THE Scottish Trade Union Congress has unanimously backed calls to defend vital postal services and workers. Concerns have been growing among workers and customers that the universal service obligation (USO) on Royal Mail could be under threat. The USO guarantees a one-price-goes-anywhere service across the UK six days a week, but despite assurances from the then …
Read More »Princess Royal lays wreath in remembrance of those killed in Lockerbie bombing – The Irish News
The Princess Royal has paid her respects to those who lost their lives in the Lockerbie bombing which happened 35 years ago. On December 21 1988, a bomb exploded on Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt to Detroit as it flew above the Dumfries and Galloway town, killing all 259 …
Read More »Aw that Public ownership matters
THIS week saw the fourth anniversary of lockdown. Rightly, these moments will take people back to the countless thousands who lost their lives while one government partied and another took stock of the constitutional possibilities. They should also bring to mind the millions of workers providing essential services even during …
Read More »Charles III maintains royal tradition at Highland Games event
BRAEMAR, United Kingdom, Sept 2 — Britain’s King Charles III today attended his first annual Highland Games in Braemar as monarch, a traditional highlight of his late mother Queen Elizabeth II’s summer visits to Scotland. The Braemar Gathering, near the British sovereign’s remote Balmoral retreat in northeast Scotland, is always …
Read More »Trades Union and Socialist Coalition to contest by-election in Rutherglen and Hamilton West
THE Trades Union and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) has announced that it will contest the widely predicted by-election in Rutherglen and Hamilton West. A by-election in the seat appears inevitable after the decision by Westminster’s standards committee to suspend Margaret Ferrier for 30 days following her conviction for breach of Covid-19 regulations. But …
Read More »Paisley’s radicals to be brought back to life
A NEW project aims to bring Paisley’s radical history back to life as part of a £45 million refurbishment of the town’s museum. About 20,000 people rallied in the Scottish town in September 1819 to show solidarity with workers killed at Manchester’s Peterloo massacre a month prior. When protesters refused to have banners and flags confiscated by …
Read More »Royal Mail clashes with union over ‘unacceptable behaviour’ on picket lines
R oyal Mail has clashed with the main union representing postal workers as they staged another strike in the long-running dispute over jobs, pay and conditions. The company said it has written to Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), claiming a pattern of “wholly unacceptable behaviour” …
Read More »FACTBOX-Energy crisis and inflation drives UK workers to industrial action
Britain is in the midst of widespread industrial unrest as workers across the economy struggling with the rising cost of living resort to strike action in disputes over pay and conditions. Below are some of the industries in which trade unions have undertaken or threatened strike action: RAILWAYS Large sections …
Read More »Deliveries and collections will ‘shut down’ during mail strike, union warns
A ll Royal Mail deliveries and collections will be “shut down” across Scotland during four days of strike action, a union has warned. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said services will be disrupted as a result of the industrial action, set to take place on August 26 and 31 as …
Read More »Government changes law to help plug staffing gaps caused by strikes
B usinesses can now provide skilled agency workers to plug staffing gaps caused by strike action under changes to the law coming into force on Thursday, the Government has announced. Ministers said they have worked at speed to repeal trade union laws that restrict employment businesses from providing temporary agency …
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