Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
THE bosses of the Delfin English language school in London must have thought that they had finally dealt with their uppity teachers when they made them all redundant just before Christmas 2019.
Who were these workers to expect holiday pay, paid meetings, paid prep time, paid training and anything other than zero-hours contracts and statutory sick pay?
Getting rid of them all during the most expensive time of year would treat them right for involving themselves with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and forming the TEFL Workers’ Union.
The election offers a critical chance to shape the future of pay, care and community provision in Wales, says Unison’s JESS TURNER
CWU leader DAVE WARD tells Ben Chacko a strategy to unite workers on class lines is needed – and sectoral collective bargaining must be at its heart
Seventeen years after losing her council job due to needing endometriosis surgery, Michelle Dewar’s campaign for paid menstrual leave gained 50,000 signatures in a week, reports ELIZABETH SHORT
Ben Chacko talks to RMT leader EDDIE DEMPSEY about how the key to fixing broken Britain lies in collective sectoral bargaining, restoring unions’ ability to take solidarity strike action and bringing about the much-vaunted ‘wave of insourcing’


