Bath TUC

@strike_map @barnet_unison @bat020 @BathTUC @NotesFrom_Below @unitecomleeds @UnionDrip @DanielKebedeNEU @irrelations @Taj_Ali1 @NSSN_AntiCuts @Kate_RMN @rs21_mcr @ERunswickBMA @UniteEconomy

🚨Reform have gained another MP in Runcorn by a handful of votes. This confirms their threat in British politics. It’s time to get organised to stop Reform UK #StandUpToRacism

8.8 million people in the UK experience anxiety or depression each week. Just 361,000 get PIP for it. PIP isn’t for the ‘worried well’—it’s for those with serious, disabling illness. Labour knows this. They’re counting on the public not to. #WelfareNotWarfare #DisabilityBenefits

Please support our @RMTunion campaign: Staff Our Stations. Take action here: actionnetwork.org/campaigns/staf…

Source is ITV News Deputy political editor Anushka Asthana, see below

Please support our campaign to Save ScotRail Ticket Offices: 🔗 bit.ly/ssto

Brilliant news that @EllenClifford1 has won her Work Capability Assessment court case against @DWPgovuk . The court ruled the DWP consultation, that would lead to billions being cut from disability benefits, was unlawful. Judgement: drive.google.com/file/d/1gPjAX3…

I have to report that I have not been re-elected as General Secretary of the FBU. I am proud to have led the Fire Brigades Union for two decades, a period which has seen eight Prime Ministers. We have fought back against attacks on the fire service and we have laid the ground for real progress. Much of the FBU’s work in that time is only now coming to fruition. For the first time in more than twenty years, we should soon see national standards in the fire service, and the FBU is able to play its role in advising ministers directly on fire service policy. Because of our campaigning, and that of other unions, we are also likely to see the biggest workers’ rights package in recent years, including the repeal of anti-union laws that sought to ban effective strike action in our sector. By mobilising and winning an overwhelming mandate for industrial action, the FBU has won a 16% pay rise over the past three years, with no strings attached. We have also had significant progress on maternity pay and the retaining fee for RDS firefighters. I am proud to have led the longest period of strike action in our union’s history, over pensions, in 2013-15. Our legal fight on pensions has won many millions for firefighters and £19bn for workers across the public sector. Our DECON campaign has changed the conversation in our sector about fire contaminants. The FBU has played a leading role in the fight for equality, in the face of some appalling behaviours and a systemic failure by fire service leadership. This work has meant having difficult conversations inside our union and must be continued. I leave the FBU with my head held high. Since the age of 16 I have been an active anti -racist, anti-fascist. I became a socialist as a teenager and I have been a trade unionist all my working life. My views and values have not changed and I will continue that fight.

@AdamBienkov @BestForBritain I prefer the Daily Stars take on this. dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-new…

Never has the fake 'patriotism' of the British right-wing tabloid press been more powerfully displayed than this week

@RMTunion A good reminder of why he’ll be so sorely missed. In the age of mealy mouthed career politicians and asinine TV interviewers he said it straight, with no bull. x.com/politicsjoe_uk…

"At the time the consultation began, the DWP had made no estimate of how many disabled people would find work as a result of its proposals. The DWP had, by contrast, been trying to work out how much money its plans might save." bigissue.com/news/social-ju…

Right, it’s Day 3 of our TUFAC 12 Days of Christmas solidarity programme and here we donate £250 to RYSE, The Radical Youth Space for Educations, helping to build and develop radical youth activism. (Not on X) Go on check em out ⬇️ theryse.org/about

The REAL reason they want a cashless society If you give a £50 note to a butcher, who then buys from the baker, who then buys from the candlestick maker, it’s worth £50 to each of them, and after 50 transactions it’s still worth £50 If you pay by card, the bank takes 1.5%, 3% or even 5%. The butcher, baker and candlestick maker all have to pay the bank for the privilege of transacting, and by 50 transactions… The bank has the whole £50 in fees. This is the real reason they want a cashless society. Cash is freedom, but it’s also trillions they can NOT take from you.

If you’re applying for PIP, @turn2us_org has launched The PIP Tool: a free guide to navigate the benefits process.  Their goal “is to make sure you know your rights and can afford what you need to enjoy life fully.”  Share widely! pip.turn2us.org.uk

Author & disability rights campaigner @EllenClifford1 is in court this week challenging proposed changes to DWP's Work Capability Assessment. These changes, originally proposed by the Tories, have shamelessly been adopted by Labour to save money. thecanary.co/uk/news/2024/1…

Labour’s refusal to introduce “genuine” emergency evacuation plans for disabled people is an insult to those who lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower disaster, say disabled campaigners. #Grenfell #Labour buff.ly/4io9mlG

DWP's AI fraud system revealed as being bias towards age, disability, marital status and nationality, but FOI response redacts who has been wrongly targeted. @CarolineSelman: DWP must put an end to this ‘hurt first, fix later’ approach... theguardian.com/society/2024/d…

🚀 Launched today 🚀 Our first ever report into the data we have collected. Strike Map data shows 170,000 workplaces took strike action in 2023. Download our full report here: bit.ly/SMReport2024 #StrikeMap

This guy scanned monks' brains. He expected normal results. But what he found had never been seen in scientific history. The discovery landed him on Time's 100 Most Influential People. Here's what 30,000+ hours of meditation does to your brain: