Gail Cartmail blog

Fish rots from the head

In Greece they say the fish rots from the head. Greek voters - some of whom are facing pay cuts on average of 25 per cent - will soon have the chance to express their opinion about the country’s political leadership.

Last week I met a leader of the Greek public sector workers union ADEDY. Ilias was keen to refute the stereotype that has given rise to the slur that the current economic crisis in Greece is because of a national inertia.

Unity is strength

Last week was a busy one for protests.

I joined the Canadian United Steel Workers' (USW) demonstration organised by Workers Uniting, a coalition between the USW and Unite.

The protest took place outside Rio Tinto’s Annual General Meeting, against the company's appalling treatment of their workforce, who have been on strike for nearly a year.

‘Scream Quietly or the Neighbours Will Hear’

‘Scream Quietly or the Neighbours Will Hear’ was the title of a book published by Pelican in 1983. The cover, which was truly shocking, showed photographs of women’s injuries inflicted by their partners.

Injuries such as those inflicted on Tina Nash, whose ex-partner tried to strangle her last year in an attack that lasted 12 hours and broke her nose and jaw. He gouged out her eyes, leaving her completely blind. 

Crisis in social care that cannot be ignored

Last year the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published ‘Close to Home: An inquiry into older people and human rights in home care’.

It should have been a wakeup call published in the wake of the collapse of care homes for the elderly, most notoriously Southern Cross.

The EHRC seeks to put human rights at the centre of adult care with a strong emphasis on enabling older people to live independently whenever possible within their own home.