1 April 2015

Working in the NHS: Low pay, cuts and stress

As an NHS worker I feel as though I have been hit from all directions for the last five years. The nursing unions Unison and RCN have accepted this year's paltry 1% pay rise

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Clapton bus garage, photo Paul Mattsson

18 February 2015

"Driver, why are you late?"

When I was new to bus driving, it wound me up when bus controllers asked: "Driver, why are you late?" I'm driving a busy bus in lots of traffic and the timetable is almost impossible to keep to

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2 August 2014

CWU must oppose 'performance management'

In BT the CWU is sending out yet another survey on whether union members feel that the application of performance management has improved

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23 April 2014

Zero-hour contracts damage your health

A recent report by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills found that zero-hour contracts or flexible working generally can have a damaging effect on a worker's mental health, causing anxiety and other stress related disorders

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30 January 2013

Life as an NHS worker: bullying and stress

A recent survey of staff in the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust found a high level of dissatisfaction among mental health staff working for the Trust...

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7 November 2012

The scandal of death at work

Two fatal incidents on separate construction sites in London have again cast the spotlight on safety in the construction industry...

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19 September 2012

Workers die on tower cranes - Con-Dems cut safety regulations

There have been several recent protests about the number of workers who have died or been injured while working on tower cranes, writes Jane James.

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12 September 2012

'Red tape' bonfire puts workers at more risk

Ten years' ago the likelihood of a workplace inspection by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) watchdog was calculated at once every 8.4 years...

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18 April 2012

Them & Us

Trop cher: Britain's privatised, publicly subsidised, overcrowded rail network is also the most expensive in Europe...

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6 October 2010

Warning: this government could seriously damage your safety

Reader's comment: Lord David Young's report on reforming health and safety laws is due to be released as The Socialist goes to press...

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10 February 2010

Armed forces: Release Lance-Corporal Joe Glenton

JOE GLENTON, a Lance-Corporal in the logistics corps, was always described by his superiors as a model soldier, writes Christian Bunke.

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29 November 2007

Construction bosses found guilty

Trainee scaffolder Steven Burke was 17 years old when he died working on unsafe scaffolding at Davyhulme waste-water treatment plant... By Hugh Caffrey, Manchester

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13 September 2007

Bosses get away with murder

On 28 August, two firms ICL Plastics and ICL tech were fined a paltry £400,000 after admitting four charges of negligence, which resulted in the deaths of nine workers... By Liam O Connolly, Glasgow

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10 August 2007

Bosses get away with murder

One law for the rich...: BUDGET CUTS at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE - part of the Department for Work and Pensions) mean that a growing number of major accidents at work are not being investigated...

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3 May 2007

The scandal of HSE cuts

THE NUMBER of workers killed in construction accidents last year rose by 25%, but the number of companies convicted of offences following the deaths of construction workers has fallen by nearly three quarters, a report by bui...

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4 September 2004

Stress At Work - The Facts

WHILST THE government is content to sit back and watch the right-wing media peddle lies about civil servants, it is well aware of what life is really like for the vast majority of its workforce...

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24 April 2004

"A Lonely Death With No Dignity"

CHRISTOPHER ALDER is one of 81 black people who have died in police custody since 1990 in England and Wales. Christopher's death, however, is unique - his final eleven minutes was shown to millions in BBC's Rough Justice programme...

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18 January 2002

PCS dispute: Support Action For Safety

PUBLIC AND Commercial Services (PCS) union members working in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) took two days of strike action in December 2001 over safety, writes a PCS member.

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