Feature: Meet the Socialist Hoping to Lead Britain’s Biggest Trade Union
Polly Smythe
Andrea Egan wants to turn the 1.3 million-member Unison from a creaking bureaucracy to a vehicle for worker power. Polly Smythe meets her.
Tag: unite
Analysis: Angela Rayner Was Labour’s Designated Defender of Workers’ Rights. Now She’s Gone, Big Business Is Swooping In
Polly Smythe
Starmer’s recent reshuffle saw two champions of Labour’s flagship workers’ rights legislation leave the frontbench, creating a vacuum that businesses are eagerly filling. Polly Smythe surveys an uneasy landscape from the Trade Union Congress's annual meeting.
Report: Unite Votes for Israel Arms Embargo
Polly Smythe
Unite has voted to support workers who refuse to handle Israeli weapons. Is this the first step towards an ‘arms embargo from below?’ Polly Smythe reports.
Feature: No Justice, No Peas: Inside the Toby Carvery Union Drive
Polly Smythe
Workers at a branch in Bolton are aiming to become the first at a major pub chain to gain union recognition, but claim they are being met with classic anti-union tactics. Polly Smythe reports.
Opinion: Luton’s Auto Workers Are Being Abandoned to the Far Right
Ben Norman & Lewis Norton
In November Vauxhall announced the closure of its van plant in Luton, home of Tommy Robinson and Andrew Tate. As the government dithers, the far right is waiting in the wings, write Unite officers Lewis Norton and Ben Norman.
Report: Vet Company Responds to Strikes By Simply Closing Branches
Polly Smythe
Valley Vets is the first veterinary group in the UK to face strike action by its workers. Now it’s shutting most of its surgeries. Polly Smythe reports.
Feature: Six Companies Own 60% of UK Vets, and Workers Are Sick of It
Polly Smythe
Global megacorporations have spotted an opportunity in the millions of new lockdown puppies and are snapping up local veterinary practices in bulk. The result is broke pet owners and underpaid workers - and the first vet practice strike in UK history, reports Polly Smythe.
Report: ‘Covid Rogue’ Among Labour’s Business Backers
Polly Smythe
John Holland-Kaye was responsible for 'one of, if not the most brutal example, of fire and rehire during the Covid pandemic.' Rachel Reeves is now boasting of his support. Polly Smythe reports.
Report: ‘I Want to Smack People in the Face’: Toxic Culture at Prestigious Legal Publisher Revealed
Polly Smythe
Managers at Legal 500, which publishes a rating of law firms, joked about staff ‘banging on about their mental health’.
Analysis: Sharon Graham’s Strategy Shows Unions Can Win Without the Labour Party
Gregor Gall
While she doesn't have the public profile of Mick Lynch, Unite's Sharon Graham is the most successful of the current union leaders, argues Gregor Gall.
Report: Striking Workers Say Homeless Charity Has Lost Its Way
Polly Smythe
Workers at St Mungo’s have announced an indefinite strike over pay, and have spoken out against burn-out, spiraling executive pay, and dodgy deals with the home office. Polly Smythe reports.
Report: Harrods is One of the First Companies to Use a New Tory Anti-Strike Law
Simon Childs
The Qatar-owned luxury department store pays its boss £2.3million, but offered security guards a 'pay cut dressed up as a rise'.
Report: Port Workers in Felixstowe Are Striking at the Heart of the UK’s Supply Chains
Polly Smythe
“Just-in-time” logistics have increased bosses’ profits, but also given small numbers of workers a great deal of power. Polly Smythe reports from Felixstowe.
Opinion: Now Could Be Keir Starmer’s Moment If Only He’d Back the Unions
Tom Peters
Russia-schmoozing Tories and a cost of living crisis have presented the Labour leader with yet another open goal. The problem is, he’s too busy attacking workers to take it, writes Tom Peters.
Novara Live: Tories Complacent As Omicron Fears Confirmed by New Data
New data from South Africa has dampened any hope that Omicron is milder than Delta. Meanwhile Dominic Cummings has launched a stinging attack on Johnson's government failing to prepare for new variants.
Report: Should Bosses Pay for Workers’ Travel Home Late at Night?
Polly Smythe
A hotel worker in Glasgow was sexually assaulted walking home from a late-night shift. Now she’s fighting for late-night travel funding for staff. Polly Smythe reports.
Opinion: Workplace Struggles and Plans for Government Must Go Hand in Hand
James Meadway
Unite’s new general secretary Sharon Graham has promised to prioritise industrial struggle over internal Labour politics. This is a good thing, argues James Meadway – but the post-Corbyn left shouldn't altogether turn its back on aspirations of running the country.
Downstream: The Fight for Unite – Interview With Steve Turner
Since 2010 Len McCluskey has been the general secretary of Unite, one of Britain’s largest trade unions. That changes this year with the election of his successor – a three-way race between Gerard Coyne, Sharon Graham and today’s guest, Steve Turner.