Issue 21

ESA benefit is not fit for purpose (240 words)

A new benefit promising to end the UK’s sicknote culture has been condemned as unfit for purpose by Citizens Advice Scotland, who called for ...

Economic recovery in UK is still on course (113 words)

The UK economy grew faster in the first quarter of 2010 than first thought, according to the latest official estimates from the Office for ...

Directors’ pay (361 words)

Delegates representing 60,000 staff at BT telecoms group at the CWU communication workers’ union conference have voted unanimously to hold a strike ballot as ...

Employers fail to back paternity leave (212 words)

Few employers are currently embracing paternity leave, presenting the new government with a significant challenge in implementing its ideas on flexible parental leave, research ...

Earnings growth posts another sharp rise (291 words)

Average earnings showed another sharp rise in March, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. ...

Union takes challenge to European court (427 words)

Transport union RMT has lodged claims in the European Court of Human Rights after being the subject of an injunction in the UK courts ...

Blacklist bosses to be named and shamed (343 words)

Construction bosses who personally sanctioned the use of blacklists in the industry are set to be named and shamed. ...

Issue 20

Inflation is at 19-year high on dearer housing (401 words)

Inflation rose sharply to its highest level since July 1991, according to official figures. Under the Retail Prices Index (RPI), inflation was running at ...

Outsourcing firms are rubbing their hands (387 words)

Companies that provide privatised or outsourced business services are rubbing their collective hands in anticipation that the coalition government will move towards outsourcing in ...

New website aims to help trades councils (155 words)

A brand new website dedicated to the vital work of trades councils has been set up by the TUC. ...

Age campaigners want U-turn on retirement (112 words)

The coalition government is facing calls from the leading age campaigner the Employers Forum on Age (EFA) to reconsider its decision and commit fully ...

Earnings growth stays above 5% (366 words)

The recovery in the growth of average weekly earnings for some continues, although at a slightly smaller rise than the previous month, the latest ...

CBI calls for two-year public sector pay freeze (370 words)

It did not taker them long. An immediate pay freeze in the public sector and a reform of public services to tame the economy ...

Tories won donations battle during election (137 words)

Over £13.3 million was received by the three main political parties during the 31-day general election period, according to the independent party funding regulator, ...

Issue 19

Manufacturing output rise best for four years (268 words)

Manufacturing continued its recovery in the early months of 2010, the latest official figures show. ...

Union wins legal battle on redundancy pay (283 words)

One of the many problems a new government will have to face will be to revise plans to drastically cut civil service redundancy payments, ...

Labour Party has good night in local elections (200 words)

It may have been a bad night at the polls for the Labour Party in the general election, but they had a good night ...

Unemployment is at its highest for 16 years (495 words)

Unemployment has risen to its highest level since December 1994, latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show. ...

2010 general election sees records broken (538 words)

The 2010 general election was the first to produce a hung parliament since 1974. And subsequent wheeling and dealing saw the Conservatives and Liberal ...

Issue 18

Double digit rise in house prices (167 words)

The annual rate of house price inflation has moved into double digits for the first time since June 2007, according to the mortgage lender ...

No freeze in boardroom pay last year (347 words)

Workers may have been putting up with pay freezes, but the boardroom motto appears to be “As you were”. Thirty-eight top executives on £500,000 ...

Election donations (295 words)

The Conservative Party received £4.3 million in the first three weeks of the 2010 general election period, figures from the political finance watchdog the ...

Recession hits trade union membership (330 words)

Trade union membership for UK employees fell by 2.4% or 163 thousand to 6.7 million in 2009 compared with 2008, according to official figures ...

Union learning works for employers too (288 words)

More than half of employers say that their employees have improved their qualifications, thanks to union-led projects. ...

Pay freezes show downward trend (232 words)

Any new government following the 6 May election may find it hard to sustain public sector pay curbs, new analysis of pay data from ...

Final salary pension scheme closures (260 words)

Almost 20% of UK final salary pension schemes are now closed to future accrual, according to research by Hewitt Associates. ...

Tax rises and spending cuts are needed (197 words)

A triple economic whammy has been outlined by a respected think tank, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR). ...