THE government’s decision to change immigration rules under which migrant workers could be denied the right to strike is “not going far enough,” Labour said today.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has raised concerns that international staff taking part in recent strikes by university lecturers could have had their visa sponsorship withdrawn — or even have been deported — if they exceeded 20 days’ unpaid absence in a year.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced yesterday that he would be “making changes to the guidance and immigration rules for migrant workers,” which would “add legal strike action to the list of exceptions to the rule on absences from employment without pay for migrant workers.”
The visa system traps workers with abusive employers, creating a vulnerable workforce scared to complain for fear of deportation — that is why we’re campaigning for a ‘common sponsorship’ model instead, writes FAVOUR DAVIDKING
Listening to our own communities and organising within them holds the key to stopping the advance of Reform UK and other far-right initiatives, posits TONY CONWAY
A just transition to Great British Railways and a clean and safe railway for all is not only desirable but also necessary. MARYAM ESLAMDOUST explains
It is only trade union power at work that will materially improve the lot of working people as a class but without sector-wide collective bargaining and a right to take sympathetic strike action, we are hamstrung in the fight to tilt back the balance of power, argues ADRIAN WEIR



