Labour Research July 2000

Corporate hospitality. Performance-related pay for teachers. UK behind Europe on outlawing gay bias. A new era for museums and galleries? Union decline analysed.

Features

MSF finds way through merger muddle (197 words)

Manufacturing, science and finance union MSF has begun to get its merger with the AEEU engineering union back on track after agreeing changes to ...

TUC welcomes upturn in union membership (425 words)

Trade union membership rose in 1998 for the first time in 20 years, according to the annual report of the government's certification officer. Total ...

New law marked by record number of deals (329 words)

As the new union recognition law came into force last month, the TUC reported that a record number of voluntary recognition deals had been ...

New role for Central Arbitration Committee (150 words)

On 6 June, the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), started its role of ruling on disputed claims for recognition. It will assess whether or not ...

More union report recruitment success (199 words)

Further evidence is coming out that union membership decline has bottomed out, with a number of unions reporting rising membership. ...

Unions prepare to use recognition law (564 words)

Many unions are well prepared for the implementation of new recognition rights (see opposite) and a series of new deals are likely to boost ...

TUC explores lives of black trade unionists (76 words)

TUC education tutors around the country are interviewing black and Asian trade unionists about their social conditions and their work. The information is to ...

“Retiring” boss set to get Granada gold (250 words)

Gerry Robinson, the chair of media and hospitality group Granada, is set to receive almost £10 million from the group over the next three ...

Ayling’s cloud has a silver lining (212 words)

Bob Ayling, the former chief executive of British Airways, got a £1.98 million golden parachute after he was sacked last March as well as ...

Jobs evaporate in shops and manufacturing (577 words)

BAE Systems, the world's second largest defence contractor, is one of the latest manufacturers to announce huge job losses in the UK, with 3,800 ...

Law has done nothing to help deaf workers (560 words)

Deaf or hard of hearing people are more likely to be unemployed now than when the Disability Discrimination Act first came into effect in ...

Unionised women get better deal at work (227 words)

Women in unionised workplaces are much better off in terms of flexible working arrangements, general support for family responsibilities and in their employers' commitment ...

“More effort needed for equal pay” - EOC (271 words)

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has called on the government to speed up the process of getting equal pay for women, saying it could ...

Green light for new representation right (358 words)

The new legal right to be accompanied at disciplinary and grievance hearings will come into force on 4 September 2000, it has become clear. ...

Tainted contract (103 words)

Normally, if an employment contract is "tainted" by illegality, for example where employer and worker agree that no tax will be deducted from pay, ...

Compensation rights (47 words)

The amount of compensation to which an employee is entitled does not depend on the employer's resources, according to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. The ...

Equality policies “are contractual rights” (461 words)

The House of Lords, the UK's highest court, has broken new ground in confirming that an employer's equal opportunities policy is more than just ...

Health and safety law in major shake up (551 words)

The government last month announced that companies would have to appoint named safety directors, who could be jailed for serious health and safety offences, ...

Poor management encourages bullying (151 words)

Bullying and harassment costs £2 billion a year and leads to 19 million lost working days, according to a new report by the London ...

UCATT calls day of action on site safety (166 words)

Delegates at construction union UCATT's annual conference last month voted for a day of action on site safety. The union wants tougher penalties for ...

Europe agrees law on race discrimination (398 words)

New EU-wide legislation banning discrimination on racial or ethnic origin grounds were unanimously agreed by the Council of Ministers last month. Member states will ...

Commission plans ban on sexual harassment (277 words)

The European Commission has presented proposals for EU-wide legislation outlawing sexual harassment. They are part of a wider draft directive on equal treatment for ...

French unions split on unemployment plans (189 words)

New rules for the French unemployed, which extend benefit rights but put more duties on claimants, were agreed last month. ...

Council workers strike over new contracts (389 words)

Members of public services union UNISON at Ealing Council in west London took one-day strike action over unwelcome contracts last month after 70% voted ...

NEW WORKPLACES KEY TO UNIONS (1477 words)

The contraction of the influence of unions since the 1970s owed much to the failure to organise in newly established plants, say two new ...

A CORPORATE DAY AT THE RACES (1344 words)

Ascot, Henley and the top seats at Wimbledon are no longer reserved for the old aristocracy. But while the fat cats of modern business ...

A NEW ERA FOR GALLERIES? (1446 words)

Government moves to make museums and galleries accessible to all will give a boost to the country's cultural wellbeing. But many local institutions which ...

UK SOFT ON HOMOPHOBIA (1961 words)

The UK lags behind most of Europe in failing to give lesbians and gay men protection against discrimination at work. ...

HOW TO DEMORALISE A TEACHER (1381 words)

The overwhelming evidence from performance-related-pay schemes already running in the public sector is that they are counterproductive. But not only are teachers being added ...

THE ECONOMY THIS MONTH (990 words)

KEY INDICATORS ...