GLOBAL trade unions welcomed yesterday the revelations of corporate tax avoidance in the Panama Papers leak.
International Transport Workers’ Federation general secretary Stephen Cotton drew the link between Panama’s position as a tax haven and a maritime flag of convenience.
“And who pays the price? Seafarers, who are subject to poor conditions and lower wages because they’re at the mercy of a system that allows for minimal regulation and the acquisition of cheap labour.”
Enduring myths blame print unions for their own destruction – but TONY BURKE argues that the Wapping dispute was a calculated assault by Murdoch on organised labour, which reshaped Britain’s media landscape and casts a long shadow over trade union rights today
JOE GILL appreciates a lucid demonstration of how capital today is an outgrowth of the colonial economy
MARTYN GRAY asks TUC congress to endorse measures that would help stop the present exploitation of seafarers
In the run-up to the Communist Party congress in November ROB GRIFFITHS outlines a few ideas regarding its participation in the elections of May 2026


