Three Thousand Versts of Loneliness

With a new deal on the table aimed at resolving the Lindsey oil refinery strike, 'Mark Mardell’s Euroblog' has teased out the more interesting ramifications of a possible solution to the dispute. Although 100 jobs for local workers, offered by the Italian company at the centre of the controversy, might do most to address the immediate concerns of picketing strikers marching around with Union Flags, it is an undertaking to ensure Italian employees are retained under conditions negotiated by British Trades Unions, which establishes a more prescient precedent. Under the terms of the renewed offer, it would not be possible for Italian workers at the site to undercut British employees (as European law permits). They would instead be earning Union rates commensurate with those earned by their UK colleagues. Significantly, the government has played a role in steering both sides towards this outcome. Mardell speculates as to whether Labour might now push for greater standardisati...

I went to Scotland to study, my girlfriend acquired her first degree in Scotland, my sister was educated in two universities in Scotland, a high percentage of my friends attended universities in Scotland and I would estimate that approximately one third of my school year did likewise. Universities in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen are filled with Northern Irish students and naturally many do not return to these shores when their studies are completed. Sir Reg Empey has been spearheading a campaign, not to reverse the trend, but rather to attract graduates from Scotland to Northern Ireland to work. To this end four top companies lined up alongside the Minister for Education and Learning at Glasgow University’s Summer Graduate Fair at the SECC. The intention is to establish a presence at various graduate fairs throughout Britain. This is a welcome initiative and I hope it is a successful one. The brain drain is a marked phenomenon, but it is healthy for talented people from...