University and College Union (UCU) members voted overwhelmingly for strike action last month, to increase pay and improve conditions (81.1%) and reverse cuts to pensions (84.9%) in ‘historic’ ballot. If the dispute remains unresolved, up to 70,000 workers across 150 universities will strike over three days at the end of November.
T-Levels: more vocational courses roll out – but post-16 choices in England are still limited
Today’s Friends of the Meteor article is from two University of Manchester academics, Elizabeth Gregory and Hannah Ruth McCarthy, on the early findings from the first school year group to complete the new T-levels as an alternative to A-levels.
Events dampen the numbers but not the spirit of a community fundraising Halloween record attempt
Did you see any spooky goings-on in Platt Fields Park this Halloween? You might have encountered a world record attempt at the most people dressed as ghosts in one place!
“I’m so happy and proud of the support we have had from Manchester”
These are Iranian-born Niloo’s words, at the demonstration for Iranian women’s freedoms, outside the
Central Library, on Saturday 22 October in Manchester. The protest was the eighth such gathering in the city in the 36 days that have passed since the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22 year old woman in Iran.
Manchester protesters remember Mahsa Amini, Iranian woman killed by security forces over ‘improper hijab’
Human rights defenders protested in Manchester city centre on 1 October over the killing of Mahsa Amini, a woman arrested and beaten by Iran’s ‘morality police’ for wearing her headscarf in a way that exposed her hair.
Manchester protests the Conservative Party conference
It feels like a lifetime ago now, but it’s only three weeks since the Conservative Party Conference. People from Manchester travelled down to Birmingham with The People’s Assembly to protest the event.
Autumn of Action to follow Summer of Solidarity
Trades Unions are working together with community groups to organise action against poor pay & conditions, and the cost-of-living crisis. I attended the first of many planned ‘town hall’ meetings in Greater Manchester designed to inform and prepare locals to fight back against a broken system.
The Labour Party are riding high in the polls but where does Manchester figure in their plans?
Last month’s Labour Party conference was positive and hopeful. There now seem to be some policies and plans coming together – but what does it mean for Manchester?
When is it illegal to strike?
In the UK, never. But it’s often unlawful. The climate strikes have highlighted the draconian British anti-union legislation and exposed confusion about the law and the consequences of striking unofficially. TUC solidarity organiser Ian Allinson explains the current legal framework – and how it needs to be changed.
DWP: Are you poor and over 60? Get to work or drop dead. We’re here to help etc
This week’s Friends Of The Meteor guest article is by Kate Belgrave, who visited Stockport’s brand-new jobcentre and spoke with attendees about the farcical rules that jobseekers almost at pension age must follow to qualify for Universal Credit.