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United Kingdom

UN committee criticises UK support for private schools in developing countries

02 June 2016
Children in classroom

The United Kingdom’s controversial support for commercial, low-cost private schools in developing countries has been questioned by a UN Committee on children’s rights. The UK Department for International Development’s support for the for-profit primary and pre-primary school chain, Bridge International Academies (BIA) was singled out as a particular concern.

Stand with the Pearson 100 and let your voice be heard

Tell Pearson - Private Schools in Developing countries

Public employee and education unions have mobilized a global capital campaign in support of shareholders resolution at the Pearson PLC Annual General Meeting.

Public ownership of the UK energy system – benefits, costs and processes

18 Apr 2016

A new report by Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU) and the UK NGO We Own It, calls for a return to public ownership and management of key elements of the British energy system. The report builds on years of research that demonstrate the excess costs of privatization, the negative impact on energy workers and on UK households, and the distortions of UK energy policy.

One in five UK regional museums closed in 2015

15 January 2016
Fleetwood museum

A survey by the UK Museums Association (MA) of the cuts to funding in 2015 reveals that one in 10 expect to introduce charges to make up for loss of local authority funding.

UNISON condemns cuts to pay for teaching assistants

01 December 2015
Classroom assistant with a young pupil

UK affiliate UNISON has condemned threatened cuts to pay for teaching assistants in the North East of England. Staff could lose up to £5,000 a year under proposals to introduce term-time only contracts from September 2016.

NGO Consortium discusses strategy to fight privatization in education

04 November 2015
Everline Aketch and another participant at the meeting

Everline Aketch (NUEI, Uganda) and Sandra Vermuyten (PSI Head of Campaigns) represented PSI’s Education Support Network at a series of meetings in London with the NGO Consortium on Privatization in Education on 14-21 October.

Education support workers are a hidden workforce and that needs to change

16 October 2015

I am Jon Richards, National Secretary for Education and Children’s Services for UNISON, the UK’s largest education union, representing 350,000 support staff working in early years, schools, colleges, universities and other education services. My role is to oversee education policy and bargaining and deliver the mandates of our members and their representatives.

Climate change: Towards and Beyond COP21

08 October 2015

The solutions to the climate challenge require a substantive transformation of the current socio-economic development paradigm, including industrial change. This is not just about some technical changes to energy production or transport systems. What is required is a redefinition of the predominant model of production and consumption. We must give back to the state and public services their role in supporting our communities, and ensure that workers and trade unions are able to participate fully in all steps of this process.

UK: PCS celebrates National Gallery agreement

03 October 2015
Candy Udwin, PCS staff rep, photo by Lewishamdreamer

On 2 October, after a strike of more than 100 days, PCS members at the National Gallery voted unanimously to return to work after the union and management agreed to end the dispute. The gallery has also reinstated PCS senior representative Candy Udwin.

PSI statement on the proposed UK trade union bill

10 September 2015
No cuts

PSI is concerned about the Trade Union Bill that the UK government published in July 2015 and which contains wide-ranging measures designed to restrict the ability of unions and their members to organise collectively and take industrial action.