Happy Christmas?

Colleagues,

The last post from me this year and what a strange year it has been. From Obama to Credit Crunch there has been plenty to discuss and I do hope you have enjoyed either contributing to a posted item or simply following the debate.

As a final comment I just want to flag up two contrasting items that suggest some hope and yet also the continuity of challenges to trade union stability and growth in the UK.

The first is USDAW's response to the Woolworths' closure plan that will see up to 30,000 job losses. There's no good time to lose your job, but Christmas can't be the best, and so I do wish USDAW well in its efforts to secure the best redundancy deal possible on behalf of its members. Follow this link for more information: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/retailnonfood/news/1229523811_12296.html

At the same time UNI (the global union federation covering logistics, telecoms etc.) has just signed a global agreement with G4S (the world's largest security corporation) which, amongst other things allows its global workforce of 570,000 the right to organise and bargain freely. This is a first and quite distinct from international framework agreements which tended to focus on singular employers. Read more at: http://www.uniglobalunion.org/unipropertyn.nsf/7f9bc1ab9d900747c1257044004ba821/ad498745d9ebb759c1257521002db0cf?OpenDocument

So colleagues interesting and challenging times as one year ends and we enter another.

I do hope you and yours have a good Christmas break, despite the economic climate, and that we can spend 2009 in the continuing struggle to build a strong, independent trade union movement.

Yours in Solidarity

Ian