When this book was originally published in 1982 the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) was an organisation which catered for some 40 unions with an aggregate membership of 490,000. The GFTU in the late 20th Century was a very different organisation from what its founders in 1899 hope it might become, but in both its early and later form, it holds a significant place in the history of British trade unionism. Its history, outlined in this book sheds much light on the history of labour relations and working-class organisation in this country as a whole. The book provides a framework within which the GFTU's contribution to the history of British labour in the 20th Century may be understood.

We are living through a cost of living crisis, with interest rate hikes and the prices of everyday consumables and energy bills sky-rocketing. Why is this happening? Sometimes we are told that wages are too high, or that the government has "printed" too much money or that events far away, such as the war in Ukraine, are solely to blame. The plain argument that high prices go together with high profits, falling wages, and weak production is often distorted and hidden by mainstream commentary in the media and elsewhere. This plain-speaking pamphlet tells it straight: the big businesses dominating production and distribution make huge profits out of high inflation, while working people lose out. It sets out factual evidence to illustrate that the source of record profits is the fall in real wages as inflation rises. A large part of the income of working people is being transferred directly into the profits of big business. The pamphlet shows that the deeper roots of the "cost of living crisis" lie in the very low investment and poor productivity growth for many years. The basic steps to resolving the crisis are simple: prices, especially of essentials, must be brought down, and wages, salaries, benefits, and pensions must be increased.

Following campaigning fifty years ago, the Albemarle Report established the first modern Youth Service. This is now being dismantled and this passionate and polemical book calls for a new culture for youth work, drawing on the best of youth work's past. Doug Nicholls, a professional and trade union leader of youth workers for over thirty years, identifies what youth workers have achieved and which major changes must take place if their practice is to keep up with the radically altered world. The book distils the author's unique and extensive experience to look at the political and economic contexts, and the new disorder of inequality. Against these he sets the ideas of youth work and public services and the struggles for them. He argues for a new self awareness amongst youth workers on class, professionalism, trade unionism, socialism and the state. He redefines reflective practice, leadership and completely debunks the idea of positive activities as a diversion from political education. This accessible and challenging book is essential reading for students and practitioners and policy makers.

Passionately argued, this book articulates a new and urgent case for youth work. Drawing on his extensive experience as a union leader for youth workers in the UK, Doug Nicholls argues for sweeping cultural change within the youth sector, identifying the important things youth workers have achieved and the major changes that must take place if they are to keep up with the radically altered world. Examining a wide range of theories from various practices, government policies, and international scholarship, he speaks to youth workers with wit, wisdom, and warmth about their lives.