Unison director of organising KEVIN LUCAS explains the Organising to Win strategy, its successes to date and key tests on the union’s horizon
Latest editorial
It’s time to stop the abuse of workers just doing their job
OLIVIA BLAKE MP explains why she is putting forward a parliamentary motion this week to make verbal or physical abuse of all front-line workers a criminal offence
Bus drivers are among those public-facing workers who have seen an increase in harassment
Young workers do want to get involved in Unison, and where that is enabled we see growth in workplace power, argue Unison North West Young Members co-chairs ZAIHERA CHAUDHRY and IAN CAULFIELD
British military spending is among the highest in the world, diverts scarce resources from far better causes and fuels international conflict. It’s time we made different choices, argues LIZ PAYNE
Trade unions, trades councils and community organisations must work together to build lasting solidarity and resistance to the far right, argues DREW GILCHRIST
Animal metaphors are testament to delight in the non-human world and what we hope and wish for human freedom, argue ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT"
Economists estimate extreme poverty could be drastically reduced for a fraction of global defence spending, yet military budgets continue to expand year on year, says JON TRICKETT MP, ahead of the Stop the War International Conference on Saturday
IT’S 2020, or early 2021. You wake up in the morning, turn on the radio and hear the latest horrific stories of the pandemic — the rising infection rates, the shortages of PPE, and the news of more and more people, like you, who have been hospitalised by the virus.
Perhaps you work in a supermarket, or you’re a bus driver, or a teacher, or a care worker, or any one of the countless public-facing workers that have kept the country moving through the pandemic.
That work has put you in the firing line, and you’ve felt a constant fear of exposure to a virus that’s torn through your community — that at any time you might contract or pass on to your friends, your family, or the people you love. No wonder that 84 per cent of retail staff say the pandemic has damaged their mental health.
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EDDIE DEMPSEY explains why the RMT is calling for urgent action against assaults on staff and passengers on our public transport system
Incoming Usdaw general secretary JOANNE THOMAS talks to Ben Chacko about workers’ rights, Labour and how to arrest the decline of the high street
