Fact Service November 2019

Issue 48 (28/11/2019) - Labour’s plans for working rights
; TUC slams Tory plans for public services
; Solid strike by staff at 60 English universities
; Increase in real Living Wage for 2019-20
; Is the NHS safe in Boris Johnson's hands?

Issue 47 (21/11/2019) - Working family poverty increases under Tories
; Labour to help workers 'take back control'; CWU appeals over Royal Mail strike ban
; Transport matters in Unite's manifesto; Public against NHS outsourcing of staff
; Top firms fail to reveal parental leave policies


Issue 46 (14/11/2019) - Unemployment down — but still above 1.3m
; Official figures show earnings a tad higher
; Political donations not declared by pub chain; Inflation down to 2.1%; Earnings less in real terms than in 2010

Issue 45 (07/11/2019) - Over 50s power growth in night working
; Tory misspeaks on food banks - and the reality; Presenteeism when mentally unwell; Tories' misleading ads about universal credit; UK economic growth lags behinds rivals
; Register to vote in general election


Issue 48

Labour’s plans for working rights
 (429 words)

The Labour Party has published far-reaching proposals for the reform of workplace rights which would move away from the current system of enforcement ...
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TUC slams Tory plans for public services
 (643 words)

The Conservative Party manifesto makes grim reading for our public services and those who were hoping for an end to austerity. 
 ...
Subscribers only

Solid strike by staff at 60 English universities
 (518 words)

The UCU university and college lecturers’ union said that strong shows of support for strikes at UK universities sent a clear message that staff ...
Subscribers only

Increase in real Living Wage for 2019-20
 (520 words)

Earlier this month, new Living Wage rates were announced by the Living Wage Foundation.
 ...
Subscribers only

Is the NHS safe in Boris Johnson's hands?
 (96 words)

A quick election quiz question. Who said: “The NHS would be as safe as a pet hamster in the presence of a hungry python if Boris Johnson, Michael ...
Open access

Issue 47

Working family poverty increases under Tories
 (373 words)

The number of children living below the breadline — despite being in a working family — has increased by well over a third since 2010, according ...
Subscribers only

Labour to help workers 'take back control'
 (519 words)

A future Labour government would “rewrite the rules of our economy” and would help workers “take back control”, shadow chancellor John ...
Subscribers only

CWU appeals over Royal Mail strike ban
 (188 words)

The CWU communication workers’ union has formally lodged an appeal against a High-Court ruling banning 110,000 postal workers from going on ...
Open access

Transport matters in Unite's manifesto
 (423 words)

A transformation of the UK’s transport network and the lives of the workers operating within it is set out in proposals from the Unite general ...
Subscribers only

Public against NHS outsourcing of staff
 (304 words)

The majority of the public (54%) think transferring NHS staff to private companies is unacceptable, according to a public services union ...
Subscribers only

Top firms fail to reveal parental leave policies
 (428 words)

Only 15 companies in the top FTSE 250 publish their parental policies, according to the Mumsnet website.
 ...
Subscribers only

Issue 46

Unemployment down — but still above 1.3m
 (545 words)

The summer ended with a fall in unemployment, latest official figures show.
 ...
Subscribers only

Official figures show earnings a tad higher
 (600 words)

Growth in average weekly earnings edged higher, the latest official figures show.
 ...
Subscribers only

Political donations not declared by pub chain
 (288 words)

Investors in UK pub chain JD Wetherspoon are being urged to reject the firm’s annual report over its failure to clear pro-Brexit spending, the BBC ...
Subscribers only

Inflation down to 2.1%
 (414 words)

Retail price inflation fell for the fifth consecutive month, official figures show.
 ...
Subscribers only

Earnings less in real terms than in 2010
 (115 words)

If inflation is taken into account, average weekly earnings are less now than in 2010 when the Conservatives came to power.
 ...
Open access

Issue 45

Over 50s power growth in night working
 (479 words)

Older workers are powering the increase in night working, according to a new TUC analysis.
 ...
Subscribers only

Tory misspeaks on food banks — and the reality 
 (357 words)

As Labour launched its election campaign, party leader Jeremy Corbyn pledged to end food-bank use within five years.
 ...
Subscribers only

Presenteeism when mentally unwell 
 (255 words)

Approximately one on five UK employees admit that they have gone into work when feeling mentally unwell, according to recent research.
 ...
Subscribers only

Tories' misleading ads about universal credit 
 (520 words)

A series of government ads extolling the virtues of universal credit and purporting to bust negative myths about the flagship Conservative welfare ...
Subscribers only

UK economic growth lags behinds rivals
 (587 words)

The UK has had one of the weakest growing economies in the OECD since the last general election in 2017, according to a new analysis from the TUC.
 ...
Subscribers only

Register to vote in general election
 (95 words)

People only have until midnight, 26 November to register to vote in the general election on 12 December.
 ...
Open access