GMB welcomed the Labour Party election manifesto pledges on building an economy that works for working people. 

Paul Kenny GMB General Secretary said “At long last we have a major political party prepared to address and give rights to workers to shield them from exploitation in their workplaces.

Voters are faced with a stark choice - a party governing in the interest of corporate bosses with zero hours contracts and for tax breaks for the wealthy elite or a party seeking to provide rights and protection for working people.”

As of December 2014, the British Steel Pension Scheme had 143,000 members, with 17,004 making up employee members and 91,264 making up pensioner members. As of November 2014, the assets of the scheme were valued at around £13.6 billion and continue to increase..

Paul Kenny, GMB General Secretary, said, “At long last we have a major political party prepared to address and give rights to workers to shield them from exploitation in their workplaces. At long last the damage of zero hours contracts is to be addressed. This news will be welcomed by thousands of people for whom the world of work is a daily lottery. Voters are faced with a stark choice - a party governing in the interest of corporate bosses with zero hours contracts and for tax breaks for the wealthy elite or a party seeking to provide rights and protection for working people. Hopefully David Cameron will find himself on a zero hours contract come 8th May.”

This is the link for the work manifesto: http://www.labour.org.uk/blog/entry/a-better-plan-for-britains-workplaces.

Labour’s plan is based on a simple idea: that Britain only succeeds when working people succeed. The key tests of economic success aren’t statistics. They are the living standards, the security, and the hope for the future of working families. Fundamentally that is about a well-paid and rewarding world of work. For too many people in Britain, working life is characterised by insecurity. This is making it harder for families to make ends meet or balance their work commitments with family life. And it is limiting the ability of young people who struggle to find a decent job that sets them up for a career.

Tim Roache, GMB Regional Secretary and Matt Cordall Trade Union Legal LLPS, Head of Legal Practice jointly signed a full recognition agreement on Friday, 2nd April 2015.

Rehana Azam, GMB National Officer for NHS said, “The electorate will heed this assessment that the NHS performance is deteriorating and the service is in the red as election approaches. The Kings Fund highlights the serious consequences of Tory and Lib Dem mismanagement of the NHS. It makes crystal clear that the government’s chaotic reorganisation has added to the pressures the NHS is now facing. David Cameron’s Health and Social Care Act was a purely ideological vehicle for marketising the NHS. The health service will not recover until this pernicious piece of legislation is scrapped. Only this government could be unaware of the growing NHS crisis. The Kings Fund plainly states that many hospitals are operating at the limits of their capacity. It points to targets missed for waits for A&E, cancer treatment and admission to hospital, to more and more NHS trusts falling into the red, and a host of other indicators of a system under strain.

A press release from the cross-party group of MPs says that is was highly critical of the Construction Workers Compensation Scheme (TCWCS) scheme, but does acknowledge that only those companies who set it up have taken any steps “to remedy the sins of the past”. Talks between the TCWCS and lawyers and unions representing claimants broke down in July 2014 over the amount of money being offered, and the scheme subsequently opened without their support.

Avril Chambers, GMB national officer for school support staff said, “GMB is alarmed that if the additional pressures on schools budgets is not taken seriously and addressed immediately by the incoming Government there will be long term consequences. Cuts will lead to a deterioration of the quality of education our children receive, but also to massive job losses for Teaching Assistants and all other school support staff, all of whom are vital and integral to improving the learning environment and educational outcomes of our next generation.

Newham Council, in partnership with GMB, today (24th March) publish a report called “Pay By The Rules”  which demands that Government allows local authorities to use their local knowledge and expertise to tackle exploitative businesses who fail to pay the National Minimum Wage (NMW). The Labour Party has committed to local enforcement of the NMW being included in their general election manifesto and the report outlines how that can be achieved. The publication of the report coincides with the release by BIS of the names of a further 48 employers named and shamed by BIS for failing to pay the national minimum wage.

Milk supplies to North of England supermarkets of Tesco, Aldi, Morrison and ASDA face disruption unless a 3 day strike by 100 drivers, who recently transferred from Leeds based Arla Foods to haulage company Moran Logistics, is averted. These members voted overwhelmingly for strike action in a dispute over union rights and cuts to pay and conditions. Notice has been given that the strike action will commence at one minute past midnight on Wednesday 1st April until one minute to midnight on Friday 3rd April, i.e.72 hours.