Pay and prices

Rocketing prices catch up with pay rises (231 words)

The latest figures from LRD’s Payline database, covering the three months to May, show no change from the previous month’s revised figures. In every ...

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 May 2006) 3.0% ...

Full-time weekly average earnings (28 words)

All workers £535.70 ...

Average earnings indices (including bonuses) (157 words)

Feb 2005 (r) 119.8 5.2% 3.5% 5.8% 5.4% 4.6% ...

Prices (58 words)

April 2005 191.6 3.2% 2.3% ...

Inflation forecasts (26 words)

Fourth quarter 2006 ...

Bargaining news

UCU puts employers’ pay offers to the ballot (494 words)

The newly formed UCU lecturers’ union has had a busy first few weeks, negotiating national agreements on pay for its members at both universities ...

Bus stoppage leads to two-stage settlement (188 words)

Drivers, engineers and office staff at bus company Wilts & Dorset are to receive pay rises of well above inflation after strike action forced ...

Offshore workers get 5.5% (133 words)

Skilled and professional union Amicus has negotiated a pay rise worth almost double the rate of inflation for offshore workers in the North Sea. ...

Theatre musicians fight on for sliding pay scale (75 words)

The Musicians’ Union has agreed a 3.4% pay rise for its members in touring theatre, after employers rejected its plans for a new pay ...

PCS/Capita deal promises fair terms and conditions (543 words)

The PCS public services union has reached a new national agreement with private-sector contractor Capita – but is locked in a bitter pay dispute ...

CWU secures weighting deal at BT (221 words)

A new deal on London weighting has been agreed by telecoms giant BT and the CWU communication workers’ union, guaranteeing annual increases for the ...

Strike threat derails plans to freeze train workers' pay (448 words)

A dispute over pay and hours at Network Rail looks set to be resolved after the threat of strike action this month by signalling ...

"Curate's egg" deal gives farm workers more leave (308 words)

Following intensive negotiations with the Agricultural Wages Board, the T&G general union has agreed a 6.9% pay settlement for skilled farm workers, raising their ...

Unions force QinetiQ to move on pay (270 words)

Strike action over an “insulting” discretionary pay offer of 2% was averted in a last-minute deal this month at QinetiQ, the former Ministry of ...

Equality news

Trans women have right to pension at 60 (276 words)

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that the UK government breached a transsexual woman’s human rights when it told her she ...

Employers are neglecting workers' mental health (376 words)

Poor mental health is costing UK business billions of pounds a year because employers are ignoring the impact of stress and other issues on ...

Interview bias excludes foreign workers from jobs (305 words)

Employers’ interview practices are disadvantaging foreign-born minority ethnic candidates, researchers from Kings College London (KCL) have claimed. ...

Recruitment and organisation news

Migrant workers are still reluctant to join unions (280 words)

Serious difficulties remain in recruiting migrant workers into unions, despite the adoption of more proactive policies, according to research carried out by the Working ...

Church sees the light after recognition vote (86 words)

Professional union Amicus is looking forward to signing a recognition deal with the Church of Scotland after staff voted overwhelmingly in favour of recognising ...

UNISON aims for target of 1.5m members (142 words)

Public services union UNISON has launched a new recruitment drive aimed at raising membership to 1.5 million by 2007. ...

Learning and training news

Compass gets the point of learning (143 words)

Private health firm Compass Group is to formally recognise and support union learning reps, after negotiating a workplace learning agreement with public services union ...

USDAW delivers training at DHL (135 words)

Distribution company DHL and retail union USDAW have opened a learning centre to improve essential skills at the firm’s depot for the Morrison’s supermarket ...

European news

Chemicals deal creates a stink in Italy (223 words)

A settlement for the 215,000 employees in the Italian chemical industry has provided an above-inflation pay rise but created divisions among unions. ...

Agreement ends dispute in German public sector (459 words)

Workers in Germany’s regional public sector have finally settled their bitter dispute on pay and hours, which began in February. ...

Irish unions settle at 10% (324 words)

A new tripartite deal between unions, employers and the government in Ireland seemed close to signature as Workplace Report went to press. With the ...

Law - Discrimination

Discrimination case law (445 words)

Topics covered this month include the distinction between equal pay and sex discrimination claims. ...

Justification (177 words)

Mrs Mitchell was a part-time worker whose employer decided that it needed a full-time worker in her role. Mitchell said she could not do ...

Liability for harassment (221 words)

Mr McDermott, the assistant chief constable of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Police, made remarks to staff officer Ms Caspersz which amounted to sexual ...

Equal pay and bonuses (329 words)

Mrs Jeffery and colleagues were employed on a series of short-term contracts before becoming permanent staff, and later brought equal pay claims in respect ...

Continuing discrimination (175 words)

Biochemist Dr Vivienne Lyfar brought a claim of race discrimination more than three months after some of the incidents she complained of (an allegation ...

Burden of proof (150 words)

EB was made redundant because of a fall in the amount of time she spent on billable work. Arguing that her employer had failed ...

Offensive material (207 words)

Miss Spencer brought a claim of sex discrimination in respect of inappropriate remarks made about women and an e-mail, circulated by her manager to ...

Less favourable treatment (126 words)

After a tribunal dismissed his claim of race discrimination, Mr Brown argued that it should have considered the issue in two stages – firstly, ...

Discretionary bonuses (206 words)

When her bonus was reduced to reflect the time that she was off work on maternity leave, Elidh Hoyland brought a tribunal claim. The ...

Pregnancy discrimination (181 words)

Portuguese worker Miss Silveira was recruited by Seek Personnel recruitment agency to work in the UK. When she arrived in the UK, she completed ...

Law - Tribunal procedures

Tribunal case law (443 words)

This month’s round-up includes two rulings on what constitutes a grievance for the statutory procedures. ...

Fair hearing (166 words)

The tribunal that heard Miss La Vertue’s unfair dismissal claim reduced the length of the hearing from two days to one. She said the ...

Review hearing (155 words)

A tribunal directed that Mr Fowler’s former employer could not take part in the proceedings relating to his unfair and wrongful dismissal claim, as ...

Employees working abroad (435 words)

Stephen Lawson (a security supervisor at an RAF base on Ascension Island), John Botham (a youth worker at Ministry of Defence bases in Germany) ...

Striking out a claim (183 words)

A tribunal struck out Mr James’s claim of race discrimination, on the grounds that he had conducted the proceedings unreasonably by failing to provide ...

Appearance of bias (151 words)

At the start of Lara Hutt’s unfair dismissal hearing, the tribunal chair told her employer that it might have some difficulty defending her claim. ...

Review procedure (164 words)

Mr Hayward’s employer did not submit a response to his unfair dismissal claim, having made a commercial decision not to defend it in the ...

Statutory grievance procedures (381 words)

Security officer Mr Edebi issued claims of constructive dismissal, unlawful deduction of wages and disability discrimination. He had complained in a grievance letter that ...

Health & safety news

Asda's depot workers are balloted over safety strike (237 words)

Workers in Asda Wal-Mart’s 20 distribution depots across the country are being balloted for strike action over safety and other issues by the GMB ...

Avoid risk of skin cancer, outdoor workers are told (227 words)

Unions have issued their annual warning about skin cancer caused by working outside, in the wake of new statistics showing an increase in the ...

DLR and Tube employers fail to put safety first (161 words)

Strikes are looking likely on London Underground and the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), as the RMT rail union battles to maintain safety levels. ...

CWU negotiates safety agreement with Romec (111 words)

The role of safety reps at facilities management company Romec is to be significantly strengthened by a new national safety agreement negotiated by the ...

NUJ secures RSI payout for journalist (179 words)

An editor whose repetitive strain injury (RSI) left her unable ever to do her job again has won more than £37,000 in damages from ...

Features

HSE loses appeal in unforeseeable risks case (160 words)

Employers should not be found negligent on health and safety grounds when employees act outside their remit, according to the Court of Appeal. ...

HSE publications for free (51 words)

The Health and Safety Executive has decided “in principle” to make most its priced publications available free online from spring 2007, allowing reps access ...

New guidance on work with biological hazards (48 words)

The Health and Safety Executive’s Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens has published new health and safety guidance for anyone working with the highest hazard ...

Take part in consultation on safety reps, urges TUC (249 words)

The TUC is urging all union safety reps to participate in the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) consultation on worker involvement. ...

Survey reveals extent of health and safety concerns (447 words)

A new Health and Safety Executive (HSE) report has revealed that injuries and ill health at work are much more common than other official ...

Is the capital losing weight? (3207 words)

This month, the CWU communication workers’ union is balloting its members at telecoms giant BT over a new agreement on London weighting. The union ...

Can proper consultation protect occupational pension schemes? (1573 words)

Recent months have seen a number of employers announce drastic and negative changes to their occupational pension schemes. These announcements have generally come out ...