Impact of austerity policies across EU now toxic
The European Trade Union Congress in a report issued this week has warned of the impact austerity policies are having on pay across the European Union.
Tony Burke
Website Tony Burke is President of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions; a former assistant general secretary of Unite; Trade Union co-ordinator for the Morning Star newspaper and chair of the Campaign For Trade Union Freedom. He is a contributing editor of Left Foot Forward blogging on trade, international issues and workers’ and union rights. As well as LFF, he contributes to the Morning Star, Campaign For Trade Union Freedom website, and his own Power In A Union site.
Vince Cable’s department slips up on tribunal hearings
In an important development related to the requirement of an employer to consult on redundancies, a red-faced Department For Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has requested permission to appeal against the recent judgment by the Employment Appeal Tribunal in the case of USDAW v Woolworths.
US-EU trade talks – what about the workers?
During the recent G8 Summit in Belfast, David Cameron said the time had come to ‘press ahead’ with the EU-US free trade deal, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
US Unions Embrace ‘alt.labor’ workers
At a recent conference in Toronto of Workers Uniting, the global union created by Unite in the UK and Ireland and the US and Canadian union, the United Steelworkers, I heard a new term, which has now spread widely across the union movement in the USA.
Obama moves to suspend trade privileges with Bangladesh
President Obama has announced the suspension of ‘trade privileges’ for Bangladesh following the recent tragedies in the garment industry, notably at Rana Plaza and Tarzeen Fashions, where over 1,300 workers have died in building collapses and fires.
Labour must take seriously the need to expand collective bargaining
In the coverage of Ed Miliband’s recent speech at Newham Dockside, the sections of the speech on employment sadly received scant media coverage. The press focused instead on welfare and benefits.
High noon for Europe as unions call for investment to ‘kick start’ the recovery
Ahead of this week’s European TUC mid-term conference in Dublin, European Union leaders have called for a new European Recovery Plan to kick-start economic growth.
Union membership increased by 59,000 to 6.5 million in 2012
Trade Union membership rose by 59,000 to 6.5 million last year, according to a report by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills report published today.
Bangladesh: Union organisation is key to preventing future tragedies
Western brands must contribute to freedom of association in the garment industry and stop government and employer resistance to union organisation.
Bangladesh garment worker tragedy is ‘mass industrial slaughter’
Since 2005, more than 1,000 textile workers in Bangladesh have died in fires and building collapses. Thousands of people, many of them young women work in appalling and unsafe conditions in factories which supply western countries and High Street stores with cheap clothing.