Whether by design or default, Lynn Henderson calls for redistribution of the digital dividends Automation, digitalisation and data are the labour movement’s latest buzzwords, and mostly they express a mood of techno-anxiety more than techno-optimism. Perhaps, it’s no surprise to hear workers worrying about their jobs, particularly with forecasts of mass, tech-driven redundancies reported in […]
Jennifer McCarey and Brian Smith explain the organising approach that produced strength from weakness October 2018 saw Scotland’s and Britain’s largest women’s strike for equal pay. It represented a significant change in Scottish union strategies around equal pay because it included a combination of public campaigning and industrial muscle. It provided inspiring images of working […]
Mary Senior outlines the UCU successfully mobilised around pensions We were told that the Trade Union Act 2016 would mean the end of any national UK-wide industrial action. Our crucial lesson from 2018 is that when unions work systematically to get a vote out, when we are organised and put in the ground work, and […]
David Belsey outlines how the EIS is approaching the issue The EIS has had an active couple of years with several successful high-profile campaigns seeking to use the ‘organising’ model of campaigning. Organising is about empowering members, increasing their engagement so that passive members become active members and encouraging them to believe that their actions […]
Denise Christie explains the strategic approach to building from the workplace up 2018 saw the FBU celebrate 100 years of existence (see Scottish Left Review, September/October 2018) and we are proud we have sought to build a campaigning and democratic union specifically for our service – the Fire and Rescue Service (F&RS). We continue that […]
Caroline Sewell explains the band didn’t just play on but reached out to new members with new messages The past year has seen the Musicians’ Union (MU) and our members endure potentially existential threats to their professional survival. Whether this has come from Brexit or cuts to instrumental music tuition in schools, this has been […]
Mick Cash explains how a campaign was won and then had to be re-instated on human waste on the tracks How would you feel if you went to work knowing human excrement could be sprayed on you as you did your job? That’s exactly what railway track workers in Scotland have had to put up […]
Peter Hunter outlines how UNISON has been pushing ahead on the organising front UNISON has a growing confidence in the power of itself as a union. Membership in Scotland is growing and our numbers across Britain have increased to a 20 year high. But our confidence isn’t based on numbers alone. Confidence in our industrial […]
Matt Kerr recounts the moves the CWU has made to gear up to the challenges the union faces The last year has been a busy one for the CWU, but more importantly, a successful one as we further hone our campaigning, industrial and political strategies. The previous year had seen the CWU successfully deliver a […]
Exposing the extent of undercover policing in Scotland, ‘Andrea’ renews the call for a public inquiry The undercover policing scandal has been unfolding since 2010. As victims of political policing in Scotland, we seek the truth as to why we were spied upon and why our lives were so cruelly disrupted. We have asked for […]