Issue 116
Mar – Apr 2020
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Working out where we go from here The outcome of the general election last year means Scotland enters yet another critical period in its modern history and its continuing search for a just and decent social democratic society. Though politics is about much more than just constitutional options, it is becoming increasingly clear to many […]
It won’t be ‘business as usual’ as Rozanne Foyer leads the STUC to get its ‘business’ done I begin my role as General Secretary in challenging times. The rise of right-wing populism across the developed world is terrifying. But it is a symptom of the distrust that many people have in our economic and political […]
Mike Kirby surveys the terrain on which the battle to defend public services and their workers will be fought The famous adage, originating from Marx (Karl not Groucho) that ’we make our own history but not in circumstances of our own choosing’ retains its relevance today. Few, indeed, are the trade unionists who would have […]
Pat Rafferty lays out what governments can do but only if they are pushed to do so Scotland is being hit with job losses, factory closures and firms going bust. Unite has been involved in a long line of fights to save jobs including the Caley rail depot, Michelin (Dundee), RBS branches, Jamie Oliver restaurants […]
Larry Flanagan lifts the lid on how the EIS is defending teacher, lecturers and education As a Scottish education union, the EIS operates in a relatively unique situation given that education is a wholly devolved area for the Scottish Parliament, with New Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (New JNCHES) being the only UK-wide […]
Stewart Forrest outlines what Usdaw is doing to fight the jobs and violence crisis in retail Usdaw is one of Scotland’s largest unions, with members mainly working in retail. We also have significant membership within road transport, distribution, food manufacturing and call centre operations. In recent years, the retail sector crisis has devastated many high […]
Cat Boyd shows how the PCS union is preparing to fight further austerity Austerity has done more to reshape Britain than any policy programme since Thatcher. Yet by last December’s election, barely a single politician was speaking up in its defence. Labour built its campaign on a promise to end it. The SNP boasted of […]
Denise Christie shows how the FBU is fighting back and calls for coordinated action to support sister unions There have been many articles written since the crushing defeat for our movement at the General Election. Trade unionists pounded the street and campaigned for the most radical and progressive manifesto we have seen in decades from […]
Mary Senior does the maths and comes up with the right answers in the fight for fair pay and pensions The University and College Union (UCU) is in the midst of two bitter industrial disputes: the first on the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pension, a long running battle to defend the pension scheme from further […]
Mick Cash lays out the reasons for the Tories’ new assault on striking and how to beat it In the run up to the 2019 General Election, the Conservatives, apparently not satisfied with the draconian restrictions imposed by their Trade Union Act 2016, made clear their intention to further curtail the right of transport workers […]
Andy Hogg says while the experience in Scotland has been different there is still the need for basic rights There are few unions that understand more the impact of losing the right to strike than the POA. There are, perhaps, even fewer who can point to the chasm of disadvantage that persists in an industrial […]
Stephen Smellie lay out the critical questions the left needs to be asking of the independence option A second independence referendum will take place. Maybe not this year or even next but it will take place. With current opinion polls now giving independence a small majority, there is a strong possibility that the referendum will […]
Kenny MacAskill offers a welcoming hand to those now seeing independence as a credible option Boris Johnson’s rejection of a Section 30 Order was hardly unexpected and the First Minister never possessed a Plan B as some hoped. So where now for the independence left? In many ways, rather than being seen as a set-back, […]
Jim Sillars says independence supporters are woefully under-prepared for a federated frontal-assault Nicola Sturgeon has taken those in the independence movement into a mental and emotional trench. I had hoped they would clamber out of the trench when her speech on 31 January 2020 indicated acceptance of reality – no indyref2 this year. But they […]
Alex Rowley explains why Scottish Labour supports a revised devolution settlement Scotland remains divided on the question of independence, but on the question of holding a second referendum anytime soon, polls have shown a consistent and overwhelming majority saying now is not the time. The Scottish Labour Party recognises the sovereign right of the Scottish […]
Stuart Graham lays out what needs to be done in the unions in the run up to the November conference The lack of urgency among unions about the climate crisis is concerning. In mid-February, after a fortnight of yellow/amber weather warnings causing widespread damage and flooding, increasingly what is happening on the news is likely […]
Gaza (2019), directors: Garry Keane and Andrew McConnell Reviewed by Jackie Bergson The 25km by 7km Gaza ‘strip’ represents one of the worst conflicted places on earth. It is globally renowned for its political and religious unrest and its consequent, war-torn existence. In our own lifetimes, news broadcasts have informed us about its 1967 occupation […]
Philip Taylor and Sian Moore with Robert Byford, Cabin Crew Conflict –The British Airways Dispute 2009-11, Pluto Press, 2019, pp224, £20.00, 9780745339917 Reviewed by Dave Sherry This book is about one of the bitterest industrial disputes in recent times. In 2009, cabin crew, members of British Airways Stewards and Stewardesses Association (BASSA), part of Unite, […]
Early March 2020, Australia. We are now in the third month of the year of 2020, and it is fairly safe to say that the world is probably in a worse state than it was twelve months ago. Despite this, I keep hearing the same pedantic argument about whether 2020 marks the start of a […]