The Spark: Unions shilling for Labour on Ukraine, gender and more

GMB highlights

Trade unions / The Spark: Unions shilling for Labour on Ukraine, gender and more

The first issue of our industrial news sheet examines recent cases of trade union leaderships failing their members and the wider working class.

1 Aug 2025 , Proletarian
British politics / Starmer’s army

What’s really behind the ‘Strategic Defence Review’ and the government’s eagerness to get Britain ‘ready for war’?

25 Jun 2025 , Proletarian
Industry / Scunthorpe steel debacle

If strategic industries are to be saved, their only salvation is full nationalisation and administration according to plan not profit.

26 May 2025 , Proletarian

Education / Education union colluding with Labour against the workers

The NEU has thrown in the towel of struggle, betraying not only its own rank-and-file membership but also the wider interests of the working class.

8 Oct 2024 , Proletarian
Ukraine / With depleted uranium, nuclear war is underway in Europe

Nato war crimes in Donbass don’t stop at DU; Donbass civilians are routinely targeted by cluster bombs and petal mines.

12 Sep 2023 , Proletarian
Ukraine / Stop the War’s capitulation hides truth about Ukraine, stops workers organising

It is time we in Britain got off our knees and organised a mass movement of real opposition to the imperialist war drive.

13 Jul 2023 , Proletarian
Trade unions / The real trade union barons

Having been absorbed into the fabric of the state machine, most trade union leaders now work not to aid but to suppress their members’ struggles.

20 May 2023 , Class Consciousness Project
Pay and conditions / Conditions at Yodel: report by a worker

Workers in the logistics industry are being sweated at ever-more intense and unendurable rates.

26 Jun 2020 , Proletarian
Pay and conditions / BA threatens to sack its entire workforce

After rinsing the furlough scheme, the airline is now insisting that its staff should accept huge pay cuts or be sacked.

16 Jun 2020 , Proletarian
Pay and conditions / Offshore oil workers under threat

Will trade unions now get off the back foot and start to mobilise their members into an active campaign of resistance?

26 Feb 2020 , Proletarian
Pay and conditions / GMB protest at Rugeley Amazon

British trade union seems more worried about defending the profits of shareholders than the interests of workers.

21 Jul 2019 , Birmingham Worker
Disputes / Brum bin strike concludes with a payout

A new deal was concluded in March to appease workers’ anger at secret payouts to GMB members during the 2017 strike.

24 Mar 2019 , Proletarian
Disputes / Refuse, resist! Brum rubbish collectors ready to strike as council talks fail

Brummie binmen are days away from an all-out strike, clashing once again with a Labour council that has rewarded scabs and blacklisted strikers.

20 Jan 2019 , Sputnik
Disputes / Cammell Laird strike suspended for now

Workers’ resistance has led to a stay of execution at the Merseyside shipyard.

3 Jan 2019 , Lalkar
Lay-offs and closures / Cammell Laird shipyard strikes

Overproduction is hitting industry after industry, proving once more that capitalism cannot solve the problems of the masses.

27 Dec 2018 ,
Disputes / Birmingham: Two-faced council breaks promises to binmen and residents

Birmingham’s militant binmen deserve our full support as their dispute looks set to break out again this Christmas.

1 Dec 2018 , Proletarian
Disputes / Support the Glasgow women’s strike for equal pay

But beware the Labour wolf in sheep's clothing!

23 Oct 2018 ,

GMB topics

Aslef
Birmingham bin strike
British imperialism
Fascism
FBU
GMB
Identity politics
Jeremy Corbyn
Labour party
NASUWT
PCS
RCN
RMT
Trotskyism
TSSA
TUC
UCU
Ukraine war
Unison
Unite the Union
Arms industry
British manufacturing
Drive to war
Nato
Non-cooperation
Social democracy
US imperialism
WW3
Community union
Green technology
Miners strike
Steel industry
Austerity
Children
Crisis manifesto
Inflation
NEU
Privatisation
Schools
Zero-hour contracts
Anti-union laws
Revisionism
Rishi Sunak
Stop the War
The state
Tory party
AWL
Iraq war
Serbia
War crimes
WMD
Yugoslav war
CPB
CPRF
Anticommunism
Health and safety
Logistics
Workers rights
2020 crash
Aviation industry
Balpa
Fire and rehire
Furlough
Overproduction crisis
Unemployment
Oil and gas
Outsourcing
Amazon
Big tech
Gig economy
Protests and strikes
Birmingham
Blacklisting
Merseyside
Glasgow
Inequality
Women

GMB theory

Trade unions / Communist work in the trade unions

How should Marxists approach union work? Which demands are most useful in developing workers’ class-consciousness?

19 Jul 2024, Proletarian

1
The rise of Reform

Is it likely that Nigel Farage will become British prime minister? And would this really make much difference to workers’ lives?
2
British communists in Caracas: Antifascism must be anti-imperialist
3
Report-back from Venezuela: Comuna o nada!
4
The Communist Party of Venezuela enters a new stage
5
Stalin – the History and Critique of a Black Legend by Domenico Losurdo, pt 1
6
The reactionary nightmare of ‘gender fluidity’
7
Reflections on a first-time visit to Cuba
8
Obituary: Harpal Brar, revolutionary founder of the CPGB-ML
9
Caracas declaration: Imperialism shall fall! The peoples shall triumph!
10
Andrei Zhdanov: On the principles underlying Soviet literature and art

GMB highlights

Trade unions / The Spark: Unions shilling for Labour on Ukraine, gender and more

The first issue of our industrial news sheet examines recent cases of trade union leaderships failing their members and the wider working class.

British politics / Starmer’s army

What’s really behind the ‘Strategic Defence Review’ and the government’s eagerness to get Britain ‘ready for war’?

Industry / Scunthorpe steel debacle

If strategic industries are to be saved, their only salvation is full nationalisation and administration according to plan not profit.

Education / Education union colluding with Labour against the workers

The NEU has thrown in the towel of struggle, betraying not only its own rank-and-file membership but also the wider interests of the working class.

Ukraine / With depleted uranium, nuclear war is underway in Europe

Nato war crimes in Donbass don’t stop at DU; Donbass civilians are routinely targeted by cluster bombs and petal mines.

Ukraine / Stop the War’s capitulation hides truth about Ukraine, stops workers organising

It is time we in Britain got off our knees and organised a mass movement of real opposition to the imperialist war drive.

Trade unions / The real trade union barons

Having been absorbed into the fabric of the state machine, most trade union leaders now work not to aid but to suppress their members’ struggles.

Pay and conditions / Conditions at Yodel: report by a worker

Workers in the logistics industry are being sweated at ever-more intense and unendurable rates.

Pay and conditions / BA threatens to sack its entire workforce

After rinsing the furlough scheme, the airline is now insisting that its staff should accept huge pay cuts or be sacked.

Pay and conditions / Offshore oil workers under threat

Will trade unions now get off the back foot and start to mobilise their members into an active campaign of resistance?

Pay and conditions / GMB protest at Rugeley Amazon

British trade union seems more worried about defending the profits of shareholders than the interests of workers.

Disputes / Brum bin strike concludes with a payout

A new deal was concluded in March to appease workers’ anger at secret payouts to GMB members during the 2017 strike.

Disputes / Refuse, resist! Brum rubbish collectors ready to strike as council talks fail

Brummie binmen are days away from an all-out strike, clashing once again with a Labour council that has rewarded scabs and blacklisted strikers.

Disputes / Cammell Laird strike suspended for now

Workers’ resistance has led to a stay of execution at the Merseyside shipyard.

Lay-offs and closures / Cammell Laird shipyard strikes

Overproduction is hitting industry after industry, proving once more that capitalism cannot solve the problems of the masses.

Disputes / Birmingham: Two-faced council breaks promises to binmen and residents

Birmingham’s militant binmen deserve our full support as their dispute looks set to break out again this Christmas.

Disputes / Support the Glasgow women’s strike for equal pay

But beware the Labour wolf in sheep's clothing!

GMB topics

GMB theory

Trade unions / Communist work in the trade unions

How should Marxists approach union work? Which demands are most useful in developing workers’ class-consciousness?

popular content

The rise of Reform

British communists in Caracas: Antifascism must be anti-imperialist

Report-back from Venezuela: Comuna o nada!

The Communist Party of Venezuela enters a new stage

Stalin – the History and Critique of a Black Legend by Domenico Losurdo, pt 1

The reactionary nightmare of ‘gender fluidity’

Reflections on a first-time visit to Cuba

Obituary: Harpal Brar, revolutionary founder of the CPGB-ML

Caracas declaration: Imperialism shall fall! The peoples shall triumph!

Andrei Zhdanov: On the principles underlying Soviet literature and art