Steve Reed’s letter to councils warning against a four-day week is a backward step. Instead of embracing innovation that boosts productivity and staff well-being, he’s clinging to outdated notions of “hard work” = longer hours: www.theguardian.com/business/202...

As we come to the end of a very difficult year I wanted to say a few words about *some* of the issues that, with your help, I will focus on next year. At the top of my list: - Campaign finance reform - Income & wealth inequality  - The rapid deployment of AI - Medicare for All

“The Brotherhood,” as many members affectionately called it, would become a vehicle to educate Black communities about labor unions and an institutional anchor for waging civil rights fights and developing activist pressure tactics, writes Paul Prescod labornotes.org/blogs/2025/1...

Opinion | "Any Health Secretary should be making allies of the workforce, not enemies," writes Andrew Fisher trib.al/PxH4Akx

Though I should add the protections around fire and rehire and zero hours contract are not as robust as I think they should be; nor are the protections in place. In the case of zero hours contracts, they might not come into effect until 2027!

This is good.

Dr Jack Fletcher, the chair of the BMA’s resident doctors sets out the reality that the BMA faces. He accuses the health secretary of “cruel and calculated” behaviour.

BMA members have spoken and so the trade union movement should fully support this strike. The Resident doctors through their demand for more training spaces are trying to end corridor care. Given his refusal to provide those spaces, Wes Streeting is perpetuating such care.

Great to be joined last week by PCS members (love the banner) inc @johnmoloney.bsky.social AGS - who explains in our video why @pcsunion.bsky.social opposes Rosebank. Join them in signing our open letter here: docs.google.com/forms/d/11xy...

DWP can easily give the guarantees that Carrie-May and the members are asking for. Solidarity with the Lincoln strikers.

Trump says it's an A++++ economy. He's right. His billionaire friends have never had it better. If you're a working class person: 👉60% live paycheck to paycheck 👉Grocery prices at record highs 👉Premiums to double for 20+ million The economy must work for all, not just the 1%

Over the coming years, we'll see more and more unions contemplating industrial action over AI and associated technologies.

Despite headlines suggesting a 29% pay rise, the hourly rate for Resident Doctors has only increased from £14.09 to £18.62 over four years for the lowest grade.

The following BMA figures, for last year, illustrate the competition for specialty training posts (number of applicants per available place): A&E: Over 14:1 (5,081 applicants for 357 places, turning away over 4,000 doctors). Psychiatry: Almost 22:1 Anesthesiologists: 12.5:1

This is a very interesting discussion. Of course in the UK we're even further away from considering a general strike or even having coordinated strikes between major unions. Yet in the event of a Reform/Tory government wouldn't such strikes be necessary?

Tonight I and others will joining a CACCTU meeting to discuss what we should be doing in 2026, the year agreed by the TUC as a year of climate activity.

We joined @fossilfreeldn.bsky.social outside DESNZ today to say 'Stop Rosebank' You can sign and share the trade unionists open letter against the mega Rosebank oil field here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... We need climate jobs and a just transition not fossil fuel expansion!

Just received the December edition of Labor Notes. As I said yesterday, in my opinion at least, well worth the subscription.

I subscribe and so have update information on unions in the US. Of particular interest are the debates around what the unions should be doing in relation to Trump, tariffs, ICE raids, union density and union influence. In my view, well worth the money. Maybe you should sign up as well?

Wes Streeting attacked the BMA for going ‘against the wishes’ of its members” and prayed in aid a poll commissioned by DHSC that supposedly showed most residential doctors not supporting strike action. That claim was false.

The FT say of the budget 'A saving grace is that the chancellor has sensibly more than doubled the buffer against her main fiscal rule to balance current spending'. In fact it is estimated that only 20% of the money will go on new measures “actually making people better off”.

Looking through the mass of papers issued with the budget statement and noticed this: 'Delivering a leaner civil service: reducing back-office administration costs by 16% by 2029-30, to save money and focus resources on front line services'. Of course this could have been written by the Tories.

This is a good resource provided by EPSU. We are not alone.

To read about what was said on the last day of PCS' Climate Change Week then please see here: www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/...

The last on-line meeting of PCS' Climate Change Week is today. It's 'Stronger Together: Union-Led Climate Action for Everyone'. It is open to all, including those not in PCS. Starts 12.30 (UK time). Please attend if you can. The link is: eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/ap/t-59584e8...

The fourth on-line meeting of PCS' Climate Change Week is Global Solidarity & COP30. It is open to all, including those not in PCS but who are interested in Green issues. Starts 13.15 today (Thurs). The link is: eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/ap/t-59584e8...

The third on-line meeting of PCS' Climate Change Week is Green Bargaining & Workplace Action. It is open to all, including those not in PCS but who are interested in Green issues. Starts 13.00 (UK time) today (Weds). The link is: eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/ap/t-59584e8...

The second on-line meeting of PCS' Climate Change Week is 'Attacks on Net Zero'. It is open to all, including those not in PCS but who are interested in Green issues. Starts 12.30 today (Tuesday). The link is: eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/ap/t-59584e8...

The first meeting of our Climate Change Week is today at 12.00. The meeting is The Science of Global Warming. It is open to all. To join the meeting please click here: eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/ap/t-59584e8...

The TUC motion was clear 'Individual rights in the workplace can only take us so far – we need a raft of new collective rights and sectoral bargaining agreements, alongside greater cooperation between unions and new models of unionism'.

Regardless of the imperfections of the EU's Minimum Wage Directive, at least it has a policy aim that there should be 80% collective bargaining coverage in each country. Unfortunately the UK Labour government doesn't have the same goal. It's looking for sectorial bargaining in the care sector. Good.

This is an important win for the EU trade union movement. As the ETUC says 'The Court has confirmed all measures related to the promotion of collective bargaining including the requirement for member states to put forward action plans to increase collective bargaining coverage'.

Nursing staff dedicate their lives to caring for others, and too often they are faced with the most appalling hatred and intimidation. The government must stop pandering to dangerous anti-migrant sentiments and employers must prioritise tackling racism. Staff have the right to be safe at work.

Best wishes for the campaign. Scotland does deserve better buses - and cheaper fares or better still free travel. As does England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

As always, solidarity with the BMA. Labour can and should resolve this dispute. But that requires a proper offer.

Returning to the Reform Party. Their deputy leader says “You’re not asking about the much, much bigger issue, right — which is, how long can we carry on offering defined benefit pensions to all public sector workers?

PCS Climate Justice Week is fast approaching (17–21 November), and we’re calling on every branch to take part in this vital campaign if they can. During the week there will be national online meetings. Full details are available here:🔗 www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/...

Danny Kruger says 'It means stopping public sector unions sabotaging the reforms the public rightly demands...the trades unions – they are not there to second-guess the government'. Reform will attack unions. We have been warned. A key task of the unions therefore is to stop Reform.

After promising cuts of over 164,000 civil servants, Mr Kruger goes on to say 'we will be alert to the tricks that were pulled while the Coalition government was cutting Whitehall and freezing pay. What happened was that all the officials who were left just promoted themselves...

Danny Kruger of the Reform Party has set out proposals as to how the country should be run. Over the next few days I will go over some of those. First though, the civil service. He writes 'We want to significantly reduce the headcount of the civil service...

If you can make it to this event please do so. PCS is supporting this demo.

It also drives evictions as private landlords kick out those on housing benefits, to replace them with those who can pay more.

Solidarity with BMA Resident Doctors. A wholly justifiable strike.

So whilst Labour is now saying in the clean energy sector 'we are committed to promoting union recognition and collective bargaining across the sector' it refuses to intervene in the MyCSP dispute.

'More than 420 anti-science bills attacking longstanding public health protections – vaccines, milk safety and fluoride – have been introduced in statehouses across the U.S. this year, part of an organized...campaign to enshrine a conspiracy theory-driven agenda into law'.

From Ed Miliband: '....trade unions are an essential part of a modern workplace. For too long, parts of the clean energy sector have been a union-free zone... we are committed to promoting union recognition and collective bargaining across the sector'.

The UK's new Clean Energy Jobs Plan emphasises strong trade union involvement as "essential" for the sector's growth. The government commits to working in partnership with unions to deliver the projected 400,000 extra jobs by 2030, aiming for high-quality, well-paid work.

The Trump administration censors climate science. Reports from the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative (EDGI) document the swift "erasure" of key federal web pages and data, deliberately limiting public access to vital climate change information.

PCS is supporting this.