Charlie Alford

Polanski backs Fire Union as climate-stoked wildfires ravage UK

Post author:Willem Moore
Post published:14 July 2026
Post last modified:15 July 2026

It’s getting harder and harder for climate deniers to refute what’s happening to the planet. Well – that’s not true – these people are liars who will literally say anything. It is getting harder for them to convince anyone they’re correct, though. The latest example of the climate catastrophe making itself obvious is the record-breaking heat we’ve experienced, and the inevitable wildfires which followed. The Fire Brigades Union have spoken out about how the situation affects them, with Greens leader Zack Polanski supporting them: The climate crisis is not a distant threat. It's here. And it's happening now. And our Fire…

Significant successes for PAME trade union activists in critical battles in Greece

Post author:The Canary
Post published:6 July 2026
Post last modified:7 July 2026

Two important battles that were underway in Greece’s trade union movement have been completed with significant successes for PAME (the All Workers Militant Front). This has sent a hopeful message in the effort to change the balance of forces against employer-led and government-controlled trade unionism. At the Labour Centre of Evia, in a region with a significant concentration of factories and workers, the workers and their trade unions reaffirmed their confidence in the forces of PAME, which in previous years had stood at the forefront of organising the struggle. Despite the offensive of the employers, their mechanisms and the forces of…

Union bosses’ fossil activism makes an enemy of the global working class

Post author:Cameron Baillie
Post published:25 June 2026
Post last modified:25 June 2026

Sharon Graham is the general secretary of Unite, the trade union. However, with rogue comments this week in defence of British fossil fuel interests, she appears to be making an enemy of the global working class. She’s joined by GMB chief Gary Smith, who’s been briefing the Times about net-zero ‘madness’. As the UK awaits the coronation of Makerfield MP Andy Burnham — and, perhaps more importantly, his cabinet-in-waiting — Ed Miliband’s name crops up repeatedly. This is hardly surprising, since Miliband has served different roles on Labour’s front benches, including as leader, for much of two decades. Miliband’s core commitment is…

Union movement’s Beckett’s X account hacked

Post author:Skwawkbox
Post published:12 June 2026
Post last modified:13 June 2026

The X account of Howard Beckett, the popular former Unite general secretary candidate, has been taken over by hackers. The culprits may to be aligned with the Israeli occupation, of which Beckett is a staunch opponent. However, they are continuing to put out watered-down versions of Beckett’s usual output in an apparent attempt to fool followers. The account has also posted ‘crypto’ content, a topic in which he has never shown an interest. Unite — Unauthorised Complaints about the crypto posts have succeeded in having those removed, but Beckett has still been unable to regain access of his account. Those who…

Rebecca Long-Bailey’s union speech is a rallying cry for the working class

Post author:Maddison Wheeldon
Post published:10 June 2026
Post last modified:10 June 2026

MP Rebecca Long Bailey recently spoke at the conference for the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union and delivered a fierce rebuke to what the Labour Party has become under Keir Starmer. Referring to the murkiness of Peter Mandelson’s appointment, and the way in which the party has forgotten working class people, Long-Bailey insisted the party must remember and revive its trade union values. Her calls coincide with millionaire Nigel Farage telling unions to “ditch Labour” and affiliate with his party which only truly seeks to benefit its vested interests — the super-rich. These are the highlights from her address… Long-Bailey’s wish…

Union leaders support Ash Field Academy strikers

Post author:The Canary
Post published:5 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

Support staff at Ash Field Academy in Leicester were on strike from 3-5 June. This is part of a campaign to demand the reinstatement of victimised union rep Tom Barker. Barker was suspended on 30 October 2025. After more than seven months, three separate investigations, and five investigation meetings, Discovery Schools Academy Trust [DSAT], which runs Ash Field, is still refusing to reinstate Barker. Barker was suspended just three working days after UNISON members voted to strike over staffing cuts. Andrea Egan, UNISON’s general secretary, was in attendance at the Thursday 4 June picket. Addressing the strikers, Egan said: Tom has…

European Union has policy of double standards when dealing with the Palestinian cause

Post author:Charlie Jaay
Post published:5 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

In January 2024, the EU established sanctions against individuals and entities supporting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It has now broadened these sanctions to also target members of Hamas’ Political Bureau, known as the ‘Politburo’. EU extends Hamas sanctions to include 10 political members According to the EU, the Politburo is a decision-making body, so its members are “responsible for violent actions carried out by Hamas.” 10 members now find themselves sanctioned. Measures include travel bans and the: freezing of all funds and economic resources belonging to, owned, held or controlled by, members of the Politburo. This decision comes as the Israeli…

Oxford Union condemns Uygur/ Piker visa cancellation but its own hands are dirty

Post author:Skwawkbox
Post published:2 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

The Oxford Union (OU) has issued a statement condemning the Starmer government for cancelling the entry visas of US anti-genocide speakers Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker. The pair had been scheduled to speak at an OU debate and were barred by Starmer for their speech against Israel’s genocide and other crimes. But its own free speech record is anything but spotless. The government’s action to please the UK Israel lobby is a disgrace, if an entirely unsurprising one. In a post on X, OU president, Arwa Elrayess, said it would proceed with the event. She added that the cancellation was a…

GMB latest union to abuse workers as branch secretaries go on strike

Post author:Skwawkbox
Post published:1 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

GMB branch secretaries have told the union to “practice what you preach” as they strike for pay and job security. The dispute is the latest in a woeful surge of unions abusing their staff while claiming to represent workers. ‘GMB’s chutzpah is unbelievable’ The branch secretaries say they are being bullied by the union’s management, threatened with summary dismissal and often paid below the legal minimum wage. They are demanding that the union engage in “serious talks” to resolve the dispute. Further strike action is scheduled for Friday 5 June. Their spokesperson, Alex Mitchell, has accused the union of “unbelievable chutzpah”…

Shocking trade union poll is terrible news for Starmer’s Labour

Post author:Ed Sykes
Post published:1 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

A new poll has shown Keir Starmer’s Labour Party is rapidly losing the support of trade unionists. And it seems to be the billionaire-backed Thatcherites and ex-Tories of Reform who are making the most of Labour’s collapse. Trade unionists overwhelmingly say ‘Labour has lost touch’ Right-wing pollster JL Partners, whose co-founders have deep roots in the Conservative Party, asked 1,002 trade union members about political parties and leaders. And although 48% of the members who’d voted in the 2024 general election said they’d opted for Labour, only 28% said they would do the same today. Reform, meanwhile, went up from 16%…

Union pushes to make workplace sexual harassment reportable as a safety risk

Post author:Maddison Wheeldon
Post published:27 May 2026
Post last modified:8 June 2026

The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) have been pushing forward with the ‘End Not Defend’ campaign to make sexual harassment in the workplace a reportable harm under health and safety regulations. Responding to a recent consultation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – which focused on necessary changes to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) – the union has called out the HSE’s failure to address this “critical and longstanding gap in the UK’s workplace safety framework”. Highlighting that sexual harassment has been excluded in the HSE consultation, the BFAWU state: This omission is…