Workplace Report December 2000

Bargaining in Europe - inflation begins to erode pay deals; summary of details on 50 key pay agreements Safety reps - summary of results from TUC survey

Pay and prices

Pay and prices (417 words)

Labour Research Department three monthly pay figures ...

Bargaining news

More job losses, more skills shortages (620 words)

The shock announcement that General Motors (GM) plans to close its Vauxhall plant in Luton in 2002 represented yet another blow for the car ...

Features

Pay deals (1196 words)

Agreement % increase hours holidays ...

Rise in inflation starts to erode pay deals across Europe (2031 words)

This year's survey of developments in collective bargaining in Europe shows that in general workers are keeping up with inflation, but that the rise ...

Updating contract law (1362 words)

The contract of employment is at the core of employment law. It sets down the duties the employer has in relation to the employee, ...

Time limits (155 words)

Time limits for presenting tribunal claims are usually quite strictly enforced. However, the law says that claims on the grounds of unfair dismissal can ...

Disciplinary hearings (184 words)

A recent High Court ruling suggests that the principal of judicial impartiality, which means that a person taking a hearing should not be in ...

Tribunal changes (147 words)

The government has announced that it is looking to change procedures at employment tribunals. It intends to go ahead with proposals for binding arbitration, ...

Gender reassignment (69 words)

Employees who are undergoing gender reassignment have statutory protection against discriminatory treatment. However, according to the EAT in the case of Ashton v Chief ...

Unions welcome maternity rights proposals (570 words)

The government's green paper on rights for working parents has been welcomed by the TUC and maternity rights campaigners. TUC general secretary John Monks ...

Union helps boost local jobs for the black community (170 words)

The T&G general union has been involved in a project to create employment opportunities for many local black people in Peckham in south London. ...

£1m settlement for vibration white finger (229 words)

The GMB general union has won a £1 million settlement from utilities company North West Water for 18 of its members suffering from vibration ...

TUC warns of asthma "shameful six" substances (302 words)

Recent research data shows six substances - described as the "shameful six" by the TUC - account for 41% of cases of occupational asthma, ...

Safety video for new workers (162 words)

Safety training may seem boring to many young people starting out at work, but the advice it offers could help save lives. This was ...

Bullying survey (165 words)

A survey of NHS workers carried out by the GMB general union reveals bullying is a huge problem. The survey entitled Stamping out the ...

Safety reps' survey shows stress as top concern (863 words)

Stress is the major workplace hazard and, despite the introduction of the Working Time Regulations in October 1998, long working hours are a greater ...

Government changes its mind on SERPS survivors scheme (353 words)

At the end of November the government announced a revised plan to deal with the crisis of SERPS payments to survivors. ...

Pension sharing rules take effect (98 words)

SINCE the beginning of this month divorcing couples have been able to take advantage of new rules on sharing pension rights. This means that ...

State pension phone line (104 words)

It should now be easier for people to ensure they claim their state pension on time with the launch of a new telephone claim ...

Index 2000 (679 words)

The main news and feature itmes in Bargaining Report are listed below. The reference gives the month and page number so 1/12 is page ...

Personal pensions mis-selling bill tops £13 billion (228 words)

The government's personal pensions watchdog, the Financial Services Authority, has announced that the pensions industry is footing a £13.5 billion bill for mis-selling pensions. ...

Firefighters' formula delivers 3% (96 words)

The latest increase for 54,000 firefighters under their established pay formula was 3% from 7 November 2000. This takes the annual pay rates to: ...

London local authority staff (285 words)

Local government staff in Greater London are now covered by a new agreement known as the "Gold Book". This brings together for the first ...

3.5% for 2001 at South East Water (223 words)

A 12-month deal effective from 1 January 2001 increases basic salaries at South East Water in bands 1-5 by 3.5% flowing through to standby, ...

Saturday working payment at Group 4 Court Services (251 words)

Annual salaries for Senior Custody Officers at Group 4 rose by £460 with effect from 1 October, worth just under 3% in most cases. ...

GNER - major boost to driver premium (85 words)

The new agreement for drivers at rail company GNER will, from 7 January 2001, increase pensionable pay to £27,150 per annum plus a Professional ...