Workplace Report February 2020

Post and telecoms - Royal Mail faces industrial action over breach of agreements while BT face possible strike action over compulsory redundancies; Outsourcing - Union organisation has been building in outsourcing firms, and has achieved important victories; Latest case law on discrimination

Pay and prices

January rise of 2.8% for deals
 (100 words)

There was a boost to pay settlements in the New Year.
 ...
Open access

Labour Research Department’s Payline Database 
 (226 words)

Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered) 
 ...
Open access

Average weekly earnings (AWE)
 (267 words)

Regular pay excluding bonuses. Percentage annual increases 
 ...
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Full-time weekly average earnings
 (40 words)

ASHE 2019 median uprated by AWE. ...
Open access

XpertHR (19 words)

Median increases for three months to January 2020 ...
Open access

Prices (78 words)

1 Retail Prices Index (RPI), 
Jan ’87=100 ...
Open access

2020 forecasts (39 words)


1 Fourth quarter ...
Open access

Bargaining news

Government plays catch up with teachers' pay
 (740 words)

Schoolteachers in England have been promised the “biggest sustained uplift to their pay ranges since 2005”, but unions are sceptical, and want to ...
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BT Consumer
 attendance deal gets thumbs-up from CWU 
 (373 words)

The CWU communication workers’ union has reached an agreement with BT Consumer on improvements to attendance arrangements.
 ...
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Bill aims to allow CDC pension schemes
 (294 words)

A new Pension Schemes Bill working its way through the parliamentary system will finally introduce some much discussed new initiatives. 
 ...
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Revamped minimum wage enforcement regime
 (274 words)

New rules for cracking down on employers who do not pay the National Minimum Wage (NMW)/National Living Wage have been published by the government. ...
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Exploitation highlights need for labour enforcer
 (422 words)

The Tory government has plans for a major overhaul of labour market enforcement, amid growing concern for workers trapped in conditions of modern ...
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Bakery unions push back against ‘consolidated’ wage rates
 (293 words)

Failure by Northern Ireland bakery firms to ensure enhance hourly rates that include consolidated additions such as overtime and shift allowances, ...
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Threat to offshore bargaining
 (260 words)

Energy sector contractors represented by the Offshore Contractors’ Association (OCA) have indicated their intention to serve notice on the trade ...
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Equality news

Joint project to explore pay and advancement
 for ethnic minority women
 (347 words)

Campaigners, the Fawcett Society and Runnymede Trust, are working in partnership to deliver a project exploring the pay and progression of ethnic ...
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Bristol Uni and UCU agree plan to tackle gender pay gap
 (330 words)

Ambitious plans to eliminate the gender pay gap at the University of Bristol have been set out in a landmark agreement between the UCU university and ...
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Landmark guide to LGBT inclusive apprenticeships 
 (238 words)

Unionlearn has launched the first ever lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) inclusive guide to apprenticeships. 
 ...
Open access

Learning and training news

All-time low for lifelong learning
 (404 words)

Current digital and technological changes are rapidly advancing at a time when participation in lifelong learning in the UK, and therefore access to ...
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Recruitment and organisation news

TSSA build on relationship with UK arm of train builder 
 (276 words)

The TSSA transport staff union has reached an important recognition agreement in principle with Spanish train manufacturer TALGO. 
 ...
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MU strikes the right note
 (128 words)

The Musicians’ Union (MU) has recorded a bumper year for membership recruitment, with numbers rising by over 5% to 32,055 from 30,319. 
 ...
Open access

Derecognition move by offshore companies
 (88 words)

Three unions representing offshore workers have condemned plans they say are being made by the Offshore Contractors Association (OCA) to terminate ...
Open access

European news

Three-year Danish deal brings real-term pay increases
 (393 words)

Danish unions, acting together in the CO Industri negotiating group, have a signed a three year agreement with the DI employers’ association.
 ...
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German care workers get more but still want collective deal
 (346 words)

Service workers’ union Ver.di has welcomed a recommendation from Germany’s official commission on social care for the elderly that pay for those ...
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It’s double pay cheer at Heineken, Netherlands
 (123 words)

Unions have agreed a 7.5% pay increase for workers at Heineken in the Netherlands, paid in stages. 
 ...
Open access

Minimum wage in Spain
 (105 words)

The national minimum wage in Spain is being increased by 5.5% this year to €950, although as this monthly amount is paid 14 times, with extra ...
Open access

Supermarket increases pay in Poland
 (82 words)

Kaufland, the German supermarket chain with around 16,000 employees in Poland, is increasing pay for its cashiers by between 7% and 15% from March, ...
Open access

Law - Discrimination

Discrimination - the law (883 words)

Discrimination law is found in the Equality Act 2010 (EA10). The EA10 lists nine “protected characteristics”: age; disability; gender ...
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Employer not liable for third-party harassment
 (914 words)

Mr Bessong works as a registered mental health nurse for an NHS Trust. He is Black and Asian. Bessong 
suffered a serious assault and racial abuse ...
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Baseless theft accusation tainted by racial prejudice
 (777 words)

Miss Otshudi is from the Democratic Republic of Congo and of Black African ethnicity. She worked as a photographer for a childrenswear retailer, ...
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Unwanted shoulder massage was not related to sex
 (710 words)

Mr Raj worked for business services group Capita, as a Customer Service agent, processing forms for the NHS until he was dismissed at the end of his ...
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Tribunal could draw inferences from male managers’ sexist views
 (689 words)

Ms Rajput held a senior position at the bank where she worked. She became pregnant. ...
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Disability discrimination not to offer agency worker trial period 
 (594 words)

Ms Oldfield was assigned as an agency worker to Birtenshaw, a charity running homes for children and young adults with disabilities and special ...
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Health & safety news

Bladder cancer just one target of GMB campaign 
 (392 words)

The GMB general union launched a new bladder cancer campaign to mark World Cancer Day on 4 February. 
 ...
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Union concerns over ‘toxic fog’ in Leeds rail depot
 (308 words)

Toxic diesel fumes emitted by trains at a Leeds rail depot could be linked to cancers among the workforce, according to the general Unite union. 
 ...
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Education unions step up campaigns on workloads
 (276 words)

Unions organising in further education (FE) in Wales have opened strike ballots in the latest phase of their campaign for action on “spiralling ...
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Health & safety - HSE Monitor

Outdoor workers exposed to high levels of pollution 
 (379 words)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) must recognise exposure to ambient — outdoor — air pollution as an occupational health issue and adopt a ...
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Company boss jailed over death of warehouseman
 (294 words)

Company director Han Rao was handed a four-year jail sentence earlier this month, after being found guilty of the manslaughter by gross negligence of ...
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Concerns over drones
 (160 words)

Pilots’ union BALPA says new research reinforces its concerns that the number of drone flights in controlled airspace is being underestimated. 
 ...
Open access

New regulations on decent work in fishing
 (117 words)

UK regulations to implement the International Labour Organization (ILO) work in fishing convention and bring decent work to the industry have been ...
Open access

Features

Post and telecoms unions ready to fight over management failures
 (3,568 words)

Union members at Royal Mail are balloting for industrial action over the future of the service and the managerial breach of agreements, while BT ...
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Low-paid workers push back against outsourcing firms
 (2,289 words)

Recent union victories provide important proof that outsourced workers, when properly organised, are able push back against a system stacked against ...
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