Failed by the institutions meant to protect them from exploitation, South African Post Offices workers gave up on the legal system, resorting to illegal means.
Clothes manufacturing in the UK has seen a striking revival since 2007. Not only have new business models come onto the scene, particularly with the growth of online retailers, their actual manufacture…
The Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption has recommended charges be considered against the two former Australian Workers Union (AWU) officials whom Julia Gillard assisted to set…
A key event in the British employment calendar is the publication of the Workplace Equality Index each January. It is a ranking of the top-100 “gay-friendly” employers by Stonewall, the UK’s main campaigning…
Since the election of the coalition government in 2010, the UK has experienced a series of initiatives to reform the structure, funding and operation of the public sector. Under the umbrella of economic…
The Tory manifesto pledge to change the law on strike ballots are more radical than any of those introduced by Margaret Thatcher. If the government is re-elected and the proposals become law, industrial…
Low-waged workers in small workplaces are, statistically, the least likely to go on strike. They are unlikely to be unionised, are under close supervision from the boss and are easily replaceable. Traditionally…
The east coast main line is to be reprivatised, and the unions aren’t happy. The three rail unions, RMT, Aslef and the TSSA have asked for a judicial review into the process, and have also questioned the…
Bob Crow, the pugnacious General Secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport Workers Union (RMT), has died at the age of 52 after suffering an aneurysm and a massive heart attack. His passing has brought…
This could be the riskiest move of Ed Miliband’s career. After months of posturing about the changes in the relationship between the Labour Party and the unions, Miliband has clearly set out his plans…
Trade unions are having to adapt to a new world. The spread of “subcontracted capitalism” across both the private and public sectors has made it increasingly hard to organise workers and win union recognition…
This September will be one that Ed Miliband will probably want to forget. He must be dreading the inevitable mauling he will get from the union delegates at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton at the…
Union opposition to the Royal Mail sell-off comes as no surprise to any of us. Postmen and women are well known within the public sector for their militancy. But their response must be careful; both the…
Ed Miliband’s plan to reform Labour relationship with the union movement has its origins much deeper than the recent Falkirk debacle. Of course, Unite in Falkirk West and 40 other constituency Labour parties…
It appears the spectre of Falkirk will not go away for Ed Miliband. Despite claiming he has acted decisively by suspending the selection process, Miliband has failed to publish the Labour report about…
It’s been almost a month since the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh, resulting in the deaths of 1100 garment workers. Some significant responses from business and governments have…
Apple’s China-based contractor, Foxconn, is following a trend of increasing unionisation at transnational corporations in China by holding its first-ever democratic labour union elections. As reported…
The business community was effectively sidelined at the last federal election, and they felt somewhat miffed about it. Business associations were caught flat-footed at the suddenness of Julia Gillard’s…