The Central Plaza hotel in Carlisle City Centre had stood empty and neglected since 2004. The costs incurred in making the building safe are believed to be running at around £900,000 and the demolition costs are reputed to be in the region of £1.3 million. The Victoria Viaduct was closed for two months in 2018 as works to ensure that masonry would not fall from the top of the crumbling building were undertaken. The disruption of traffic and pedestrians led to the closure of nearby local business Carlisle Bed Centre. The City Council were to take further measures under the Building Act 1984 s78 Dangerous Buildings - Emergency Measures, to ensure that the abandoned property did not present an immediate danger to people in or around it as sections of the interior began to dangerously collapse again in October 2019. The City Council was forced to close off the Victoria Viaduct road again, causing significant traffic disruption into the City centre from the West, and demolition crews moved in to take down the building due to further collapse and safety concerns in December. As only the Treasury can profit from any subsequent sale of the land through the Crown Estate, we believe that the financial costs incurred should be picked up by the Exchequer and not the City Council and council tax payers of Carlisle.

The run-up to Christmas is busy and stressful for everyone working in retail, and in connected jobs like warehouse and distribution too. Retail workers have been putting in long, tough shifts to help customers get ready for Christmas, and they barely have the time and energy to make their own preparations. When Christmas comes, far too often they don’t get a decent break, with a late finish on Christmas Eve and then back to work early on Boxing Day morning. More than three-quarters of workers surveyed by Usdaw said that working over the Christmas period means that they spend too little time at Christmas with their loved ones. Most retail workers are put under pressure to work on Boxing Day, and this even happens in workplaces where it’s supposed to be ‘voluntary’ – that’s why 97% of retail workers think that shops should shut on Boxing Day. #XmasIsNotWorking and that's why we’re calling on retailers to put their hardworking staff first, and keep the shops shut. Find out more about Usdaw’s #XmasIsNotWorking campaign at www.usdaw.org.uk/XmasIsNotWorking

Our NHS is not for sale. Not now, not ever. NHS leaders warned weeks ago that hospitals and patients will pay billions more for drugs in a post-Brexit US-UK deal. Now we have it in black and white. Leaked government documents reveal that Trump and his big pharma cronies want to charge our NHS a lot more for vital drugs. And the US wants "total market access" to public services as a condition for opening new trade talks. That’s code for carving them up and selling them off to the highest bidder. It's never been more important to stand up for our NHS and demand that any future trade deals include cast iron guarantees for public services.

Boris Johnson and his hard-right cabinet are not only on the side of the establishment … they are the establishment. And this Tory government isn’t so different from any other Tory government: they will help the rich get richer and make working-class people pay. That’s why the Brexit deal just announced between the EU and UK government would be a disaster for working people. It's clear that the UK government will seek to negotiate a free trade agreement with the EU after Brexit. A free trade agreement could shrink the UK economy by 6 per cent, hammering jobs and livelihoods, and putting our NHS and public services at further risk. Leaving the customs union will also make trade more expensive and slower, hitting working people’s pockets. Low income families would be hit hardest. This deal also gives no guarantee that workers’ rights will be protected or keep pace with improvements in the rights of workers across the EU. Add your name to make sure Boris Johnson knows the people won’t accept his deal.

West Yorkshire's bus services are up for sale. Local Council leaders are currently discussing what to do about it. And they'll be making a decision soon. But franchising (taking buses under public control) is not currently an option they're considering! OUR buses aren't good enough. Right now, bus companies do what they like and it's a wild west free market. We need public control. Private companies control West Yorkshire’s bus network. They dictate prices, routes and timetables. The result has been catastrophic - passenger numbers have plummeted, prices have risen and services have shrunk. West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) - which is made up of your local Council leaders - has the power to regulate our buses. Regulation would mean affordable fares, and more evening and weekend services, all with a smart ticket where daily spending is capped. Local council leaders are yet to commit. Sign this petition now to take back control of our buses! +++++ https://www.tuc.org.uk/campaigns/better-buses-west-yorkshire The privatisation of buses has been a total failure. Outside London, passenger numbers have fallen by half and average prices have risen 35% above inflation since the 1980s. It’s a shambles for passengers, but a money spinner for bus companies who have made £billions for their shareholders. FirstBus, Arriva West Yorkshire have recently announced they want to sell their bus services. But without franchising, which gives local government the power to set prices, routes and bus frequency, this Wild West market stays open for another big company to come in and make further cuts to your local bus service. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Under the 2017 Bus Services Act, West Yorkshire's council leaders have the power to take buses back into public control through franchising - but so far they've failed to act. We know franchising is more effective. It's how it is run in London where the market is regulated by Transport for London (TfL) - buses are more regular, prices are capped, and essential routes are protected. We want West Yorkshire's council leaders to establish something like TfL for West Yorkshire. Why Franchising? Franchising gives us - - control over the bus network, which would mean companies would be forced to put on certain, less profitable routes and more regular services. - control over fares, so we are the ones that set the prices. - control over ticketing, which could mean one single, affordable ticket for the whole of West Yorkshire, like it is in London. Send West Yorkshire's leaders a message, we deserve better! (Image credit: Michael Taylor)

New research by the MU reveals 48% of members surveyed have been sexually harassed at work, and more than half have witnessed incidents of sexual harassment while working. 61% of musicians who took the survey told us they feel at greater risk of experiencing sexual harassment because of their freelance status. That’s why the Musicians’ Union is campaigning for stronger protections from sexual harassment at work that include freelancers too. Please sign the petition now to show your support. By signing the petition, you are reminding the Government that they have a duty to protect everyone from sexual harassment at work – including you, and musicians and other freelancers you know or whose work you enjoy. PREVENTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK We asked 724 musicians about their experiences of sexual harassment at work. This research shows: • 48% have experienced sexual harassment at work • 58% have witnessed sexual harassment at work • 61% believe freelancers are at higher risk of being sexually harassed while working That’s not all; an overwhelming majority of members who experienced sexual harassment at work said that they did not report their experiences. And who can blame them. We’ve seen first-hand how difficult it is for freelancers to report sexual harassment and get any form of redress. It’s a clear sign that the system is broken, and we’re calling on Government to take this opportunity to fix it. PROTECT FREELANCERS TOO It should not be the responsibility of the self-employed or freelancers to protect themselves from sexual harassment. Do not let the Government forget that it has a duty to protect everyone at work. Add your voice to the call to protect freelancers too.

For too long, disabled workers have faced double discrimination. Not only are they less likely to have a paid job but when they do, disabled people earn much less than their non-disabled peers. Disabled workers face a pay gap of 15.5 per cent. This means they earn £3,003 less a year than their nondisabled counterparts. This pay gap means that disabled people effectively work for free for the last 57 days (or 8 weeks) of the year and stop getting paid on 04 November. The TUC has branded this day Disability Pay Gap Day. Mandatory disability pay gap reporting would mean bosses had to identify and address poor workplace practices that lead to inequality. Mandatory gender pay gap reporting has shone a light on the barriers faced by women at work– and it’s also one of the reasons why the government is consulting on the introduction of mandatory reporting on the ethnicity pay gap. So if compulsory transparency about pay is seen as a positive way of addressing gender and race pay gaps, then why isn’t it being applied to disabled workers too? Without a legally binding requirement on companies to publish their pay gaps – and say what action they are taking to address them – progress will be too slow and disabled workers will be consigned to many more years of lower pay and unfair barriers to getting jobs and progressing at work. Disabled people shouldn’t be fobbed off with voluntary reporting. We know that doesn’t work. The government’s voluntary scheme for gender pay gap reporting, only led to 5 businesses actually publishing their data. However, when mandatory reporting was introduced more than 10,000 employers reported their gender pay gap – close to 100% compliance. Disabled people deserve more, they need mandatory disability pay gap reporting – they have waited long enough for fair and equal treatment at work.

On Monday (23 September) Thomas Cook the world’s oldest travel agency collapsed into administration with the loss of 21,000 jobs (9,000 in the UK alone) and stranding 150,000 holiday makers. The sudden collapse has left many workers desperate and with no income. Staff were due to be paid on Monday (30 September), but will not now be paid after the business went bust. Two years since Monarch Airlines went into administration with the loss of 2,000 jobs, the government has totally failed to learn lessons or bring in new laws which could have saved these jobs. These are not highly paid workers, many were living pay cheque to pay cheque. Given the dreadful stress this has caused to workers, the priority, now that repatriation of stranded travelled is underway, must be for the secretary of state to fast track the payment of workers’ wages.

We are assigned more challenging roles and work longer hours than ever before to meet the demands of EU Exit. We are redeployed at short notice and without any choice as to our work, sometimes moving across the country to take up new posts. We are being treated as a flexible, contingent labour forced and asked to take on more and more, while being paid less and less each year in real terms. No wonder 2/3 of respondents to a recent FDA Fast Stream survey said they were so unhappy with their pay that they have considered leaving their jobs. Fast Stream and Cabinet Office leadership have consistently failed to engage constructively with the FDA – the union for Fast Streamers. Our work, and our worth, has been devalued year on year. It’s time for the government to stop gambling with our good will, respect the work we do, and realise that "experience" does not pay the bills.

"Supporting people to overcome drug and alcohol addiction is an incredibly tough job and makes a difference for every single one of us in Wigan. "Addaction’s employees deserve the pay settlement they were promised when they moved from the NHS to Addaction". Lisa Nandy, Wigan MP Drug and alcohol addiction effects all members of UK society, irrespective of their social and economic background, their education and occupation. It doesn't just effect the individuals who suffer these problems, it impacts negatively on their families and the communities they live in. It impacts on their ability to contribute economically and socially to their communities. It impacts on their ability to care for their children, the next generation in our society. Ultimately it can lead to premature and avoidable deaths. But it doesn't have to. Treatment can work, people can recover, they can regain health, self esteem and become fully functioning members of our society. We work hard for Addaction in Wigan and Leigh to ensure that people do recover. For Addaction to achieve this, they need to both recruit and retain experienced staff with appropriate expertise and a caring approach. We work in this field because we care and because it's rewarding to support recovery, but we deserve to make a decent living. When we transferred over to Addaction from the NHS, we were promised the NHS rate for the job, but Addaction have gone back on their word. We deserve a decent wage for doing what is an important job for our communities. Please sign the petition to support us. #AFCForAll #NHSPayForAll #PayUpAddaction

Over 74,000 retail workers lost their jobs during 2018 and so far this year, the rate of store closures and jobs losses has increased dramatically. Usdaw, the shopworkers' union, is calling on the Government to protect the 4.5 million jobs that rely on the success of the retail sector. The scale of store closures we have seen is devastating, not just for the workforce, but also for our communities and town centres. The Government needs to show that it takes retail jobs seriously by listening to and acting on workers’ concerns. Please sign our petition: We call on the Government to take urgent action by adopting an industrial strategy for retail and implementing the following comprehensive and co-ordinated policies: • Review taxation, commercial rents and business rates to ensure a level playing field between ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers and online retailers, providing a new framework that supports local communities and the wider economy. • A minimum wage of £10 per hour for all workers, secure work and investment in skills and training to provide decent pay and job security for retail workers and drive up productivity. • Give retail workers a say over the future of retail and the introduction of new technology, with a designated inclusive body that ensures the Government recognises the crucial role retail has in the UK economy. A copy of Usdaw’s industrial strategy for the Retail Sector is available at www.usdaw.org.uk/industrialstrategy

The proposed changes to rosters will have a detrimental effect on the work life balance of employees. The new rosters will potentially impact on increased childcare costs, travel costs, laundry and food costs.