Linda Somerville

Sheku Bayoh’s family accuses Scottish police of ‘sabotage’ after inquiry chair resigns Relatives of man who died in police custody in 2015 say chair was ‘forced out’ amid claims inquiry was undermined The family of Sheku Bayoh has accused Scotland’s police and prosecutors of “a desperate final act of sabotage” after the chair of the inquiry into his death in custody resigned. At a hastily convened press conference after Lord Bracadale’s unexpected resignation on Tuesday, Bayoh’s family said the former high court judge had been “forced out” by what they called the “unholy trinity” of the solicitor general, Scotland’s deputy chief prosecutor and the chief constable of Police Scotland, led by the Scottish Police Federation, which represents the officers allegedly involved in his death. Continue reading...

Sheku Bayoh’s family accuses Scottish police of ‘sabotage’ after inquiry chair resigns

The Employment Rights Bill from the UK Government could be the biggest upgrade to workers' rights in a generation.

It must be enacted fully. Today, we're bringing together workers from across the UK to ensure we empower our movement as the Bill becomes reality.

Deputy General Secretary @lindasomerville.bsky.social spoke to striking @eisunion.bsky.social members at the UWS Paisley campus picket today, joining their fight against the threat of compulsory redundancies.

EIS ULA members are on co-ordinated strike action today at UWS and Robert Gordon Uni.

STUC Deputy General Secretary @lindasomerville.bsky.social joined the PCS picket at OFGEM in Glasgow this morning sharing a strong message of solidarity with workers fighting to protect their jobs, pay, and conditions ✊

@pcsunion.bsky.social members at OFGEM are on strike on 26-28th August.

🏠 Scotland’s rents have surged by 32 % since May 2020.

This means tenants are paying an average of £245 more per month - in a cost-of-living crisis.

🧵

A strong showing by Mamdani would signal that Democratic voters in the nation’s biggest city are turning their backs on the party’s establishment, which could have big implications for primaries ahead of next year’s midterm elections. www.ft.com/content/792e...

DHL stops deliveries in Canada amid strike, new law banning replacement workers | CBC News More than 2,000 DHL workers have been on strike since June 8. Since then, DHL was using replacement workers to continue operations, but stopped deliveries Friday in light of new federal labour legisla...

CANADA: DHL stops deliveries in Canada amid strike, new law banning replacement workers www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

RMT: the only legal performance enhancer for your rights
#JoinRMT
www.rmt.org.uk/join

Oasis concerts blamed for slump in Edinburgh Festival Fringe ticket sales The staging of huge stadium shows at Murrayfield has been blamed for slow ticket sales at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Oasis get the blame, the fans get the blame, everyone except the profiteers. "Supply and demand will always dictate a destination’s room rates around the world and we all have to accept that." No we don't #overtourism
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2524661...

During #COVID19, the resilience of our public services failed. Failed due to austerity, due to public spending cuts, and due government inaction.

📺Today at the @covid19inquiry.scot STUC Deputy General Secretary, @lindasomerville.bsky.social, recognised the heroism of public sector workers.

10 years on and the fight for justice for Sheku Bayoh continues 💪🏽

STUC Deputy General Secretary @lindasomerville.bsky.social & Satman Ner from the STUC Black Workers' Committee joined trade unionists to demand #Justice4Sheku

Policy Official & Vice Chair @scottishtucwc.bsky.social, @taralillis.bsky.social, addressed the vigil outside Capital House as the Sheku Bayoh public inquiry enters a critical point.

NASUWT sends unwavering solidarity to Sheku's family in their fight for justice.
#JusticeforSheku

Birmingham bin strikers rally support in Edinburgh with a warning that other councils could follow Birmingham's attack on workers. Solidarity with the strikers 💪🏽
@unitetheunion.bsky.social
@scottishtuc.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

It is May Day - international workers day.

@lindasomerville.bsky.social reflecting on the outcomes of Congress #STUC25 and providing challenge to @kirstymcneill.bsky.social and the UK government to achieve a new deal for workers.

Lecturing staff at Robert Gordon University have entered their second day of strike action today, in protest against proposed job cuts and compulsory redundancies

'Scotland's needs a wake-up call' Why STUC chief fears a disturbing dystopian future In a wide-ranging interview with our Writer at Large, Scotland’s leading trade unionist paints a dark vision of the future

Tomorrow, #STUC25 begins. Our congress is united: we must drive out hatred, fascism and division from our communities and politics.

Read more from @rozfoyer.bsky.social with @neilmackay.bsky.social in today's @heraldscotland.bsky.social.

www.heraldscotland.com/news/2511835...

As we approach #IWMD2025, we pledge to always remember the dead and fight for the living.

Labour accused of leaving 'political vacuum' for Nigel Farage's Reform to exploit The most senior union chief in Scotland has warned the Labour UK government has failed to deliver the change it promised - encouraging voters to turn to Reform.

Excl: Trade union bosses have accused Labour of leaving a "political vacuum" for Reform to exploit.
"The people of Scotland voted for change. What the Labour UK government has served, thus far, has not delivered."
www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

It's 'Awful April' and the cost of living crisis continues Last week we all got poorer. I’m not talking about Trump’s tariffs, although that too risks price hikes for us all. But more immediately, last…

‘Awful April’ is the culmination of governments failing to get to grips with the cost of living and of big business committing daylight robbery.

@rozfoyer.bsky.social / @heraldscotland.bsky.social

These workers woke up one morning to be told they would be taking up to an £8,000 pay cut. They are being made to pay the price for austerity and bad decisions by Birmingham City Council.

We will not stand by and watch workers and communities pay the price for government inaction.

Tony Benn inspired so many people to stop, question, challenge, asking "What power have you got? Where did you get it from? In whose interests do you exercise it? To whom are you accountable? And how can we get rid of you?”

Forbes Billionaires List 2025: World's Wealthiest Now Worth More Than Nearly All Nations' GDPs The billionaires club has never been bigger—or richer. Here’s who’s up, who’s down, who’s off the list and why it matters more than ever.

The collective wealth of the world's 3,028 billionaires now exceeds the total GDP of all the countries in the world put together (excluding US and China).

Such an extreme concentration of wealth is a threat both to living standards and democracy.
www.forbes.com/sites/chasew...

Roz Foyer: Your energy bills are about to go up again. Time to take back control On the 1st of April the price of heating your home will rise by 6.4. The cost of energy for a typical household will be £1,849, still sitting over…

Your energy prices are going up tomorrow. Enough is enough. The private ownership project for energy is failing us; it's time we own it instead.

@rozfoyer.bsky.social / @heraldscotland.bsky.social

5 years on and we honour care workers who died during the pandemic, while the fight for better pay and conditions goes on.

@lindasomerville.bsky.social // @gmbscotland.bsky.social

Care workers to rally at Holyrood after five years of broken promises: bit.ly/4bQLUui

'Monstrous carbuncle': Edinburgh's big wheel won't go up for summer after backlash Edinburgh Council said the Ferris wheel will not be set up in June for a summer stint after the plan failed to attract support.

Thankfully the profit seekers have been stopped on this occasion from using public space to cash in on tourists.
#Edinburgh
@thecockburn.bsky.social
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2503345...

'I had to take a zero hours social care contract as I can't afford childcare' A care home worker says she was forced to take zero hours agency work as she couldn't afford childcare while working in the sector full-time

Care workers, mostly women, struggle to make ends meet. Better pay, terms & conditions needed now.
#JoinAUnion @scottishtuc.bsky.social
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2503029...

Do you work in the creative industries?

Help us build a Fair Work Charter and campaign for Fair Work in the creative sector - fill our survey!✍️

www.surveymonkey.com/r/WV8DNT3

#FairWorkForCulture #FairWork

This morning @rozfoyer.bsky.social offered support and solidarity to the @unitescotland.bsky.social members striking at the University of Strathclyde, fighting to protect their pensions. ✊