Nicola Smith

Read the TUC Recession Report for March 2009

Today we have published our fifth Recession Report. It sets out our analysis of the most recent labour market statistics, which show that at the end of January this year 2.03 million people in the UK were unemployed by the ILO definition (0.8 million women and 1.2 million men). In the second part of the report we consider green jobs and the recession, recognising the importance of moving to a low-carbon economy both as a means to meet our climate change targets and to help restart economic growth and create jobs.

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• Hey Paul Krugman – Rock Cookie Bottom
  Jonathan Mann is writing a song a day, every day, with surprisingly tuneful results. This one's for all the Krugman fans out there.
  (tags: Paulkrugman)

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Brendan Barber

The global economic crisis represents both a major threat, and a significant opportunity, for unions. If we get our response right, we can lay the foundations for a genuine union resurgence, both in the UK and worldwide. Unions have a unique opportunity to forge a new intellectual and ideological settlement, to shape a different model of globalisation, to build a fairer, greener, more stable global economy.

That’s the message we’ll be promoting this Saturday ahead of next week’s G20 summit. Campaigning for a new kind of economy that delivers for the many not the few. One that smoothes the transition to a low-carbon future, that is less reliant on financial speculation and driven more by enterprise, innovation and science.

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Adam Lent

The voices arguing against any further economic stimulus on the grounds that the public finances are too weak are growing more numerous and louder every day. Leading the charge are the Tories and the CBI, now joined, unfortunately, by the Governor of the Bank of England.  But it seems to me their claims are simplistic.

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• T-SHIRTS | Put People First
  My union/charity/faith group/think tank went to London, and all I got was this T-Shirt. Last chance for natty promo gear for this weekend's giant coalition march and rally ahead of the G20 summit.
  (tags: philosophyfootball tshirts putpeoplefirst)
• Work: Why you should join a union | Money | guardian.co.uk
  If you only do one thing this week…join a union
  (tags: tradeunions)

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• LRB · Ross McKibbin: Will We Care When Labour Loses?
  A harsh critique but worth a read

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Brendan Barber

This is a truly global crisis and the first recession to flow from a collapse in the financial system since the 1930s. Individual states can make a difference, but in a global crisis we need a global response.

But there are worrying signs that the G20 leaders will not rise to the occasion. While there does seem to be a consensus to do something about tax havens, reports suggest that European leaders are resistant to a fiscal stimulus while the USA is opposed to more global regulation.

We need both – as today’s statement published by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) makes clear. Without a big co-ordinated fiscal stimulus this could be a deep and dangerous recession that may easily turn into a prolonged slump.

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Adam Lent

I love satire.  And one of the best contemporary examples of the genre can be found on the front page of the Financial Times today. Hilariously it claims that bankers are furious at proposals currently being considered by the US Congress. In quotes that are just about believable, bankers across the world lambast the measures as a “McCarthy witch-hunt”, ”demonising an industry” that can fix the economy, and sending the US economy “back to the stone age”. 

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John Wood

Have you seen Labourspace.com? It’s a Labour Party site aimed at getting discussion going among web users on the political issues that interest them most. It’s open to anyone, Labour supporters or not – you can declare your party allegiance, or keep people guessing. If you’ve got an idea, you can set up a campaign page, and open it up to people to support, oppose or discuss.

We’re coming a bit late to this – there’s only 12 days to go – but we’ve decided to stake our own little piece of Labourspace by starting a campaign page on an issue we think could be popular – minimum tax rates.

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• TUC Minimum Tax Rates campaign on Labourspace.com
  Campaign on the Labour Party's new ideas network LabourSpace, to introduce minimum tax rates and help cut the £25bn lost to the Exchecquer every year from super-rich, city and corporate tax avoidance. Pop over there and vote for it if you get a minute!
  (tags: labourspace taxavoidance tax minimumtax)
• Next Left: Taxpayers alliance outed as conservative partisans (surprise, sensation!)
  Sunder Katwala on whether or not the TPA really are party-neutral
  (tags: taxpayersalliance)

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