moulton, long-time Tory party donor till 2012 when he absconded to UKIP, owner of the private equity company Better Capital (sic!) that controls City Link, perfectly portrays how capitalists like him, when the going gets rough, abandon all sense of responsibility towards the 2,760 workers losing their jobs because of his managerial incompetence, transfer […]
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Top pay unrelated to performance, just greed – official
Jan 2nd, 2015 by Michael Meacher.Research on top executive pay over the last decade has found that it had little or no correlation with key performance indicators that companies highlighted to shareholders. The research was undertaken by CFA UK and Lancaster Business School over the 10 years from 2003 to 3013 at 30 of the FTSE-100 companies. It found that […]
