Pay and prices

Pay increases remain lower than inflation (218 words)

The latest figures from the LRD Payline database show a median increase of 3.0% for the whole economy in the three months to September. ...

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 September 2006) 3.0% ...

Full-time weekly average earnings (28 words)

All workers £544.00 ...

Average earnings indices (including bonuses) (164 words)

June 2005 (r) 120.6 3.8% 2.8% 4.1% 3.8% 4.3% ...

Prices (60 words)

August 2005 192.6 2.8% 2.3% ...

Inflation forecasts (26 words)

Fourth quarter 2006: ...

Bargaining news

Asda scraps lower pay for young employees (579 words)

The GMB general union has welcomed a decision by retail giant Asda to improve young workers' pay packets at a cost of £1.7 million. ...

Journalists agree payout for late shifts (75 words)

Members of the NUJ journalists' union at the Bolton Evening News have agreed to accept annual payments of £500 to £1,000, depending on job ...

ALMO caves in to caretakers' pay demands (112 words)

Council housing caretakers in Leeds have won a pay rise of more than 11% with backdating to January 2005. ...

BECTU passes its screen test (108 words)

Engineers and projectionists at the UK's second-biggest cinema chain have voted to accept a 3.5% pay award. ...

Dispute at Stonham ends with boost for lowest-paid (252 words)

Skilled and professional union Amicus has agreed a pay deal benefiting lower-paid staff at supported housing provider Stonham. ...

Bus action leads to 15.4% offer (308 words)

The threat of strike action by members of the GMB general union at bus company Stagecoach North East's Sunderland depot has resulted in a ...

Three-year deal in heating and ventilation (141 words)

Workers covered by the Heating and Ventilating Contractors' Association (HVCA) national agreement have overwhelmingly approved a new three-year pay deal negotiated by manufacturing and ...

Equality news

Unions reach out to Polish workers (266 words)

The GMB general union has opened its first branch dedicated to the needs of migrant workers. ...

Women continue to shun the construction industry (368 words)

The UK construction sector is still facing major problems in attracting and retaining women, a new report from the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) ...

Employers receive help to end mental health stigma (295 words)

The Department of Health (DoH) has set up a new initiative to help employers tackle the stigma surrounding mental health problems. ...

Recruitment and organisation news

Agency workers celebrate PCS and T&G recognition (385 words)

Unions scored two recognition victories on behalf of agency workers last month, as the TUC launched an initiative to reach out to these and ...

Organise online with the TUC (92 words)

The TUC is offering a short online course for union reps wanting to understand organising issues better and plan effective organising campaigns in their ...

Call-centre staff rush to join CWU (212 words)

A successful recruitment drive by the CWU communication workers' union at Indian IT company HCL's Belfast call centre has brought the union to the ...

Dromey sets out four steps for success (276 words)

Unions have agreed to focus at least 5% of their income on recruitment and organising - and have told the TUC to do likewise. ...

Learning and training news

Food workers get time off and support for learning (524 words)

Convenience-food manufacturer Northern Foods has signed a learning agreement with unions representing the bulk of its 20,000 staff, with the aim of making learning ...

CWU launches university degree for its activists (157 words)

A new university degree programme has been developed for activists from the CWU communication workers' union. ...

Amicus slams government's skills policy (249 words)

Manufacturing union Amicus has accused the government of failing to provide young people with basic work skills. ...

European news

French hotel deal on hours is annulled (292 words)

Employers in the French hotel, café and restaurant industry will have to give their employees up to €300 million in back pay, following the ...

German steelworkers get best pay rise for a decade (503 words)

IG Metall, once again Germany's largest union, has won inflation-beating increases for workers in the country's steel industry. ...

Nursing-home staff share in Netherlands pay boom (210 words)

Around 225,000 employees of nursing and care homes in the Netherlands have negotiated an pay rise worth 2.0% this year - almost twice the ...

Law - Discrimination

Discrimination case law (422 words)

Topics covered this month include appropriate comparators for equal pay claims and a weakness in the legislation concerning contract workers. ...

Victimisation (483 words)

Housing and support worker Carole Palmer was named as a witness in a race discrimination claim brought by her ex-colleague Shirley Islam (see case ...

Race discrimination (174 words)

Shirley Islam was employed as a project worker in a hostel for the homeless. Her manager was not satisfied with her performance, claiming that ...

Breach of disciplinary code (146 words)

Solicitor Halima Aziz was suspended and transferred following allegedly offensive remarks which, it was said, had sparked a racial disturbance at a court. In ...

"Material factor" defence (236 words)

While she was on secondment, a restructuring exercise deleted Louise Jacklin's old job. A new post was created at a higher grade but involving ...

Burden of proof (196 words)

Barrister John Fernandez was dismissed as a result of a colleague's allegations of harassment. He claimed that his dismissal was unfair and amounted to ...

Dismissal of BNP councillor (249 words)

Arthur Redfearn's employer had a contract with Bradford Council to provide transport for disabled people. It dismissed him on health and safety grounds, fearing ...

Discrimination against contract workers (184 words)

Daimler-Chrysler UK engaged two contractors to work on an IT project. Ms Raju was employed by one of them, but her team leader was ...

Equal pay comparators (301 words)

In these two equal pay claims, each brought as a test case on behalf of a group of local-authority workers, the issue was whether ...

Law - Tribunal procedures

Tribunal case law (409 words)

This month's round-up includes two rulings on the circumstances in which claims should be struck out. ...

Time limits (193 words)

Both these appeals raised issues about whether the extension to the time limits for submitting a tribunal claim, enabling individuals to comply with the ...

Legal privilege (240 words)

Mrs Gurdish Webster and Professor Vaseghi brought race discrimination claims. In both cases there were settlement discussions but no settlement was reached. The discussions ...

Dispute resolution procedures (421 words)

Mr Smith was dismissed on grounds of conduct; his appeal was heard but refused. He mistakenly believed that he had a further level of ...

Striking out claims (399 words)

Mrs Osborne, a nursing home manager, brought a claim of unfair dismissal having made a protected disclosure over financial issues. ...

New procedures (209 words)

Ms Hamling submitted tribunal claims for unfair dismissal, sex and race discrimination and redundancy. She did not put her address on the claim form, ...

Health & safety news

Migrant workers don't get health and safety training (356 words)

Migrant workers are working long hours in risky jobs without the training and equipment needed to do the job safety, according to a new ...

Amicus warns employers not to tolerate bullying (272 words)

Professional union Amicus has urged employers to take a "zero-tolerance" approach to bullying, after new research by the union revealed the scale of the ...

Scottish violence levels are "unacceptable" (95 words)

Assaults on Scotland's health and local government staff over the last three years show no evidence of decline, UNISON public services union has said, ...

Union safety campaign looks at crane collapse (104 words)

South London Action on Safety and Health (SLASH), the new local network for union safety reps (see March's Workplace Report), is carrying out its ...

LEAN working practices prompt PCS action (64 words)

Members of the PCS civil service union at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs are working to rule in their dispute over unhealthy working practices. ...

Features

HSE consults reps on safety and equality (161 words)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is eager to hear from union safety reps on issues linking equality and safety. ...

Start date announced for Welsh smoking ban (129 words)

The government and the Welsh Assembly have announced that regulations banning smoking in enclosed public spaces, including most workplaces, are to come into force ...

Unions call for action to protect HSE enforcement (546 words)

Unions have called for action to prevent widespread job cuts in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which will weaken health and safety enforcement ...

TUC calls for gangmaster licensing to be extended (193 words)

As new regulations governing gangmasters come into force this month, the TUC has warned that cowboys will simply relocate to other, unlicensed industries. ...

Pay deals may be static, but unions still prove their worth (5982 words)

The publication this summer of detailed findings from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS) - the most authoritative source of information on industrial ...