For those who get the FT, there’s a good piece by Simon Kuper today on the spread of Kafala-type two-tier labour market systems to other countries.

Read this recently - it is really good

Just 13k more signatures and the call for a public inquiry into Russian interference has to be debate in Parliament petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...

"By 2025, Brexit had reduced UK GDP by 6% to 8%, with the impact accumulating gradually over time. We estimate that investment was reduced by between 12% and 18%, employment by 3% to 4% and productivity by 3% to 4%" Read the Stanford report: siepr.stanford.edu/publications...

Like 20 speed limit in urban Wales

A reminder of the importance of universities to a local economy. Lancaster's university is fundamental to the area, with the centre already looking rather run down.

Economic growth continued to slow in the third quarter of the year – down from 0.7 per cent in Q1, to 0.3 per cent in Q2 and to just 0.1 per cent in Q3.

Wagemap is a new organization seeking to establish a global standard for the recording and presentation of living wage data to allow international comparison and support social justice campaigning: wagemap.org

Launch of Living Wage Week this morning at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay. David Nash doing the honours

Taking place in Cardiff this afternoon as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science - Running a Local Campaign on Fair, Local and Good Quality Jobs

If you're a member of the National Trust remember to vote for council members by midnight tonight. Use the Quick Vote option. Entryist pressure group Reform Trust is trying to seize control. Stop them Voting is quick and easy if your membership card is at hand secure.cesvotes.com/V3-3-0/nt25/...

📢 Preston City Council has launched a grant scheme to help local SMEs cover the fee for Living Wage Foundation accreditation. If you're a Preston-based SME, check your eligibility and apply here: 🔗 www.preston.gov.uk/article/1110...

💼Job opportunity at Cardiff Business School Research Associate - Nuffield Foundation Research Project 📅Deadline for applications: Wednesday 10 September More information on the project👇 nuffieldfoundation.org/project/musc... Apply here👇 jobs.ac.uk/job/DOH575/r...

Just published as an open access paper by IRJ. An overview of political devolution in the UK and its effects on industrial relations

Work with us! We're on the lookout for a Living Wage Projects Officer who brings experience in employer or business engagement, excels in communication and persuasion, and thrives in collaborative environments. Find out more here: shorturl.at/oZUE6 #LivingWage #Scotland #Glasgow

In Britain, the fast-rising minimum wage is catching up with the bottom rungs of white-collar work. In fact, it appears that a rising number of people who earn annual salaries & don't work in low-paid sectors are now being paid below the legal minimum... www.ft.com/content/5f69...

Cardiff University strikes called off as job cuts paused

Latest contribution to Welsh economic history by my brilliant colleague, Leon Gooberman. Published by University of Wales Press www.uwp.co.uk/book/waging-...

Thousands of people marched through the streets of Barry today in support of Welsh independence

UK universities should be advising students and staff travelling to the US on social media use, what border staff are entitled to seize or search, what to do if detained, and how to keep US colleagues safe, says @petraboynton.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...

Please be one of the remaining 850 signatures if you haven't yet signed. A HUGE THANK YOU!

“ITUC welcomes new ILO living wage programme In a step towards ending the global scandal of poverty pay, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched a new programme that puts the principle of a living wage at the heart of its support to countries.” #LivingWage

Miguel Martinez Lucio (@workequalities.bsky.social) and I have a new edited text out this month on how workplace representation in the UK has changed in recent years. Please order for your libraries bookstore.emerald.com/focusing-or-...

Union members at Cardiff University have announced plans for a marking and assessment boycott on top of strike action in response to hundreds of academic jobs being axed. @julietterowsell.bsky.social reports #AcademicSky

New paper in HRMJ: Unions help make remote work more fair - based on research in the US, Canada, and Germany: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

'Elbows Up, Britain': US products to boycott: Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonald’s, Burger King, Nike, Converse, Levi’s; and tech giants like Apple, Google, Microsoft and Netflix – some of which are harder to avoid than others. bylinetimes.com/2025/04/02/e...

This is really good if anyone fancies reading it

Happy National Minimum Wage day! Today more than 3 million workers get a payrise of £1400 (FT) - plus record increases for younger workers and apprentices So proud.

For anyone wanting to know more about ShareAction, there is an account of its campaign to spread the #LivingWage in our book, The Real Living Wage: Civil Regulation and the Employment Relationship (Oxford University Press).

Some of the companies that didn't pay the minimum wage to some of their workers, until chased by regulators. Staffline Recruitment, Rank Group, Mitchells & Butlers, Easyjet, Greggs, Moss Bros, WH Smith, Lloyds Pharmacy, Marks and Spencer, Argos. Any forget to pay the right amount to bosses?

Don’t visit the US – it just isn’t worth the risks right now

Capitulation vs collusion, from LRB www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/ma...

NEW: Elon Musk’s X has suspended accounts of Turkish opposition groups, suppressing footage of anti-government protests. So, best we share all the footage we can here! This was last night’s massive demo against Erdogan’s government, which follows the arrest of his rival Ekrem İmamoğlu. 🇹🇷 #Turkey

Reform UK would be a disaster for Wales – but its rivals have left the door wide open

Mark Carney: Canada’s new prime minister and Everton fan – with Donald Trump in his sights

I talk about why academics in Cardiff University are angry, why I’ve voted for a strike, and higher education policy more generally from about 15 minutes in. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Its a niche read but hopefully of wider interest

Small blows against the empire - get a Kobo e-reader and buy your books from a bookshop not Amazon. Amazed by how many still don’t. Jeff Bezos is muzzling the Washington Post’s opinion section. That’s a death knell

Our local bookshop, once again in the frame for independent bookstore of the year. Good luck to Mel and the team. It's a brilliant shop www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk

‘Reading is part of my identity’: the woman taking on Goodreads owner Amazon