PCS general secretary FRAN HEATHCOTE explains why opposing war is inseparable from defending jobs, wages and public services – and why readers should come to the London Peace Conference on Saturday June 20
I AM currently working with apprentices who were put on furlough but received no wages for two months and those who were informed they were no longer required via a text message or email — and then told they were not due any payments.
The current situation with the furlough scheme coming to an end will result in a larger number of apprentices losing their jobs by these very same tactics. The CITB have just issued figures that show 37 per cent of their apprentices are still sitting on furlough.
Unite has launched a campaign to lobby both governments to extend the furlough scheme for apprentices who are still awaiting a return to work, or worse — a notification of redundancy when their employers have to start contributing.
Years of underfunding are eroding Scotland’s local services and deepening inequality in communities, says VINCE MILLS
Royal Mail’s job quality has plummeted, with gruelling hours, two-tier pay, intense surveillance, and poor work-life balance for postal workers — but our union is fighting back, writes CWU branch secretary JOHN CARSON
As bus builder Alexander Dennis threatens Falkirk closure and Grangemouth faces ruthless shutdown by tax exile Jim Ratcliffe, RICHARD LEONARD MSP warns that global corporations must be resisted by a bold industrial strategy based on public ownership


