In the areas devoid of natural light consisting of people like myself, the bureaucrats and apparatchiks of the region, for the last two months the topic of conversation has often inclined toward an OECD report published last Friday.Read
It is more than six years since the Labour Government introduced the National Minimum Wage in the face of opposition from the business community and the Tory Opposition.Read
The Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra) has recently organised a consultation exercise on the potential benefits and considerations relating to ship recycling.Read
Lastweek I was part of an audience, mostly of employers, at a conference to mark the progress the region is making in tackling our skills challenges.Read
The demise of coalfield communities is well understood in this region. The current energy crisis and the government's energy review has led to a reassessment of all of our energy supply options.Read
Last week was Adult Learners Week and Thursday was National Learning at Work Day. To celebrate the latter, I abandoned the office and spent the day at the Asylum Seeker Unit (ASU) in Your Homes Newcastle.Read
Some will welcome the apparent pensions deal struck by the Chancellor and Prime Minister last week, to reintroduce linking pensions increases to wages instead of inflation from 2012.Read
Sadly, the predictions proved to be true, and the BNP made significant gains in the local elections in London and made gains in Yorkshire and the Potteries.Read
The cynic inside me suggests current debates about the appropriate entity for delivering economic success are fuelled as much by "political" dynamics as by economic aspirations.Read
Last week's Budget performance was one of the lower key moments in recent economic history, diminished in its significance by a period of relatively low economic growth and the impending Comprehensive Spending Review scheduled for next year.Read
Kevin Rowan is regional secretary of Northern TUC and also writes a weekly column for The Journal covering all major business issues affecting the North East. Kevin was formerly the regional organiser of the GMB where he was been involved in a series of campaigning issues. He was brought up in Cumbria and studied government and public policy at Northumbria University.
