Fact Service September 2021

Issue 39 (30/09/21) - Unions call for setting of fuel priorities; Reversing pay cuts 'would boost economy'; One in five employers changed contracts during pandemic; Franchise failure sparks renationalisation calls; Half believe homeworking improves women’s career progress; 'Triple whammy' to hit poorer families; Shop floor workers succeed at tribunal

Issue 38 (23/09/2021) - Unions sound alarm on human cost of gas price rises; Fact Service reader survey; Energy unions in nuclear plea; Borrowing reaches £20.5 billion; 'No jobseeker's paradise' IFS finds; 'Time for ethnicity pay gap reporting'; Talks under way on transatlantic trade union; Survey finds nine in 10 couriers have been harassed

Issue 37 (16/09/2021) - Job vacancies pass million to set new record ; Lowest paid 'bore brunt of pandemic'; Union calls for new deal for foster carers; GDP still below pre-Covid levels; Boxing Day 'thank you'; for workers; Record jump in inflation

Issue 36 (09/09/2021) - 'Use wealth tax' to pay for social care reform; Redundancies fall but fears remain about end of furlough; Staff to return in-house; Union backs workers after anti-vaxxer assault; Schools extremism study finds lack of support and training; Pilots call for furlough extension

Issue 35 (02/09/2021) - TUC wants 12 bank holidays; UC cut 'to hit one in three families in 413 constituencies'; NEET numbers fall; TUC Congress coming soon; Analysis shows collective bargaining bonus; Supermarkets 'must take responsibility for labour shortages'; Unions urge support staff pay rethink; World Day for Decent Work

Issue 39

Unions call for setting of fuel priorities (395 words)

As fuel shortages – part caused by the shortfall in driver numbers which transport unions warned about in advance – continue, some unions have ...
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Reversing pay cuts ‘would boost economy’ (399 words)

The TUC has released an analysis it believes shows how economic recovery can be sped up by reversing cuts to key workers’ pay. ...
Subscribers only

One in five employers changed contracts during pandemic (252 words)

HR institute the CIPD has found that one in five employers (22%) made changes to employees’ terms and conditions of employment during the pandemic, ...
Subscribers only

Franchise failure sparks renationalisation calls (282 words)

Rail unions have called for full renationalisation of the network after train operator Southeastern had its franchise removed following a reported ...
Subscribers only

Half believe homeworking improves women’s career progress (210 words)

A YouGov survey carried out for the BBC has found that just over half (56%) of women thought working from home would help them progress at work, ...
Open access

‘Triple whammy’ to hit poorer families (386 words)

The Resolution Foundation think tank has warned that a typical low-income family with children could see its income fall by over £20 a week over the ...
Subscribers only

Shop floor workers succeed at tribunal (229 words)

Morrisons shop floor workers may have moved nearer to securing equal pay after the employment tribunal ruled their jobs can be compared with those in ...
Open access

Issue 38

Unions sound alarm on human cost of gas price rises (705 words)

Unions are warning that the recent huge rises in wholesale gas prices could have consequences that go far beyond just the effects on food production ...
Subscribers only

Fact Service reader survey (72 words)

We invite you to let us know how we can make this publication the best possible read for you by taking a few minutes to fill in a short reader survey. ...
Open access

Energy unions in nuclear plea (343 words)

As wholesale gas prices rocket, three unions with members in the energy sector – Prospect, Unite and the GMB – have jointly declared that new ...
Subscribers only

Borrowing reaches £20.5 billion (109 words)

Government borrowing was £20.5 billion in August, according to the Office for National Statistics. Although £5.5bn lower than the same month last ...
Open access

‘No jobseeker’s paradise’ IFS finds (308 words)

Despite reported labour shortages and increasing job vacancies, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found that there is “no jobseeker’s ...
Subscribers only

‘Time for ethnicity pay gap reporting’ (189 words)

HR institute the CIPD has called for ethnicity pay gap reporting to be made mandatory for large organisations, and released a new guide to assist ...
Open access

Talks under way on transatlantic trade union (223 words)

Transport union the TSSA has announced what it believes is a first in the British trade union movement – its entry into a possible merger with a US ...
Open access

Survey finds nine in 10 couriers have been harassed (323 words)

A survey of 100 couriers by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has found that nine out of 10 of them report being harassed ...
Subscribers only

Issue 37

Job vacancies pass million to set new record (1,225 words)

Job vacancies have risen above one million for the first time since records began in 2001, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). ...
Subscribers only

Lowest paid ‘bore brunt of pandemic’ (371 words)

The coronavirus was “a tale of two pandemics” the TUC has said, as it published a poll showing how low paid workers bore the brunt of the ...
Subscribers only

Union calls for new deal for foster carers (281 words)

The Unite general union is calling for a new deal for 10,000 Shared Lives foster carers who look after around 14,000 vulnerable adults in their homes ...
Subscribers only

GDP still below pre-Covid levels (178 words)

ONS figures show that UK gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.1% in July and remains 2.1% below its pre-pandemic level. Production output increased ...
Open access

Boxing Day 'thank you' for workers (135 words)

Sainsbury’s is the latest retail giant – following Morrisons, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer – to announce all its stores and petrol ...
Open access

Record jump in inflation (159 words)

Inflation jumped from 2% CPI (consumer prices index) in July to 3.2% in August – the largest single month rise since records began in 1997 ...
Open access

Issue 36

‘Use wealth tax’ to pay for social care reform (993 words)

Unions have responded to the government’s decision to use national insurance (NI) contributions to pay for reform of the social care system by ...
Subscribers only

Redundancies fall but fears remain about end of furlough (365 words)

The number of notified planned redundancies remains lower than expected, according to figures from the Insolvency Service – even though the ...
Subscribers only

Staff to return in-house (107 words)

Public services UNISON has announced that outsourced cleaners and security staff at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) are ...
Open access

Union backs workers after anti-vaxxer assault (156 words)

The specialists’ Prospect union has condemned anti-vaccination protesters who attempted to storm the offices of medicines and healthcare products ...
Open access

Schools extremism study finds lack of support and training (503 words)

Two education unions have welcomed the findings of a report which found that schools across England lack the resources and training to teach pupils ...
Subscribers only

Pilots call for furlough extension (156 words)

Pilots’ union BALPA says that, with the end of the furlough scheme weeks away, 98% of pilots it has surveyed do not believe that the transport ...
Open access

Issue 35

TUC wants 12 bank holidays (225 words)

The TUC has called for more bank holidays for England and Wales, saying the current eight are “stingy” in comparison with an EU average of 12.8 ...
Open access

UC cut ‘to hit one in three families in 413 constituencies’ (847 words)

More than 400 constituencies are set to see over one in three working-age families with children hit by the planned cuts to Universal Credit and ...
Subscribers only

NEET numbers fall (227 words)

The number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) has reached a record low according to the Office for National ...
Open access

TUC Congress coming soon (132 words)

TUC Congress is being held online from 12 to 14 September, with the promise that “we’ll discuss how we build stronger unions and mobilise for a ...
Open access

Analysis shows collective bargaining bonus (176 words)

Workers in Europe who benefit from collective bargaining enjoy up to two weeks extra paid holiday per year, according to European trade union ...
Open access

Supermarkets ‘must take responsibility for labour shortages’ (218 words)

Supermarkets must take responsibility for the labour shortages affecting their supply chains, general union Unite has said, and warned them “not to ...
Open access

Unions urge support staff pay rethink (211 words)

Three unions representing employees including control room operatives, call handlers and forensic specialists have written to the home secretary ...
Open access

World Day for Decent Work (68 words)

International trade union confederation the ITUC has said that this year’s World Day for Decent Work on 7 October will call on every government to ...
Open access