From a Unison Branch Secretary letter in 2014: “The trickle of staff leaving that we saw nine months or so ago has developed into a tidal wave. A tidal wave that, if not stopped, will take our Service down.
The latest official figures show that exports of goods and services fell in October while imports rose, leaving Britain in the red to the tune of £4.1 billion.
The EU is proposing a radical extension of its powers, with plans to take over control of their member states’ borders in “emergencies”.
No law can restrain workers when they choose to ignore it. In Bridgwater, Somerset, Post Office workers walked out without a ballot in protest at the dismissal of a colleague – and no law was invoked.
A recent Ofsted report talks about local authorities failing to raise school standards – but noted the long-standing difficulties in recruiting teachers.
The 2016 local government pay negotiations are under way. Unite, GMB and Unison gird their loins for a battle, but the claim is weighted towards the “Living Wage”.
Alistair Darling, the former Labour chancellor, has been appointed to the board of directors at Morgan Stanley, the US-based financial services firm, while Gordon Brown is to join a global investment firm.
The Co-op Bank has closed the accounts of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign. The action follows on the heels of the closure of 20 accounts held by British pro-Palestine groups.
Manufacturing output fell by 0.4 per cent in October. This continues the consistent decline of the manufacturing sector throughout 2015.
13 December 2015
The last of Britain’s deep coal mines closed on 19 December. It sounds the death knell not only for coal mining but electricity generation from coal, hastened by government decsions posing as a commitment to deal with climate change.
3 December 2015
David Cameron has got his way, and the RAF is bombing Syria. We will all live to regret the despicable vote in parliament last night which saw the bombing authorised.
2 December 2015
War abroad, war at home. As parliament was debating the bombing of Syria, less than 100 yards up Whitehall student nurses and midwives were standing outside the Department of Health in a loud and lively protest against plans to scrap their bursaries.
