There have been penalties for those who looked the other way when Epstein was convicted of child sex offences and decided to maintain relationships with the financier — but not for the British ambassador to Washington, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES
Every worker has a right to a safe workplace
Public and Commercial Services Union national president FRAN HEATHCOTE reports on the union’s four-day PCS strike action at Swansea DVLA earlier this week
Labour’s new Treasury unit will ‘challenge unnecessary regulation’ by forcing nominally independent bodies like Ofwat to bend to business demands — exactly what Iain Anderson’s corporate clients wanted, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
DR DYLAN MURPHY looks at a Big Brother Watch report which exposes the government as an enabler of DWP secret spying on benefit claimants
The EU faces a critical choice: will it remain in the shadow of an increasingly unreliable US ally, or will it forge its own path in a multilateral world where co-operation with China is essential, asks MARC VANDEPITTE as leaders meet for the EU-China Summit
A lot of discussion about how the left should currently organise – including debate on whether the Green Party is a useful vehicle for advance – runs the risk of refusing to engage with or learn from the reasons the left was defeated previously, argues KEVIN OVENDEN
For Egypt trade trumps the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians, but how long can the country’s ‘misleaders’ – and others in the region – continue their indifference against the popular will of their own people, asks ROGER McKENZIE
THIS week PCS members at the Driving Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea took strike action for four days in response to management’s refusal to take their health and safety concerns seriously.
During the first Covid-19 lockdown, management adopted a cautious approach, ensuring attendance at the huge site that employs thousands of workers was kept to a minimum.
But by mid-2020, management — no doubt under departmental pressure from Transport Minister Grant Shapps — had bought into the Tory government’s mantra that everything would soon be back to normal and a rapid escalation of returning staff to the workplace began.
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Civil servants are worried that work they are being asked to undertake may be contributing to potential Israeli war crimes – and PCS will back back any member facing disciplinary action for refusing to work on arms export licences, writes general secretary FRAN HEATHCOTE
Public and Commercial Services union leader FRAN HEATHCOTE warns the Chancellor not to take an axe to the Civil Service – and points to measures that would genuinely improve the public sector
As the government ploughs ahead with £3 billion in welfare cuts, arbitrary office-return mandates, and below-inflation pay rises, women will bear the brunt through deepening poverty and increased caring burdens, argues FRAN HEATHCOTE
There is no stronger economy without the stronger wages that provide extra disposable income, which is why workers – including civil servants – must have their pay boosted in real terms, along with restored union rights and insourcing, says FRAN HEATHCOTE
