Despite being rejected by the House of Lords recently, the coalition’s discredited ‘shares for rights’ scheme, which allows workers to give up basic employment rights in exchange for company shares, was passed in the House of Commons by a margin of 277 to 239.
Claims by the coalition government that the UK’s beleaguered manufacturing sector is beginning to show signs of recovery were dealt another blow this week by the reliable Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which showed that manufacturing contracted in the first quarter of 2013.
This weekend sees the launch rally of the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom on March 23rd. Formed in December 2012 by a merger between Liasion Commmittee for the Defence Of Trade Union and the Campaign for the Repeal of the Anti Trade Union Laws, the rally takes place at Friends House, London at 1:30 pm.
A new ‘skills eco system’ now puts clear water between Labour and the Tories policy of ‘pile ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap’ low grade apprenticeships.
Figures published last week showed a shock contraction in manufacturing which rounded off another dire week for the UK economy and signalled yet more misery for ordinary working families at the hands of government austerity.
Just days after it was announced that the USA and the European Union were to open discussions on a free trade agreement worth trillions of dollars, trade unions on both sides of the Atlantic said that employment rights had to be a key issue on the agenda.
A public meeting has been called in London this week to support of Mexican trade unionists, whose activities are being threatened by restrictive new laws.
Socialist MEPs argue that the EU should intervene directly to revive manufacturing across Europe.
Labour must have a manufacturing strategy, writes Tony Burke, assistant general secretary, Unite.
The forthcoming speech by David Cameron, set to define the Conservative’s long-term attitude to EU membership, is due soon. Egged on by an anti-EU right wing cabal of the 2010 intake of Eurosceptic MPs, others fearing for their seats becausetest
