McDonald’s workers in Manchester have had enough of their poor & unequal pay, lack of union recognition and zero-hour contracts. To remedy the situation they are going on a ‘McStrike’ with other Mcdonald’s workers at selected outlets around the country. Workers supported the action by a 95% vote in favour for a strike on 1 […]
Manchester’s first Mindful Art Centre opens in Levenshulme
Manchester’s first Mindful Art Centre is launching in Levenshulme Old Library on 27 April, 4pm-9pm. Local social enterprise The Owl and The Coconut are behind the centre, which opens with a community crowd-sourced exhibition and offers of free places on their Mindfulness and Mindful Art courses. The ‘Levy Life’ exhibition, a partnership between Levenshulme Old […]
Campaigners collaborate to call for an end to Universal Credit based evictions
Members of four community campaign groups from Manchester joined forces yesterday to take part in a national day of action against Universal Credit. The paving stones of St Peter’s Square were covered with chalked slogans denouncing the controversial social security payment system, and a letter was presented to Manchester Town Hall demanding an end to […]
‘Murder anyone, anytime, broadly anywhere’ – the US & UK drone strike assassination programme
The latest US & UK air strikes against the Syrian regime in response to the chemical weapons attack in Douma have dominated the headlines and political discourse. And rightly so: with Russia’s involvement in Syria, there is the potential for escalation into a nuclear war. But the US and UK’s drone strike program into Syria, […]
Male sex work uncovered – the pain behind the game
Guest article from Street Support Greater Manchester: ***CONTENT WARNING:This article contains details of sexual abuse that some may find distressing.*** When we think of the stereotypical “sex worker”, we are more than likely to think of the eastern European woman who has been trafficked into a western European country and is working in a brothel […]
Creative buying at Lush looks beyond the bottom line to reduce e-waste
Lush looks to implement its ethical approach to buying raw materials for its cosmetics range into technology projects, to avoid producing toxic electronic waste. Where Lush leads others may follow and help reduce the global burden of e-waste, which particularly affects certain African countries such as Ghana, where a lot e-waste is dumped. The interview […]
The Mayor’s Green Summit: a balance sheet
Guest article from Steady State Manchester: I attended the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Green City Summit on 21 March: here is a quick review. The event was, as you’d expect, a mixed bag, with good and bad aspects. It is too soon to make an assessment but here, from a Viable Economy perspective, are the important […]
Disabled People Against Cuts are calling for an end to the ‘conscious cruelty’ of Universal Credit
Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) are calling for Universal Credit (UC) to be stopped and scrapped due to its multiple flaws, and old welfare payments to be reinstated. This report covers DPAC’s talk at this years Lush Summit where they explained the devastating effect UC is having on people claiming it. DPAC’s #StopAndScrap Universal Credit […]
Salford Council reveals staggering levels of homelessness
Guest article from The Salford Star: As the Homelessness Reduction Act kicks in this month, Salford City Council is about to publish its new 44-page Homeless Strategy which reveals shocking and staggering levels of homelessness in the city. Included in the report is the fact that Salford has a higher level of rough sleeping than […]
Shake off your digital chains: choose software that liberates you
The Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal has shown the danger of putting our data and trust in platforms running proprietary software. Richard Stallman thinks the solution is free software. Software that liberates people. First in a series of stories reporting on the Lush Summit 2018. Our lives are becoming increasingly enmeshed with and dependent on digital software, […]