Stan Newens 1930-2021

We regret to announce that our friend and comrade, Stan Newens, has passed away.
Here is an appreciation of Stan written by his friend Jeremy Corbyn:

Stan Newens – Lifelong campaigner for internationalism and justice
It is so sad to hear of the death of Stan Newens, former MP, MEP, and lifelong campaigner for internationalism, justice, and the people of his former constituencies of Epping, Harlow, and then Central London (MEP).
I first met Stan in 1970 when he was campaigning for Labour in Shropshire, and I got to know him very well as one of the leading lights of the London Cooperative society, then as Chair of Liberation, and much later as the Member of the European Parliament for Central London, which included Islington North.
Stan was born in the East End and was a conscientious objector against National Service in the 1940s and was thus sent to work in a coalmine in North Staffordshire.… Read on ...

Goodlord strikes over £6,000 pay cuts

Strikes over attempts to slash staff salaries by up to £6,000 at lettings software provider Goodlord will disrupt services for Winkworth and other London estate agents, Unite, the UK’s leading union, warned today (Wednesday 10 February).

More than 20 Unite members employed in Goodlord’s London-based referencing department, which provides tenant checks for estate agents, will undertake a series of strikes between Monday 22 February and Friday 26 February.

Under the fire and rehire plans, Goodlord’s referencing staff’s pay would plummet from £24,000 to £18,000 – less than the London living wage of £21,157 – while their maternity, holiday and sick pay would also be reduced.

Referencing staff are the only workers employed by the company to have been singled out for fire and rehire attacks.

Impacted staff have been told by the company that since they are now expected to work permanently from home after their central London office was closed in October, they do not need to live in London.… Read on ...