Skills qualifications confusion
27 December 2023
Constant changes to skills qualifications have added to the pressure on further education. Political interference creates nothing but confusion.
News/Views
Off the rails and onto the roads
27 December 2023
The fallout from the government strategy to switch investment from rail to road continues. It prefers promoting autonomous cars to developing rail and other public transport.
Overseas voters sought: an attack on democracy
27 December 2023
From January people who have left Britain will be allowed to vote in elections here, for life. This will allow people living abroad to influence what happens here.
Fishing quotas for 2024 agreed
27 December 2023
Britain still has to deal with the EU over fishing quotas. The latest agreement, the fourth since leaving the EU, sees further progress.
Much done – but far more to do
Workers have made remarkable progress in the past year in asserting the interests of the class. Yet in 2024 we need to do more.
Unions united against law
20 December 2023
The first special Congress of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) for over forty years took place in early December. It considered how trade unions should respond to legal attempts to restrict their activity.
Pay progress for some doctors
NHS hospital consultants have secured an offer from the government in their fight for pay. Consultants’ pay had been cut, in real terms, by 35 per cent since 2008-09. Meanwhile, junior doctors' strikes continue
NHS reliance on overseas nurse recruitment unsustainable
20 December 2023
Ninety-three per cent of nurses who joined the NHS in the last four years have been recruited from overseas. This startling fact was revealed by NHS England’s chief nurse in December.
Royal Mail festive “truce” – for now
20 December 2023
Royal Mail workers have called off industrial action over Christmas and the New Year. CWU, their union said there was enough progress to call a “truce” over the holiday period.
Fighting fire service cuts across the country
20 December 2023
Firefighters are fighting attempts across the country to cut staffing, which risks effective response to emergencies. And they have criticised government plans for the fire service.
TUC Special congress [print version]
The first special Congress of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) for over 40 years took place in early December. It considered how trade unions should respond to legal attempts to restrict their activity.
Almost all nurses from abroad [print version]
Ninety-three per cent of the 51,245 nurses who have joined the NHS in the past four years have been recruited from overseas.