TUC general secretary PAUL NOWAK speaks to the Morning Star’s Berny Torre about the increasing frustration the trade union movement feels at a government that promised change, but has been too slow to bring it about
Rail privatisation isn’t working
RMT president ALEX GORDON says privatised railways stand exposed as unable to deliver safe, reliable public transport, or the modal shift from road to rail that our planet needs
The first named train as part of the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) Azuma fleet on the East Coast route, is liveried at Bounds Green Depot in London, May 15, 2023
DIANE ABBOTT exposes the misconceptions, rumours and downright lies perpetrated around immigration issues
With 12,000 fewer teachers since 2010 and dwindling resources, Scotland’s schools desperately need investment to support diverse learners rather than empty promises from politicians, writes ANDREA BRADLEY
Reversing outsourcing is the pre-election promise the government must honour, says Unison general secretary CHRISTINA McANEA
EMAN ABU ZAYED reminisces about the perilous time her family and neighbours endured in northern Gaza and how they were forced, in fear of their lives, to flee south
The EIS president who defended Marxist politics in the 1980s fought Thatcherite educational policies while organising Teachers for Peace rallies and ensuring Morning Star circulation in Scotland’s pit villages and factories, writes JOHN FOSTER
PRIVATE companies now run less of our rail network than at any time since Tory rail privatisation began in 1993.
Of 17 passenger train operators across Britain, seven are run by the Department for Transport’s Operator of Last Resort or its equivalent in Wales and Scotland, three by foreign state-owned companies, and three by joint ventures that include foreign state-owned companies. Only four train operators are now run by private companies.
Rail privatisation was sold to the public as a way to bring competition, innovation and investment from the private sector. A total illusion, of course.
More from this author
RMT’s former president ALEX GORDON explains why his union supports defence diversification and a just transition for workers in regions dependent on military contracts, and calls on readers to join CND’s demo against nuclear-armed submarines on June 7
RMT president ALEX GORDON exposes the government's bellicose foreign policy
ALEX GORDON details how Stop the War Coalition’s efforts have shaped the TUC’s stance, with motions calling for a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel and workplace action for a ceasefire
ANGELO ALVES is a member of the political committee of the Portuguese Communist Party. He spoke to Alex Gordon on the 50th anniversary of Portugal’s Carnation Revolution of April 25 1974 about the legacy and the struggle of young workers and trade unionists today against Portugal’s latest right-wing government
