News

Offshoring document alarms PCS (160 words)

Public service union PCS has reacted angrily to a leaked document on offshoring. ...

Unions welcome energy review but also want action (306 words)

Unions in the energy sector have welcomed the government's decision to consult over the future of the energy industry. ...

Government urges carers and elderly to claim payments (287 words)

The Department for Work and Pensions is reminding carers and the elderly to ensure they meet the deadline for claiming important benefits. ...

Pensions challenges face both private and public sector unions (566 words)

Pension scheme changes are posing major challenges for unions across the economy. ...

Peter Duffy (219 words)

The Labour Research Department (LRD) is very sad to report the death, at the age of 64, of Peter Duffy, a former editor of ...

Inflation continues to fall (62 words)

For a third consecutive month cheaper petrol prices helped cut inflation. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI), which excludes housing costs and is the government's ...

Unemployment hits three-year high (216 words)

There was gloom on the jobless front as unemployment rose on both official counts. ...

Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (311 words)

November 2004 4.5% 2.9% 4.6% 4.4% 4.7% 3.3% ...

Union news

Amicus launches Labour membership campaign (243 words)

Amicus, the 1.2 million-member manufacturing, technical and finance union, is to campaign to get more of its members signed up to the Labour Party ...

Unions pay tributes to Banks and Squire (121 words)

Unions have paid tribute to two Labour MPs, formerly union officials, following their untimely deaths last month. ...

Union merger focuses on building in the community (149 words)

The 116-year-old National Union of Domestic Appliance and General Operatives (NUDAGO) is to merge with the Community union. ...

Few unions put ethical purchasing into practice (158 words)

There is "a long way to go before unions' purchasing practices catch up with both their stated principles and members' aspirations" on ethical/environmental issues, ...

European news

French trade unions attack "precarious" employment proposals (212 words)

French unions have denounced government plans to allow companies to dismiss young workers without justification for up to two years after they have been ...

Docks directive dropped (372 words)

A controversial directive, intended to open up European ports to outside competition seems almost certain to be abandoned. This follows European-wide strikes and a ...

German government considers "in-work" benefits and minimum wage (277 words)

The coalition government in Germany is looking at the possibility of extending "in-work" benefits as a way of getting employers to take on new ...

Features

Unions back global fight against homophobia (2122 words)

In 2004 Moses Kayiza was forced to flee Uganda. Homosexuality is strongly criminalised there and he had been arrested, tortured and sexually abused for ...

Labour clings to long-hours opt-out rule (1972 words)

The TUC highlights some good news from UK workplaces with a reduction in unpaid overtime. ...

Learning the lesson of better school dinners (1731 words)

Thanks to Jamie Oliver, school meals are now firmly on the political agenda, and public opinion has compelled the government to address the scandal ...

Directors escape tighter shareholder monitoring (1633 words)

Last month, the Company Law Reform Bill began its passage through parliament with debates in the House of Lords. It is the last step ...

Law Matters

Rules on response forms raise concerns, says EAT (412 words)

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has said there is a "real problem" in the new rules concerning employers' failure to submit response forms in ...

Limit on insolvency payments does not break European law (280 words)

The upper limit on the level of insolvency payments does not contravene European law, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled. ...

Questionnaire does not count as a grievance in equal pay claims (265 words)

A woman has been barred from pursuing an equal pay claim because she did not send her employer a written grievance, even though she ...

Law Queries

Statutory grievance (245 words)

Q: I have raised a written grievance with my employer because I have not been paid a bonus that I am entitled to. My ...

Statement of terms (281 words)

Q: A member has asked for a statement of his terms and conditions of employment, but his employer says this would be a breach ...

Paternity leave (172 words)

Q: A member has just been told by his employer that if he takes paternity leave he will be "looking for another job." What ...

Rest breaks (38 words)

To clarify the position on rest breaks for young workers described in last month's Q&A, a young worker is entitled to 30 minutes' rest ...

Law Back-up

Unions must fight to regain their rights (907 words)

More than 100 MPs have now signed an Early Day Motion (EDM) tabled late last year by Tony Lloyd MP in support of a ...

Health & Safety Matters

Stop the assaults on postal workers (79 words)

Royal Mail has been urged to take action following a string of vicious assaults on postal workers in Bradford, Halifax and Nottingham. ...

Night work linked to premature births (95 words)

Pregnant women who work nights are more likely to give birth prematurely, according to new research. ...

Take a hearing check, say unions (84 words)

The TUC wants workers to tackle the hidden workplace hazard of hearing loss. ...

Unions seek improvements to corporate killing bill (336 words)

MPs have echoed claims by unions and safety experts that the government's draft Corporate Manslaughter Bill must be strengthened if it is to have ...

Government agrees to consult workers about avian flu (256 words)

The government has agreed that poultry workers at the sharp end of the food processing industry are ideally placed to help prevent the spread ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Unions take the lead in tackling stress (854 words)

A recent report by the Institute of Directors (IoD) accepted that stress was prevalent in many workplaces, but added that it was less of ...

Equality news

"Rule of 85" for Local council pensions is not discriminatory (267 words)

The Scottish Executive is wrong to claim that it must raise local council workers' pension ages under European law, according to the European Commission ...

Police force tops league of "gay-friendly" employers (247 words)

Staffordshire Police is the country's most "gay-friendly" employer, according to the Stonewall campaign group. ...

Tribunal ruling is struck out over "skin colour" comments (383 words)

A woman of Vietnamese origin has won her appeal against an employment tribunal ruling which was found to have "an appearance of bias". ...

Workplace Back-up

Right to flexibility should apply to all (767 words)

When it comes to choosing a job, there's one perk that today's employees value above all others. ...

News from LRD

Developing Payline (221 words)

The LRD Payline database of collective agreements covers all areas of the UK economy and has details on over 2,600 agreements covering over nine ...

Reviews

Capitalism as if the world matters (175 words)

Jonathan Porritt, Earthscan, hardback, 304 pages, £18.99 ...

The workers' war: the home front recalled (272 words)

TUC Library Collections www.unionhistory.info/workerswar ...

E-views

e-views (320 words)

With nearly 7,000 votes cast, a winner has emerged in the ninth annual Labour Website of the Year competition - and for the third ...