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
The lessons of the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders work-in
Half a century ago, 8,000 workers took over four shipyards in Scotland and instead of striking, kept working. JOHN FOSTER previews an event to mark this brave action, which not only saved every job, it turned a period of retreat into a working-class offensive
MASS TURNOUT: 40,000 workers march in Glasgow, August 1971
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
THIS year marks the 50th anniversary of the work-in at Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (UCS) and the Scottish Labour History Society has organised the first event to commemorate it, taking place in Glasgow on Thursday.
Why is it still important to remember this event 50 years on? Principally because the trade union and labour movement can still draw strength and encouragement from its example.
On July 31 1971, 8,000 shipyard workers took possession of the four giant shipyards on the Upper Clyde. For the following 15 months they staged a “work-in.”
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Ahead of a TUC special Congress next weekend to fight Conservative anti-strike laws, JOHN FOSTER looks back to 1969 and 1972 when similar proposals were defeated through class solidarity and painstaking organising work
