In the wake of his recent humanitarian visit to Cuba, RICHARD BURGON points to the now urgent need to defend the island’s political sovereignty and its right to self-determination
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Social work on the brink
JOHN STEVENSON explains how World Social Work Day is a chance to defend a crucial profession from intolerable pressure
Thousands of jobs are at risk across higher education, yet government funding appears only when universities can be linked to military objectives, says JO GRADY, in the run-up to the Stop the War International Conference this Saturday
The Wye, Usk, Arrow and Lugg were once treasured for their clean waters – today, pollution and corporate excess are fuelling demands for a return to public ownership, says MARK SEDDON
The new Employment Rights Act is a step forward, but restoring collective bargaining and union power remains essential to tackling insecurity, outsourcing and low pay, says PAUL WHITEHOUSE
Rising support for Farage’s party reflects Labour’s failure to defend working-class living standards or offer a credible alternative to neoliberal decline, says JOSEPH MILLS
Trade unionists are mobilising to support Cuban workers and public services, amid escalating US pressure on the socialist island. RONAN OGILVY explains
MY NAME is John and I’m a social worker. There, I’ve said it. After all, it is World Social Work Day.
It used to be that when you were asked about your job, social workers would say: “I work for the council.” It’s perhaps a reaction to the false media portrayal of council staff as a pile of lazy pen-pushers that more colleagues are now proudly confessing their social work identity.
That’s the problem when you are trying to defend local services. People don’t always know the range of essential services councils provide. When they actually need one of those services, they find resources are cut to the bone.
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