Pay and prices

Settlements stabilise well above prices (229 words)

The LRD Payline database is fairly stable at present, with a 3.0% median pay increase both for settlements reached in the three months to ...

Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (219 words)

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

Other pay analysts (23 words)

Industrial Relations Services (median, three months to end February 2006) 2.8% ...

Average earnings indices (including bonuses) (159 words)

Nov 04 (r) 118.9 4.6% 3.0% 4.6% 4.5% 4.7% ...

Full-time weekly average earnings (28 words)

All workers £531.10 ...

Prices (84 words)

January 05 188.9 3.2% 2.1% ...

Bargaining news

Inflation-plus for BBC staff past and present (471 words)

Staff at BBC Resources are to receive an above-inflation pay rise for 2006-07, following negotiations by broadcasting union BECTU. ...

Fair stages on the buses (132 words)

The RMT transport union has negotiated a three-stage settlement at bus operator RoadCar in Lincolnshire, with pay rises of 16% over two years. ...

Long-service deal reached at Thompsons (84 words)

Union solicitors Thompsons have reached agreement with the GMB general union on a 4% pay rise for staff and fee-earners. ...

Royal Mail reviews its efficiency (133 words)

The CWU communication workers’ union has reached agreement with Royal Mail on a company-wide efficiency review. ...

Pay gains for FE lecturers in Wales and Yorkshire (448 words)

Strike action by lecturers at Dewsbury College in West Yorkshire has resulted in a settlement that will bring their pay closer to that of ...

Guernsey's nurses repel threat to their bonuses (253 words)

Nurses in Guernsey have successfully retained their bonuses after some threatened to quit their jobs. ...

Insulation workers give pay rise a warm welcome (170 words)

Workers in the thermal insulation industry have received an increase of 4.63% in their basic rate, under an agreement reached with the Thermal Insulation ...

BT offers broadcast staff a choice over transfer (283 words)

The threat of strike action by members of CWU communication workers’ union has led telecoms giant BT to guarantee that the workers will not ...

Bank workers pocket 4% (170 words)

Intervention by Ireland’s Labour Relations Commission (LRC) has resulted in a 4% pay award for 2,000 employees of Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland. ...

Mixed fortunes for retained firefighters (268 words)

The FBU firefighters’ union has secured pension rights for retained firefighters in a landmark legal victory – but elsewhere a new pilot scheme is ...

Equality news

Epilepsy sacking leads to £7k fine (270 words)

Supermarket chain Asda has been ordered to pay £7,100 to a worker who was sacked for taking seven minutes to administer his epilepsy medication. ...

New equal pay proposals focus on public sector (306 words)

The public sector should continue to set the pace on equal pay, according to a report published last month by the government-appointed Women and ...

Disabled adults' training is "not good enough" (334 words)

Training for disabled adult learners is costly, fragmented, lacks expertise and provides poor value for money, the government’s inspectorate for skills and workforce development ...

Recruitment and organisation news

Asda continues to resist collective bargaining (352 words)

Members of the GMB general union at 21 distribution depots owned by retailer Asda are to be balloted on industrial action over collective bargaining ...

Organising academy seeks new trainees (92 words)

The TUC’s Organising Academy, which trains people to become full-time union organising and recruitment workers, is now recruiting its next intake. ...

Learning and training news

Retail partnerships deliver training for shopworkers (339 words)

Shopworkers’ union USDAW has launched new initiatives to boost employees’ basic skills at supermarket chains Tesco and Morrisons. ...

New learning opportunities in Scotland (93 words)

Scotland’s largest provider of union education officially opened its doors this month. ...

European news

Dutch deals outstrip inflation (273 words)

An above-inflation deal has been reached for 2,400 workers at Shell in the Netherlands, with other agreements recording similar increases. ...

Local government strikes lead to deals in Germany (608 words)

The first settlements have been reached this month in Germany’s biggest public sector dispute for 14 years – but while local authorities have responded ...

Spanish agreements focus on equality (158 words)

Equality clauses were a feature of one-fifth of agreements signed last year in Spain, covering more than half of the country’s employees. ...

Law - Discrimination

Discrimination case law (453 words)

Rulings this month look at issues such as appropriate comparators in equal pay and part-timers’ claims. ...

Flexible working (242 words)

After an informal request to reduce her hours so that she could look after her grandchild had been turned down, warehouse assistant Mrs Rutty ...

Trade union activities (254 words)

Mr Yewdall was his employer’s fire safety officer, estate liaison officer and local health and safety officer. Claiming that he was harassed and bullied ...

Suspension during pregnancy (159 words)

A rail company removed Mrs Quinn from her duties as duty station manager after learning that she was pregnant. It said its main reason ...

Sex discrimination (113 words)

The rules of the prison service state that female officers are required to search male prisoners, although male officers are not required (or permitted) ...

Coverage of legislation (139 words)

Church minister Helen Percy was asked to resign because she had an affair with a married elder of the parish. She brought claims for ...

Part-time workers (169 words)

In this long-running case, a group of retained (part-time) firefighters claimed that they were not given the same rights to pensions and other benefits ...

Age discrimination (169 words)

Werner Mangold was employed in Germany under a fixed-term contract. German law limited the duration of such contracts to two years, and allowed them ...

Sick pay in maternity leave (176 words)

Ms McKenna was off sick while pregnant, and had to use up much of her occupational sick pay entitlement as a result. She argued ...

Equal pay (173 words)

A group of female domestic workers in different hospitals brought equal pay claims, comparing their work with that of male porters in one of ...

Law - Tribunal procedures

Tribunal case law (429 words)

This month’s rulings cover topics including the definition of a statutory grievance. ...

Grievance statement (500 words)

Vanessa Shergold resigned as a result of actions by her employer that, she said, amounted to bullying. She then brought a claim for constructive ...

Disclosure (163 words)

Black police officer Ms Barracks was encouraged to apply for a position in a unit set up to reduce the level of gun crime ...

Settlement (105 words)

Mrs Mayo-Deman settled her sex and race discrimination claims with her employer before her tribunal hearing. The tribunal was told of the settlement and ...

Late response forms (335 words)

When a tribunal claim is brought, the employer has 28 days in which to respond. If it fails to do so, the tribunal can ...

Power to review (227 words)

A tribunal ordered that Mr Gibbons had to pay a deposit of £500 in order to continue with his unfair dismissal claim, on the ...

Points of appeal (202 words)

After she was dismissed for alleged misconduct, Yasmin Khan brought a claim for unfair dismissal (which failed) and a second claim for race discrimination ...

Dismissing a case (135 words)

After bringing a claim of racial discrimination, Dr Abdolreza Ahari applied for the case to be postponed on the grounds of ill health – ...

Health & safety news

Nursing survey uncovers bullying and assaults (260 words)

Nurses are experiencing high levels of attacks, bullying and stress at work, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has revealed. ...

Asbestos action pays off (245 words)

The CWU communication workers’ union has negotiated an agreement with telecom giant BT, following complaints that the company was not informing or consulting safety ...

Amicus reps secure consultation improvements (149 words)

Intervention by safety reps from professional union Amicus over slips and trips at engineering firm Eaton Transmissions has led to wider safety consultation and ...

Women truckers win "the right to pee" (99 words)

Female truck drivers using the port of Folkestone celebrated victory last month as a women’s toilet was opened on the site. ...

Asda expects workers to lift 13 tonnes a day (112 words)

Management plans at the Asda supermarket distribution warehouse in Wigan are putting workers at serious risk of muscular injuries to their backs, knees, wrists, ...

Reps' network is launched (58 words)

The South London Action on Safety and Health network (SLASH) will be officially launched at the Battersea and Wandsworth TUC’s annual general meeting on ...

Features

HSE warns waste firms (110 words)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a safety alert to the waste and recycling industry following nine reported deaths in eight weeks. ...

Workers' Safety Advisers (62 words)

The government has announced the third round of awards through the Workers’ Safety Adviser (WSA) Challenge Fund, which aims to increase worker involvement and ...

Construction design regulations are delayed (102 words)

The Health and Safety Executive says it will not now introduce its revised Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) Regulations until spring 2007. ...

Voluntary enforcement is "worthless", say unions (265 words)

The TUC’s head of safety has warned the government that, “without enforcement, regulation becomes meaningless”. ...

Resources aim to improve worker involvement (150 words)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched new resources to help employers involve workers in health and safety management. Part of a new ...

Corus faces prosecution (166 words)

Steel giant Corus is to face prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive following an investigation into a lethal explosion in a blast furnace. ...

Tuning in to whistleblowers (2876 words)

“Every business and every public body faces the risk of things going wrong internally. Where such a risk arises, usually the first people to ...

Follow simple steps to manage stress (2821 words)

Awareness of workplace stress may have increased in recent years, but recent research indicates that it remains a problem for vast numbers of workers. ...