Trade Unions
How can the Tories work with trade unions?
In the latest instalment of WWTD? Boris Johnson has called for ‘Thatcherite zeal’ from the government in standing up to militant trade unions. According to the Sun on Sunday, the… Continue reading
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Michael Gove the evil overlord strikes again
Michael Gove is at it again. Today he’s taken it upon himself to ‘heap further misery’ onto teachers with ‘reckless’ plans that would damage children’s education. At least, that’s what… Continue reading
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Michael Gove’s planned national curriculum is designed to renew teaching as a vocation
Michael Gove’s planned national curriculum, heavily influenced by American reformer E.D. Hirsch, came under strong attack over the weekend. Critics claim that it will de-professionalise teachers. NUT activists and their… Continue reading
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Teachers are demoralised, but parents are protesting
The school holidays are nearly over, so here’s a cheery tale for those returning to the classroom next week. Teachers are demoralised, says a poll [PDF] for the NUT which… Continue reading
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Michael Gove tells heads to dock the pay of ‘militant’ staff
Michael Gove has written to schools across the country telling them that they can deduct a day’s pay from staff who try to disrupt school time by carrying out ‘work… Continue reading
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Do teaching unions not trust head teachers?
Michael Gove had a very good autumn statement: not only did he get £1bn for new free schools and academies, but he also got performance-related pay for teachers. Gone will… Continue reading
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Tata Steel’s job cuts, a tale of 2 press releases
Today brings bad news that Tata Steel is to cut 900 jobs in the UK (at plants in South Wales, North Yorkshire, Teesside and the West Midlands). This is catastrophic… Continue reading
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Trade unions are capitalist, community-minded, and Conservative
Last week there were reports that Unite were going to be offering unemployed people a chance to join their trade union for as little as 50p a week. In doing… Continue reading
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Red Ed’s sponsored walk
At Prime Minister’s Questions this week, David Cameron referred to today’s TUC rally as the ‘most expensive sponsored walk in history’, a joke that the Tories have now taken one… Continue reading
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Credit where credit’s due for Unite’s payday lender challenge
Coffee House isn’t always the greatest friend of the trade unions, but one union made a striking announcement today which demonstrated the good that these bodies can do in society.… Continue reading
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Conservative conference: Robert Halfon admits: ‘I envy socialists’
The Conservative leadership is just starting to tap in to the idea that the next election will be about the ‘strivers’, but Robert Halfon and Priti Patel know all too… Continue reading
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Labour conference: Ed Miliband will attend TUC anti-austerity demo
If we learnt nothing else from this afternoon’s question-and-answer session that Ed Miliband held with delegates, it’s that Labour delegates are quite as eccentric as Liberal Democrat members, if not… Continue reading
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Labour conference: Len McCluskey perks up delegates
Labour delegates were clearly out late last night, as it took them quite a while to get going this morning. It was only when Unite general secretary Len McCluskey took… Continue reading
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Labour conference: Blairite cuckoos hit back at ‘dodo’ union bosses
The Blairite cuckoos so despised by the trade union bosses started singing this evening. After learning that Unite general secretary Len McCluskey wants to ‘kick the New Labour cuckoos out… Continue reading
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Israel is losing the battle in Britain
The simplest way to react to the madder pronouncements of the trade union movement is to dismiss it as so much infantile ‘group think’. Solidarity can be very selective and… Continue reading
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Where Brendan Barber has a point
Brendan Barber’s last speech as General Secretary to the annual TUC Congress in Brighton made a salient point about what politicians can learn about the private sector from the G4S… Continue reading
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Pay study embarrasses teaching unions
The teaching unions like to dismiss talk of introducing regional pay to the public sector as a plan that will hit deprived areas hardest. Their fierce opposition to the plans… Continue reading
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Unqualified teachers haven’t ‘irreparably damaged’ the private sector: why do state schools deserve anything different?
The furore surrounding the news – which James broke on Coffee House this afternoon – that academies will now be able to employ teachers who are not qualified was so brilliantly… Continue reading
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Olympic strike averted
The PCS decision to call off the strike scheduled for tomorrow lessens the chances of a logistical nightmare of a start to the Olympics. It also means that the government’s… Continue reading
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Obstruction overruled
The Spectator’s Schools Revolution conference is being held on Tuesday next week. One of the speakers, Mark Lehain, writes below about his experience setting up a free school. Other speakers… Continue reading
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