Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Welsh low-wage woes fuelled by zero-hours working culture
KAREN WILLIAMS and JEAN JENKINS outline the problems of so-called ‘flexible’ employment contracts which only benefit
the bosses
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
IN THE second decade of the 21st century, against a backdrop of austerity policies and attacks on public services, a new global elite flourishes while millions of workers exist from day to day in conditions of precarious employment and financial insecurity.
On the international stage it has become plain that paid work outside the home is no guarantee of the longer-term economic and social upgrading of the worker.
In Britain, current research shows us that alongside the ills of unemployment, in-work poverty is now a significant feature of contemporary society. Yet, in theory, and according to sections of the popular media which demonise those forced onto welfare benefits, work is a pathway to social inclusion, to individual dignity, to a better income and a better life.
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The election offers a critical chance to shape the future of pay, care and community provision in Wales, says Unison’s JESS TURNER
Labour must not allow unelected members of the upper house to erode a single provision of the Employment Rights Bill, argues ANDY MCDONALD MP
