The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist,loyalist,British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley,who led the party for the next 37 years. It is currently led by Gavin Robinson,who initially stepped in as an interim after the resignation of Jeffrey Donaldson. It is the second-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly,and won five seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom at the 2024 election. The party has been mostly described as right-wing and socially conservative,being anti-abortion and opposing same-sex marriage. The DUP sees itself as defending Britishness and Ulster Protestant culture against Irish nationalism and republicanism. It is also Eurosceptic and supported Brexit.
Robert Crow was an English trade union leader who served as the General Secretary of the National Union of Rail,Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) from 2002 until his death in 2014. He was also a member of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC). A self-described "communist/socialist",he was a leading figure in the No to EU –Yes to Democracy campaign.
Christopher Stephen Grayling,Baron Grayling,,is a British politician and author who served as Secretary of State for Justice from 2012 to 2015,Leader of the House of Commons from 2015 to 2016 and Secretary of State for Transport from 2016 until 2019. A member of the Conservative Party,he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Epsom and Ewell from 2001 to 2024. Before entering politics,Grayling worked in the television and film industry.
The National Union of Rail,Maritime and Transport Workers is a British trade union covering the transport sector. Its current President is Alex Gordon and its current General Secretary is Mick Lynch.
United Ireland,also referred to as Irish reunification or a New Ireland,is the proposition that all of the island of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present,the island is divided politically:the sovereign state of Ireland has jurisdiction over the majority of Ireland,while Northern Ireland,which lies entirely within the Irish province of Ulster,is part of the United Kingdom. Achieving a united Ireland is a central tenet of Irish nationalism and Republicanism,particularly of both mainstream and dissident republican political and paramilitary organisations. Unionists support Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom and oppose Irish unification.
James Knapp was a British trade unionist. He was successively General Secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR) from 1983,and then of the merged National Union of Rail,Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) from 1990 to his death in 2001. He served on the executive board of the International Transport Workers' Federation from 1983 to 2001,the General Council of the Trades Union Congress from 1983 to 2001,and was President of the Trades Union Congress in 1994.
John Michael Whelan is the 18th General Secretary of the British trade union ASLEF,a position he has held since 2011.
London Underground strikes are an intermittent part of life in the capital of the United Kingdom. Described as "one of Britain's most strike-prone industries",the London Underground has been subject to travel disruption due to industrial action organised by the National Union of Rail,Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT),ASLEF and other unions,in response to disputes over job reductions,pensions,pay,safety,and working conditions.
Michael Joseph Cash is an English trade unionist,and the former general secretary of the National Union of Rail,Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT).
Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom that operated the InterCity East Coast franchise on the East Coast Main Line between London,Yorkshire,the North East and Scotland. It commenced operations on 1 March 2015,taking over from East Coast as a joint venture between Stagecoach (90%) and Virgin Group (10%).
Peter Pinkney is a British trade unionist,who served as President of the National Union of Rail,Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) from December 2012 until 2015.
Manuel Cortes is a British trade unionist who served as the General Secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) between 2011 and 2022.
Between 2016 and 2019,major industrial action in the form of periodic strikes and protests took place on the national railway network of the island of Great Britain in the United Kingdom. The dispute centred on the planned introduction of driver-only operation (DOO) by several train operating companies,transferring the operation of passenger train doors from the guard to the driver. Later strikes also included disputes over pay rates,planned redundancies and working hours. NI Railways operating Northern Ireland's rail network did not strike. Some of the disputes continued into early 2020,and were resolved by negotiations during the pandemic without further action. Driver-only operation was however proposed again during the 2022–2023 United Kingdom railway strikes,leading to subsequent disputes.
The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland,commonly abbreviated to the Northern Ireland Protocol,is a protocol to the Brexit withdrawal agreement that sets out Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit relationship with both the EU and Great Britain. The Withdrawal Agreement,including the Protocol,came into effect on 1 January 2021. Citing the island of Ireland's "unique circumstances," the Protocol governs unique arrangements on the island between the United Kingdom and the European Union;it regulates some aspects of trade in goods between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.
On 17 March 2022,shipping company P&O Ferries dismissed 800 members of its shipping staff,primarily from the Port of Dover,but also from Kingston upon Hull,Liverpool and Cairnryan. The decision was met with much criticism from both sides of the political divide,particularly as a result of the speed and immediacy of the crews' termination notices,which in some cases consisted of a video call or text message,terminating their employment "with immediate effect". Also of concern was the fact that the crews were intended to be replaced with cheaper agency labour. The two main trades unions involved—the National Union of Rail,Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and Nautilus International—called for a boycott of the company and organised protests around the ports,but also outside parliament. P&O explained that for some time their business model had been impractical,resulting in losses of £100 million per annum,and that they needed to drastically reduce the wage bill to become profitable. Conversely,critics argued that the parent company,DP World,had paid out large dividends the previous year of £270 million,and had also made claims under the UK government's furlough scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes were an industrial dispute between rail workers and companies,with the latter supported by the UK government. The rail workers are represented by several unions including the National Union of Rail,Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF). The railway strikes commenced on 21 June 2022 after workers walked out over wages,planned changes to working practices –involving the removal of guards from trains,the reduction in the number of open ticket offices,and an increase in the age at which people could claim the young persons and senior citizen card –and the threat of redundancies. The industrial action was the largest in the sector since 1989,and involved 40,000 workers nationwide.
The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations 2022 is a statutory instrument of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The regulations removed Regulation 7 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003,which prevented employment agencies from supplying agency workers to employers to replace workers taking part in official industrial action. The regulations were struck down in a High Court case in July 2023,and were quashed from 10 August 2023.
Since May–June 2022,a series of labour strikes and industrial disputes have occurred in various industries of the United Kingdom's economy as workers walked out over pay and conditions. The strikes took place with rising inflation,and demands for pay increases that would keep pace with this inflation.
Eddie Dempsey is the assistant general secretary of the National Union of Rail,Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT),a trade union in the UK. He was elected in October 2021 to serve a five-year term until October 2026.
The Strikes Act 2023 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting UK labour law designed to force trade union workers in England,Scotland and Wales to provide a minimum service during a strike in health,education services,fire and rescue,border security,transport and nuclear decommissioning. The law has been criticised as being not in the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto,being a violation of human rights,and being a violation of international law.
