Unite Welcomes Forestry Commission Announcement

September 23rd, 2009 LONDON - Commenting on the announcement today (Thursday) by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) of its new plan for the future of the business, Unite national secretary for the automotive sector, Dave Osborne said: "Earlier this year, this company and our union agreed a framework agreement intended to support JLR through this tough economic period. Our members said then that JLR could not be trusted to uphold that agreement.

September 8th, 2009 LONDON - Diageo's announcement today (Wednesday 9th September) to reject proposals by the Scottish Government that would safeguard jobs has outraged Unite, the UK's biggest union. Unite is also furious that Diageo has made the announcement before the conclusion of the 90-day consultation period.

August 25th, 2009 LONDON - Unite, Britain's biggest union, has today (26th August) welcomed the Government's plans to appoint a Chief Adviser on construction. The Chief Adviser will have responsibility for strategy and equipping Britain's construction industry with the necessary skills and knowledge to compete in the 21st century.

July 6th, 2009 LONDON - Unite, the UK's largest union, today (Tuesday) welcomes the BERR Select Committee report entitled 'Post offices- securing their future', but expresses disappointment that the committee has not been bold enough in recognising that a bank based at the Post Office would only deliver a number of the points that the committee acknowledges in its report. Paul Reuter, Unite National Officer responsible for the Post Office, said: "This is a good report which acknowledges that there should be no more branch closures.

April 6th, 2009 LONDON - Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer, said: "The news that 4,500 RBS staff in the UK are to lose their jobs is truly devastating. Unite is appalled that thousands of people, who form the backbone of the RBS operations, are to be made redundant.

April 1st, 2009 LONDON - Derek Simpson, Unite joint general secretary, said: "The announcement by Aviva to cut 1,100 staff will cause alarm across the insurance industry. Today we see a scenario where a company that is continuing to deliver positive results is slashing the staff that have enabled them to weather the current financial storm.

March 24th, 2009 LONDON - Unite has accused HSBC of "creative accountancy" with jobs as HSBC concedes that the true number of job cuts is in fact 2,900 as the union has rightly claimed, and not 1,200 as HSBC had originally claimed. Derek Simpson, Unite Joint General Secretary, said: "As if it was not bad enough for staff of HSBC to hear from the media that their jobs are at risk, we now have a situation where the company is failing to come clean with the true extent of these cuts.

March 24th, 2009 LONDON - Derek Simpson, Unite Joint General Secretary, said: "To slash 2,900 jobs demonstrates the insincerity of the claim by HSBC to be 'the world's local bank'. This decision will ravage a number of local communities as sites are closed and other work is sent abroad.

March 12th, 2009 LONDON - Unite, Britain's biggest union, has welcomed the successful second reading of the Statutory Redundancy Pay Amendment Bill which would increase to GBP500 a week the amount of pay used to calculate compensation for workers made redundant. Unite the union is calling on the government to introduce the measure through the forthcoming budget.

March 12th, 2009 LONDON - Unite, the UK's biggest civil air transport union, welcomes the announcement today (Friday) from the High Court that the challenge to the expansion of Stansted airport has been suspended. Steve Turner, Unite National Officer, said: "We are delighted at this decision today and hope we can now move on and develop an expansion programme at Stansted airport.

September 17th, 2009 Union returning to AFL-CIOPITTSBURGH — One of the unions that left the AFL-CIO in a bitter dispute that split the labor movement four years ago is coming back to the labor federation. The union of hotel, restaurant and clothing workers known as UNITE HERE is bringing its 265,000 members back a day after Richard Trumka became the newest AFL-CIO president.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A Rs.500 crore (Rs.5 billion) programme to restore and regenerate India's forest cover has been included in the budget unveiled by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said here Thursday. Buried in the expenditure budget, the "major new scheme" did not receive the attention it deserved, he said.

June 14th, 2009 Obama welcomes Netanyahu's two-state speechWASHINGTON — The White House is welcoming Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu's call for the creation of a Palestinian state. Netanyahu said in Jerusalem that he would support a Palestinian state as long it is demilitarized and guarantees Israel's security.

September 24th, 2009 Israel welcomes Russian stand on Iran sanctionsJERUSALEM — A senior Israeli official welcomes steps by Russia toward endorsing additional sanctions against Iran as a way of stopping its nuclear program. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev opened the door to a firm international stand against Iran.

June 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - CII today welcomed the Government's announcement on creating the UID Authority of India (UIDAI), under the aegis of the Planning Commission, and begin the process of allocating unique identification number to the citizens of India. CII acknowledged the move to appoint Nandan Nilekani to lead this initiative, and said that Nilekani's technological acumen and managerial prowess will help deliver a project of this magnitude.

April 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Election Commission Tuesday sought an explanation from Communications and IT Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia for distributing letters highlighting the achievements of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government. The Election Commission has asked him to file a written reply by Wednesday.

April 27th, 2009 PRETORIA - South Africa's president-elect Jacob Zuma has said his government will work to unite the nation. 'Working together we will make it a government for all South Africans,' Zuma said, while addressing the media shortly after the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) announced the election results Saturday night.

May 15th, 2009 KUALA LUMPUR - Temples in Malaysia should be used to unite the Malay Indian community, the Tamil Nesan quoted Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) secretary-general Dr. S. Subramaniam, as saying.

April 21st, 2009 Foo Fighters frontman welcomes second daughterNEW YORK — Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and his wife, Jordyn, have welcomed their second daughter. And, Grohl says, she likes to make noise.

August 3rd, 2009 New GI Bill tops Obama's agendaWASHINGTON — The first new GI Bill since the 9/11terror attacks tops President Barack Obama's agenda. The president is scheduled to attend a rally Monday morning at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., to celebrate the implementation of the bill, which provides veterans with comprehensive educational benefits.