News

NHS Direct job cuts (61 words)

Unions representing NHS Direct workers have said they may take industrial action over plans that threaten to cut up to 800 posts and close ...

WHSmith boycott (50 words)

The CWU communication workers' union organised a national day of protest last month against Post Office closures and the franchising of services to WHSmith. ...

Outsourcing win (56 words)

Eight months of campaigning by PCS civil service union succeeded in stopping the outsourcing of the NHS Business Services Authority, which manages the biggest ...

Workplace deaths (81 words)

The number of workplace deaths fell last year by 11 to 212, while the rate of fatal injuries fell to a record low of ...

School academies are given lukewarm praise in new report (382 words)

The latest evaluation of the academy schools programme by consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers offers only faint praise for the government's initiative and adds weight to objections ...

Government's failure to call for immediate ceasefire provokes angry union response (231 words)

The government's failure to demand an immediate ceasefire during the recent conflict in Lebanon angered the trade union movement. ...

Over-fifties willing to work are 'dumped on the scrap heap' (194 words)

More than a million older people are out of work because employers are failing to invest in training or make minor adjustments for disabilities, ...

Unions hope to modernise Remploy (336 words)

The threat of the wholesale closure of Remploy factories, which provide employment for thousands of disabled workers, appeared to be lifting last month. ...

New plans for council pensions (225 words)

A consultation is under way on a new-look local government pension scheme for existing employees and new entrants from 1 April 2008. ...

Inflation remains at 3.3% (65 words)

Cheaper furniture offset by more expensive food has kept inflation steady. Under the Retail Price Index (RPI) it was unchanged at 3.3% in July ...

Jobs suffer as interest rates rise (217 words)

Unemployment is at its highest for six and a half years. Under the Labour Force Survey (LFS) count it was up by 92,000 to ...

Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (333 words)

June 2005 3.7% 2.9% 3.9% 3.6% 4.5% 3.3% ...

Union news

Union recognition applications drop for second year running (380 words)

There is evidence that use of the statutory recognition procedure is declining, even though the total number of applications passed the 500 mark earlier ...

Membership figures edge up (246 words)

Membership of TUC-affiliated unions inched up for the second year running in 2005, thanks to strong performances from some large unions. ...

RMT wins expulsion case (230 words)

The RMT rail union has seen off an challenge from far-right activist Patrick Harrington, who claimed that the union had breached its rules in ...

European news

Migrant women in Sweden are most unionised (211 words)

Sweden's migrant women workers have the highest level of unionisation in the country. This is one of the key results of a survey of ...

VW uncertainty remains in Spain despite pay settlement (410 words)

Like their colleagues in Germany, Spanish employees of the carmaker Volkswagen still face an uncertain future, despite last month's pay settlement for the plant ...

French try to simplify 'social dialogue' (271 words)

The French government has come forward with three proposals aimed at establishing a clearer relationship between the roles of legislation and of negotiation in ...

Features

What did the recognition law do for us? (1902 words)

The annual Trades Union Congress opens this month with a drop of good news amid an ocean of difficulties for the union movement. The ...

Unions bring school pupils up to date (1850 words)

Five years ago, probably the only time school students would hear about trade unionism was in history lessons. It was a subject only covered ...

Why some piggy banks overflow... (1549 words)

Pensions have grabbed the headlines in recent months and will be a key issue at this month's Congress as unions continue to campaign for ...

Homophobia at work must be confronted (1732 words)

Homophobic harassment did not simply disappear with the introduction of legal protection against discrimination. ...

Labour legends and Russian gold (119 words)

Kevin Morgan, Lawrence & Wishart, paperback, 315 pages, £18.99 ...

Law Matters

Remedies hearing bar was wrong (391 words)

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that an employer can have a say in the amount of compensation an employee is awarded, even ...

Share sale is not a business transfer (356 words)

A company that buys the shares of another company does not become the employer, even if it exercises some control over how the business ...

Disabled worker loses sick pay battle (233 words)

An employer does not have to extend sick pay for disabled staff, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held. ...

Law Queries

Reasonable adjustments (325 words)

Q: We have a disabled member who has rheumatoid arthritis. His employer has changed his duties but he is still having difficulty with the ...

Pay in lieu of notice (222 words)

Q: One of our members was dismissed with one month's salary in lieu of notice. She had been employed for just a few days ...

Long-term temporary staff (176 words)

Q: We have temps who have been here for several years, and our employer sets their pay rates, sickness benefit and holidays. I think ...

Law Back-up

Workers on leave will get usual bonuses (850 words)

The statutory right to four weeks' paid holiday a year was introduced by the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) - but for some workers ...

Health & Safety Matters

Needle protection may be improved (82 words)

The European Parliament has voted to improve existing laws protecting workers from needlestick injuries. ...

Miscarriage sufferer gets meagre payout (71 words)

A welder who won a sex discrimination claim against her father's company after raising safety concerns while pregnant has been awarded only £7,500 for ...

Nanotechnology review announced (73 words)

The government has finally announced a review of nanotechnology, almost two years after unions first raised health and safety concerns on the subject. ...

Corporate manslaughter bill disappoints unions (313 words)

Unions and campaigners have expressed disappointment with the government's new bill on corporate manslaughter, arguing that it does not go far enough. ...

Consultation offers unions a chance to widen smoking ban (311 words)

The TUC is urging unions to help strengthen provisions for smoke-free workplaces by telling the government what they think of the forthcoming smoking ban. ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Fire safety: don't get your fingers burnt (926 words)

Next month will see the biggest change to workplace fire safety for decades, as the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 repeals the Fire ...

Equality news

Pension reform will not help today's carers (248 words)

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has called on the government to ensure that its proposed pension reforms do not neglect the pension needs of ...

Government will monitor contractors' ethnic mix (385 words)

The government is considering the use of ethnic monitoring when allocating contracts to private-sector companies. ...

Gay police officer reaches settlement in ear stud dispute (123 words)

Hampshire Police have reached a confidential settlement with a gay policeman who took them to a tribunal over his right to wear a gold ...

Workplace Back-up

UK workers are still minding the skills gap (918 words)

The proportion of employers who say their workers lack necessary skills is at its lowest level this century - 16% - with just 6% ...

Reviews

The future of organised labour: global perspectives (137 words)

Craig Phelan (Ed.), Peter Lang, 404 pages, paperback, £45 ...

Hadi never died: Hadi Saleh and the Iraqi trade unions (165 words)

Abdullah Muhsin and Alan Johnson, TUC, 80 pages, paperback, £10 ...

E-views

e-views (394 words)

In the last few years interactive websites that allow people reading the sites to contribute content to them have become the norm. The most ...