The news about Bob Crow came as a bit of a shock today, and I’ll admit that a large part of that is the normal reaction of any 51-year-old hearing about a 52-year-old’s sudden death. I was never in Bob’s union, but I have plenty to thank him for. When I worked for the railways […]
Entries Tagged as 'Trade Unions'
A few thoughts about the tube strikes
February 12th, 2014 · 1 Comment · Life, Politics
Having spent six years working for one of London Underground’s contractors and, before that, six years working for London Underground itself I am somewhat familiar with the tube, even if I have not used it much in the last ten years. The current dispute is mainly about Boris Johnson’s plans to cut the numbers of […]
Tags: London·Trade Unions·Transport
Another good reason to be in your union
July 14th, 2011 · Comments Off on Another good reason to be in your union · Politics
Businesses around here are taking a bit of a beating already, especially the pharmaceutical industry, with SKB in Crawley and Novertis in Horsham both closing sites. A lot of the workers are going to find it hard to find jobs in the same industry without looking well outside the immediate area. The Novartis staff have […]
Tags: Trade Unions
Back to life (back to reality)
November 3rd, 2010 · 1 Comment · Politics
Now that the moving mostly out of the way I am starting to dip a toe back into the outside world. Even acknowledging that there is an outside world is a step forward I suppose. On reflection, ‘dipping a toe in’ is not quite right and ‘diving in at the deep end’ might be more […]
Tags: Stop the cuts·Trade Unions
Here comes the sun
July 19th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Politics
Jayne and I went down to Dorset for the day today to see the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival. I checked the weather forecast on the BBC yesterday and it gave variations of ‘white cloud’, ‘grey cloud’ and ‘black cloud’ throughout the day, with maximum temperatures of about 18C. What we actually got was bright sunshine, mostly […]
Tags: Dorset·Photos·Trade Unions
Intervention
April 4th, 2010 · Comments Off on Intervention · Politics
In Laura Moffatt’s last speech in Parliament she mentioned the many benefits of intervention, which turned out to be a very timely contribution because alst week also saw the publication of a pamphlet called The Red Tape Delusion, which explains the arguments for greater intervention in more detail.
Tags: Trade Unions
Sacked for being a good trade unionist
December 4th, 2009 · 49 Comments · Politics
This is not only a big deal locally, but has been gathering momentum as an issue of much more widespread interest for the general principles involved as well as for the situation of the individual involved. I think it deserves all the publicity it can get! One way to sum it up is that a […]
Tags: Medicine/Health·NHS·Trade Unions
Meeting Mandelson
November 13th, 2009 · Comments Off on Meeting Mandelson · Politics, Work
Today was the long-awaited official opening of the new site where I work. Personally I have been in the new buildings for just over a year, but the industrial building with all the labs and test and manufacturing facilities took longer to finish, and now the company has decided that enough of our operations have […]
Tags: Crawley·Trade Unions
Money in the Labour movement
November 5th, 2009 · Comments Off on Money in the Labour movement · Politics
Money is as important to the various organisations within the Labour movement as it is to any capitalist entity. Well, maybe not exactly: it is not chased or accumulated for what it is, but it is very much appreciated for what it can do, and necessary. No point having hundreds of willing volunteers to deliver […]
If at first you don’t succeed, get up early
October 31st, 2009 · Comments Off on If at first you don’t succeed, get up early · Politics
Following my failed previous efforts to support the striking Royal Mail workers I took the rather drastic and extreme step of getting up before 6am on a Saturday. This ludicrous tactic worked and I met with the workers who were manning the picket line. They did mention how several other members of Horsham Labour Party […]
Tags: Horsham·Royal Mail·Trade Unions
