Cashing in: RMT boss Mick Cash’s “telephone-number” salary sparks outrage as Britain’s commuters face three-pronged strike attack August 11, 2016 The union boss at the centre of a three-pronged attack on Britain’s commuters and holidaymakers earned £137,344 last year, outraging MPs and grassroots campaigners. RMT general secretary Mick Cash received a near seven per cent increase in salary and pension in 2015, at £8,900, for leading Britain’s 15th largest trade union. By comparison, Len McCluskey, [...]
Sorry, Prime Minister: Legislation won’t end excess in the boardroom July 19, 2016 A key element of our new Prime Minister’s platform is to curb what she perceives to be boardroom excesses. “It is not anti-business to suggest that big business needs to change”, she said. One of her proposals is to allow employee and worker representatives to sit on company boards, a suggestion which has not gone [...]
Business groups hit out at RMT’s Eurostar strike August 10, 2016 The business community has slammed a union behind the strike scheduled to take place on Eurostar. The RMT union has said its members will strike from 12 to 15 and 27 to 29 August, while TSSA members will strike on 14, 15, 28 and 29 August. The news comes after RMT said its members on Virgin [...]
From job losses to security threats: Five myths about global trade October 3, 2016 Despite trade accounting for nearly six in every ten pounds of global economic output last year, anti-trade rhetoric is spreading on both sides of the Atlantic. This has been noticeable during the US Presidential elections as well in Europe, where a growing backlash against the EU-US trade deal, the Transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) has reflected [...]
Heathrow expansion will gift the whole UK a skills renaissance October 31, 2016 I’m very pleased to have been invited to chair the Heathrow Skills Taskforce, and to take on the challenge of developing the skills needed to make Heathrow expansion an inclusive training and employment opportunity for Britain as a whole. The Taskforce is made up of experts from schools, colleges and universities as well as employer and [...]
It’s pure hubris for politicians to think they can “rebalance” the economy September 8, 2016 Theresa May is reviving the idea of interventionist industrial strategy, and wants to “rebalance” the economy. Many people are jumping on the bandwagon. They should jump right off again. Even the more mature of today’s politicians were still in the school playground when these ideas last made waves. In the 1950s and 1960s, UK governments [...]
UK national train strike: Network Rail issues legal challenge to TSSA bank holiday Monday walkout ballot as union votes to join RMT workers May 20, 2015 Negotations between business leaders and unions are rarely cordial, but the gloves have really come off in the row over the rail workers' strike this weekend. Network Rail has issued a legal challenge to the union calling for a strike over the bank holiday, claiming there are “numerous defects” in the ballot. Read [...]
Southern Railway strike: The RMT is ignoring the interests of commuters and its members May 18, 2016 For the second time in four weeks, the RMT union is striking on the Southern Railway network today, causing havoc for the 300,000 people we carry on their commute every day. This pointless and unnecessary dispute will doubtless infuriate every one of our customers. And I don’t blame them one bit. I share their frustration. People [...]
Rail strikes are cancelled after new pay offer June 1, 2015 NETWORK rail workers called off a planned strike yesterday after receiving a revised deal. Workers were set to walk out for 24 hours on Thursday, followed by a two-day strike next week, after rejecting two pay deals. But commuters across the country can now breathe a sigh of relief after the strike was called off [...]
RMT union members balloting over First Great Western train strike June 15, 2015 Rail workers union RMT has issued a ballot on potential strike action following a dispute with First Great Western bosses. Read more: RMT is balloting London Underground members over a new strike The ballot for strike action and action short of a strike for all First Great Western members is underway over what the union describes [...]