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Labour Research October 2013
Universal discredit? - Amid a welter of criticism, the new Universal Credit benefit is rolled out from this month; Ordinary people - There are too few 'ordinary people' in politics, and unions and the Labour Party say they want this to change; Sending fracking packing - The government has given the green light for fracking, to the unease of unions and local communities; Youth unemployment - There's talk of economic recovery, but young people certainly don't appear to be reaping any benefits
News
Pay freeze sees Post Office workers balloting for action (301 words)
Workers in the Post Office administrative and supply chain functions will be balloted for strike action in response to the Post Office introducing a ...
Subscribers only
National day highlights blacklisting (345 words)
A national day of action against the “shameful practice” of blacklisting will be held on Wednesday 20 November, with protests up and down the ... Subscribers only
Strike hits beer supplies (136 words)
Deliveries to 30,000 hospitality sites, airports and businesses, including pubs, were significantly disrupted on 11 September due to one-day strike ...
Open access
More action by teachers (93 words)
The two largest teaching unions, the NASUWT and NUT, have announced further action in their joint campaign to protect teachers and defend education. ... Open access
Zero hours exploitation must end, Miliband tells delegates (340 words)
Labour leader Ed Miliband called for an end to the exploitation of workers as he told delegates to the TUC Congress last month that the next Labour ... Subscribers only
Unions criticise prison closures (242 words)
News that four more prisons are to close, resulting in up to 700 job losses, has been strongly criticised by unions. ... Open access
Latest tribunal fees plans blasted (208 words)
Plans to make workers with household savings of £3,000 pay the full cost of going to an employment tribunal have been attacked by the TUC. ... Open access
Unemployment rate drops (222 words)
The jobless total is below 2.5 million for only the second time since May 2011. ... Open access
Living standards still hit hard (60 words)
The picture for earnings remains subdued. People’s living standards continue to be hit, with the gap between average weekly earnings and inflation ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (395 words)
Inflation +3.1%, Average earnings +0.6% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Union-Labour link: proposals set for closer examination (352 words)
Labour-affiliated unions will be scrutinising the interim report on the union-Labour link, to be published during this month’s Party conference in ... Subscribers only
Rise in claims for recognition (190 words)
A “substantial number” of applications for union recognition in residential care facilities contributed to an overall rise in statutory claims, ... Open access
Win for check-off (131 words)
The PCS civil service union has won its legal challenge against the DCLG Department for Communities and Local Government’s scrapping of the ... Open access
Student campaigning (45 words)
The TUC has signed a partnership agreement with the NUS students’ union setting out 10 ways in which the two bodies will support each other’s ... Open access
PCS Deputy post (54 words)
Members of the PCS civil service union are being balloted over the question of scrapping the union’s deputy general secretary post. ... Open access
European news
French unions divided over government’s pension plans (403 words)
Unions in France are mobilising to oppose the government’s pension plans. The first demonstrations took place on 10 September, bringing tens of ... Subscribers only
Fiat complies but issues threat (247 words)
Fiat, the Italian vehicle builder and the largest manufacturing company in Italy, has agreed to comply with a court decision and allow members of ... Open access
Pension changes are under discussion in Spain (231 words)
The Spanish government has started a round of meetings with unions and employers to discuss changes to the country’s pension system which it hopes ... Open access
Features
Does Universal Credit spell universal chaos? (2,647 words)
A major plank of the government’s much-vaunted welfare revolution, Universal Credit, is implemented from this month. ... Subscribers only
Reflecting ordinary lives (2,232 words)
There is widespread agreement that the House of Commons needs more “ordinary people” and that our political institutions often fail to reflect ... Subscribers only
Little backing for fracking (1,600 words)
The government says it wants Britain to be “a leader of the shale gas revolution”. But what does this mean for unions and local communities? ... Subscribers only
Recovery? Not for the young (1,544 words)
Limited economic growth is fuelling talk of a recovery — that at least is the current mood music. But, it seems, young people “need not apply”. ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
'Union-bashing' lobbying bill breaches members' privacy (443 words)
Facing censure by a wide range of organisations — from trade unions, charities, and political commentators, to the Electoral Commission and even ... Subscribers only
TUC condemns TUPE changes (393 words)
The coalition government has announced its changes to TUPE. ... Subscribers only
Law Queries
Disciplinary meeting (306 words)
Q. My member was told they were under investigation for “till irregularities”. But then at the disciplinary meeting, they were accused of ... Subscribers only
Redundancy (191 words)
Q. My employer has announced that there are going to be redundancies but hasn’t yet decided who is going to be made redundant. I have three ... Open access
Financial information (213 words)
Q. My employer is consulting collectively over redundancies and is refusing to hand over financial information showing why redundancies are needed, ... Open access
Law Back-up
Swedish derogation faces TUC challenge in Europe (886 words)
The TUC has lodged a formal complaint with the European Commission to protect tens of thousands of agency workers who are being short-changed thanks ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Safety of offshore workers is highlighted (256 words)
The health and safety of offshore workers remains in the spotlight following the Super Puma helicopter crash in Scotland in August. ... Subscribers only
Court win for care worker (272 words)
A member of the UNISON public services union, Tracey Kennedy, is in line to receive substantial compensation after her employers were found in ... Subscribers only
Shop staff must be protected (243 words)
The Usdaw shopworkers’ union is highlighting the extent of abuse against shopworkers through a “Respect for Shopworkers Week” next month, part ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Pitfalls of covertly monitoring sick staff (905 words)
A member of the FBU Fire Brigades Union received £11,000 in an out-of-court settlement agreement after she was put under surveillance by her ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Sandwich generation toils to earn a crust (340 words)
Balancing care responsibilities and work is becoming increasingly difficult for older women, according to a report by the IPPR think tank. ... Subscribers only
Parents of disabled kids face prohibitive costs (282 words)
The majority of working parents of disabled children faced high costs and difficulties finding suitable childcare over the recent summer holiday, ... Subscribers only
Maternity leave (137 words)
Up to 50,000 women who take maternity leave each year are unable to return to their jobs because of discrimination by employers, according to ... Open access
Remploy (113 words)
Last month the government announced that a further three Remploy factories — in Neath, Sheffield and Blackburn — will close. ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
Scale of falling living standards is revealed (867 words)
Taking the shine off of chancellor George Osborne’s claims that the economy is turning a corner, two recent reports confirm the scale at which ... Subscribers only
Reviews
The speech (228 words)
The story behind Dr Martin Luther King’s ... Open access
Red or dead (248 words)
David Pearce, Faber & Faber, 736 pages, hardback, ... Open access
E-views
e-views (417 words)
I’ve recently been fixing a few problems on a union client’s website. ... Subscribers only