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Labour Research January 2014
The year ahead - A union-bashing Bill, an attack on workers’ terms and conditions through changes to the TUPE regulations and the impact of a two-speed recovery are just some of the issues unions will have to face in 2014
Academies and free schools – There are now almost 3,500 academies and more than 170 free schools. But all is not plain sailing for the government’s flagship education policy
Jobs and climate change – Labour Research finds that David Cameron’s “greenest government ever” claim is being severely tested
News
Battle to save NHS continues against hospital closures clause (367 words)
The battle to save the NHS continues this year, with the campaign against clause 118 of the Care Bill. Campaigners say the clause will make it ...
Subscribers only
Act on debt and hunger says union (292 words)
The government is under pressure to act on food banks and payday loans, two of the most tangible signs of austerity at the start of 2014. ... Subscribers only
Doncaster care workers (121 words)
Care workers in Doncaster employed by contractor Care UK have been threatened with pay cuts of up to 50%.As Labour Research went to press, a ...
Open access
London Underground (122 words)
A long-running dispute between the RMT transport union and London Underground (LU) concerning casualisation and the use of agency staff — one of ... Open access
Further cuts ahead as Osborne promises yet more austerity (352 words)
Chancellor George Osborne used last month’s Autumn Statement to deliver an uncompromising vision of the years ahead. ... Subscribers only
Birmingham jobs axe swings again (187 words)
Birmingham City Council, the UK’s largest local authority, has been forced to cut another thousand jobs. And the council says it is very close to ... Open access
Logistics workers face stress (249 words)
With more and more goods being bought online there has been disturbing news that workers in the industry are coming under pressure. ... Open access
Inflation at lowest for 14 months (247 words)
Inflation growth has fallen on both of the main measures, official figures show. ... Open access
Inflation measures (67 words)
Two “improved” measures of inflation that were introduced earlier last year by the Office for National Statistics have now been classified as ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (398 words)
Inflation +2.6%; Average earnings +0.9% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Changes to the Labour-union link may have a five-year wait (294 words)
There may be five-year wait for implementation of Labour leader Ed Miliband’s plan to change the way union members affiliate to the party, ... Subscribers only
Young members’ conference (95 words)
The 21,000-member Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union is to hold its first ever Young Members Conference this month, open to members aged 27 or ... Open access
European news
ETUC says deal ‘does not meet our expectations’ (494 words)
The EU council of ministers, representing national governments, has reached agreement on new ways in which the rules governing the employment of ... Subscribers only
Employers’ hostility revealed (130 words)
A recent survey by the Warsaw School of Economics has revealed the depth of hostility felt by Poland’s small and medium-sized employers towards ... Open access
German minimum wage gets go-ahead (241 words)
A minimum wage of €8.50 (£7.05) an hour, the figure called for by German unions, has been included in the coalition agreement — the document ... Open access
Features
What lies ahead in 2014? (4,573 words)
The experts at Labour Research examine what the forthcoming year is likely to bring for working people and their trade unions. ... Open access
Free schools free-for-all? (1,986 words)
Recent scandals and failures involving a growing list of free schools are leading to questions about whether the government’s flagship education ... Subscribers only
Has Cameron gone cold on climate change? (1,620 words)
The government is not living up to David Cameron’s pledge to be “the greenest government ever”. ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
‘Major step’ on holiday pay and commission (355 words)
The Advocate-General (AG) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has delivered a positive Opinion on the subject of commission and holiday pay. This ... Subscribers only
Construction workers secure tribunal victory (267 words)
In an important victory in the campaign against bogus self-employment by the UCATT construction workers’ union, a group of construction workers in ... Subscribers only
Proposals put forward on whistle-blowing (220 words)
Whistleblowing charity Public Concern at Work has published the results of a review by the Whistleblowing Commission, an expert panel it set up in ... Open access
Law Queries
TUPE (228 words)
Q. Part of my employer’s business has been sold to a company based in Italy and in future the work will all be done in Italy. Does TUPE apply when ... Open access
Redundancy pay (294 words)
Q. My employer is refusing to pay my statutory redundancy pay. I was made an offer of a different role doing the same as my old job for the same pay ... Subscribers only
Employment contract (238 words)
Q. At the Christmas party, my line manager promised me a pay rise that I feel is long overdue. Now he says it was all just the wine talking. He ... Open access
Law Back-up
‘Welcome step’ needs to be backed with better pay (877 words)
It’s always good to try to start the year on a positive note, and with little else to celebrate, the first Law Back-up of 2014 looks at the draft ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Workers face health hazard from sewage (285 words)
The RMT rail union has called on train companies to stop their “utterly disgusting” practice of dumping human sewage on rail tracks, causing ... Subscribers only
Apology demanded over ‘kick in the teeth’ for staff (213 words)
The GMB general union has been shocked by comments made by a director of the AA motoring association, which, the union says, is seen as a “kick in ... Open access
Government website is “drivel” (131 words)
Government websites are “increasingly being used as tools of propaganda rather than being there to give information,” TUC head of health and ... Open access
RMT renews call over fatigue (119 words)
The RMT rail union has made a renewed call for “an end to the casualisation and zero hours contracts culture which is being rolled out across the ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Occupational health service to be launched (927 words)
Will the government’s new Health and Work Assessment and Advisory Service improve sickness absence at work? ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Disabled people’s struggles highlighted (329 words)
The PCS public and commercial services union used the recent Disability History Month (DHM) as an opportunity to campaign against disability hate ... Subscribers only
Exploitation of migrant workers intensifies (235 words)
The exploitation of migrant workers in the UK has worsened in recent years due to the economic climate and the government’s race to the bottom on ... Open access
Childcare pledge (78 words)
Labour leader Ed Miliband has promised that a future Labour government would introduce a “legal guarantee” of 8.00am-6.00pm childcare at primary ... Open access
Forced labour (70 words)
A study analysing how businesses make money from forced labour says that “light-touch” regulation and a heavy hand on immigration are ... Open access
Women at risk (91 words)
More women will be left vulnerable to assault if plans by London Underground (LU) to close all its ticket offices and remove nearly 1,000 staff from ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
Involuntary part-time work at highest level (913 words)
Chancellor George Osborne used his Autumn Statement last month to crow yet again about falling unemployment. But what kinds of jobs are being created? ... Subscribers only
Reviews
Labour migration in hard times (241 words)
Reforming labour market regulation? ... Open access
Asian Britain (245 words)
A photographic ... Open access
E-views
e-views (420 words)
“Should we develop an app or a mobile friendly website?” I’m increasingly coming across this question, especially in the union sector. Against ... Subscribers only
News from LRD
LRD Annual General Meeting (92 words)
The 2014 annual general meeting of the Labour Research Department (LRD) will be held on Monday 19 May 2014 at Jerwood Space, Union Street, London SE1 ... Open access