News

Budget sets new public sector pay norm (469 words)

An effective public sector pay norm of 2.25% was announced by chancellor Gordon Brown in his Budget speech to the House of Commons last ...

Commission points to future slowdown in National Minimum Wage increases (269 words)

Last month the Low Pay Commission confirmed its recommendation for a 30p rise in the adult rate of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) in ...

Council employers express doubts over pension cuts (249 words)

As local government unions prepared for strike action over pension changes last month, some employers expressed sympathy for the unions’ position and doubts on ...

Government refuses to pay compensation following highly critical pensions report (229 words)

Ombudsman Ann Abraham, the Parliamentary watchdog, slammed the government last month for providing inaccurate, incomplete, unclear and inconsistent information about the security of final ...

T&G rejects British Airways' pension changes (199 words)

The T&G general union has said that it will oppose British Airways’ planned changes to its New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS). NAPS has nearly ...

Inflation edges higher (51 words)

Dearer computer games and books helped push inflation upwards. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI), which excludes housing costs and is the government’s preferred measure, ...

Jobless rate rises on both counts (207 words)

Unemployment rose on both official counts, according to latest figures. ...

Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (321 words)

January 2005 (r) 4.0% 2.8% 4.2% 3.9% 4.8% 3.4% ...

Union news

GMB Congress agrees new rules for general secretary elections (500 words)

Members of the GMB general union will be balloted next month to elect a general secretary, 13 months after the resignation of the last ...

Union density figures hold steady (288 words)

The proportion of employees who are union members (“union density”) rose slightly in 2005 for the second year running. ...

European news

Major Polish union joins ETUC (96 words)

OPZZ, one of Poland’s two major trade union confederations, was last month accepted as affiliate of the European Trade Union Confederation. ...

French unions and students plan further day of action (300 words)

The main French union confederations are planning a day of action, with “work stoppages, strikes and demonstrations” on 28 March. This will mark another ...

Strikes in Germany continue (316 words)

The biggest dispute in the public sector for 14 years looked far from settlement as Labour Research went to press. The employers want to ...

Second general strike hits Greece (82 words)

The two main Greek union confederations, GSEE and the public sector ADEDY, called a general strike on 15 March which brought much of the ...

Features

Will the new Commission deliver on race equality? (2049 words)

Motions submitted to this year’s TUC Black Workers’ Conference reflect the alarm felt by trade unions, black organisations and black activists over the government’s ...

Code can help fight against workplace discrimination (1678 words)

The Commission for Racial Equality‘s (CRE) new Code of practice on racial equality in employment comes into force this month, replacing one introduced 22 ...

Can women look forward to a fairer future? (1504 words)

Thirty years on from the Equal Pay Act, the gender pay and opportunities gap is still with us. More women are in employment and ...

Campaigners uncover the workplace cancer epidemic (1515 words)

Bryn Garfield was exposed to asbestos as a building maintenance worker in the 1960s and early 1970s. In September last year he died from ...

Law Matters

Home tutor's contracts gave continuity of service (345 words)

A teacher employed on a series of individual contracts over a 10-year period was an employee throughout that time, according to a recent ruling ...

Appeal court upholds status of modern apprenticeships (349 words)

A modern apprenticeship can offer the same employment protection as a traditional apprenticeship, the Court of Appeal has ruled. ...

Time limit on pensions claims (72 words)

The House of Lords has confirmed that the time limit for equal pay pensions claims following a business transfer runs from the date that ...

Agency workers can be employees (81 words)

The Court of Appeal has confirmed that an agency worker can be an “employee” of the end user. ...

Age bands for redundancy will stay (101 words)

The use of different age bands to calculate statutory redundancy provisions will not be abolished under the new age discrimination laws. ...

Law Queries

Time off for funerals (103 words)

Q: Does the right to time off for family reasons include time off to attend an aunt’s funeral? ...

Reasonable adjustments (253 words)

Q: When a member brought a complaint of disability discrimination, we asked for a counsellor to attend the grievance hearing to provide professional support. ...

Sexual harassment (164 words)

Q: One of our members started work as a waitress in a café, and a few days later she was touched inappropriately by the ...

TUPE and changes to hours (165 words)

Q: Our company is being taken over by a new owner, who has told us we will have to change our hours. Are they ...

Law Back-up

Lords' ruling helps part-time workers (829 words)

The FBU firefighters’ union won a significant legal victory on behalf of its its retained members last month, allowing them to claim equal pension ...

Health & Safety Matters

Stop genetic discrimination (67 words)

The government’s advisory body on genetics wants new legislation to stop workplace and insurance discrimination on genetic grounds. ...

Employers ignore driving risks (98 words)

More than half of all workers who drive as part of their work say they have never had any information or training from their ...

Female temps suffer sickness bias (79 words)

Women in temporary jobs are more likely than men in similar posts to lose their job if they are often off sick, according to ...

Employers are warned to implement new noise rules (292 words)

The TUC and deafness charity RNID are warning employers of the need to implement the new Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, which ...

Court pilot will give corporate manslaughter families a voice (219 words)

The families of corporate manslaughter victims will be allowed to speak in court for the first time under a pilot scheme starting this month. ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Supporting workers with thalassaemia (856 words)

Whether it’s being harassed by managers for attending a hospital appointment or having job offers withdrawn because of a perceived inability to work under ...

Equality news

"Top employers" list is branded as ageist (162 words)

Researchers from Lancaster University Management School have criticised the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies To Work For list for ignoring age diversity as a ...

Navy reaches out to gays and lesbians (104 words)

The Royal Navy is aiming to improve its image as an inclusive employer by allowing gay and lesbian sailors to march in uniform for ...

Working fathers are being refused flexible working (390 words)

Flexible working arrangements are starting to be requested by men, according to a new TUC report, but employers are proving reluctant to grant their ...

Appeal tribunal upholds HIV+ worker's discrimination win (278 words)

An HIV-positive care worker who was sacked for being a “major risk” to patients has won a discrimination claim under the Disability Discrimination Act. ...

Workplace Back-up

Unions are left to fill the training gap (794 words)

It isn’t easy being an employer these days: times are set to get harder, your organisation is under constant pressure to reorganise itself to ...

Reviews

Driven by ideals (152 words)

Robert Griffiths, ASLEF, paperback, 275 pages, £12 ...

Tell it like it is (168 words)

Brian Richardson (ed), Bookmarks Publications and Trentham Books, 240 pages, paperback, £6.99 ...

The case for civil and public services (143 words)

Roger Seifert and Mike Ironside, PCS, paperback, 60 pages, free ...

E-views

e-views (266 words)

This month sees the launch of a new initiative which aims to build links between trade unions, academics and others concerned about the future ...