News

Fair admissions (102 words)

A new school admissions code, expected to come into force this month, has been welcomed by the NASUWT teachers' union. ...

Class sizes (63 words)

The EIS teachers' union aims to put education at the heart of the Scottish parliamentary elections on 3 May. It will campaign on three ...

Shipping enquiry (77 words)

The RMT maritime union has called for urgent action to end the erosion of standards on UK-flagged ships, following the grounding of the Napoli ...

Job cuts and poor pay deals push PCS members to strike (340 words)

On 23 January, the day that the TUC and unions lobbied MPs to stop the government selling the public services short, the PCS civil ...

Employees across the public services protest at conditions (313 words)

Public service workers are facing another difficult year with disputes breaking out over pay, restructuring and deterioration of services. ...

Cuts to funding affect staff across the police workforce (312 words)

Cutbacks in the police workforce, arising from last November's funding settlement, are of concern both to the Police Federation and to unions representing police ...

BA faces cabin crew rebellion (228 words)

British Airways cabin crew delivered a huge vote for strike action last month over what the T&G general union described as a "breakdown in ...

ITN pensions (98 words)

Union members at ITN postponed the strike action planned in January after management "significantly improved" their offer over staff pensions. ...

Job losses (79 words)

Members of manufacturing union Amicus working for DVD company Technicolor in Cwmbran reacted angrily to a surprise closure announcement made last month, with a ...

CEO pay (71 words)

Chief executives (CEOs) of major companies have little more chance of being fired and made redundant than the average worker, says the Work Foundation ...

Jobless count falls (63 words)

Unemployment fell for the second successive month. Under the Labour Force Survey count, which is the government's preferred measure and includes people not eligible ...

Inflation triggers tough pay rounds (213 words)

Dearer housing costs helped push inflation, as measured by the Retail Prices Index, to a 15-year high of 4.4% in December 2006 - up ...

Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (187 words)

Annual increaseWhole economyManufacturingServicesPrivate sectorPublic sectorLRD pay deals*November 2005 (r)3.5%4.5%3.4%3.3%4.4%3.0%December 4.2%4.4%3.9%3.9%4.7%3.0%January 20063.0%5.0%2.8%2.9%4.1%3.0%February 5.0%5.2%5.1%5.3%4.1%3.0%March 4.4%4.8%4.4%4.4%4.3%3.0%April 3.5%5.9%3.2%3.7%2.9%3.0%May 4.4%5.7%4.2%4.7%3.7%3.0%June 4.9%5.9%4.8%5.3%3.7%3.0%July 3.9%4.8%3.8%3.8%4.1%3.0%August 3.8%5.3%3.7%3.9%3.2%3.0%September (r)4.1%5.4%4.2%4.3%3.3%3.0%October (r)4.2%5.1%4.3%4.4%3.3%3.0%November (p)3.9%4.7%4.0%4.0%3.1%3.3%Headline rate for November**4.1%5.1%4.2%4.2%3.2% ...

Union news

Unions reach out to migrant workers before they arrive (253 words)

The GMB and T&G general unions are moving up a notch in their campaigns to inform and protect migrant workers, particularly those from Poland. ...

Government investigates facility time for workplace representatives (235 words)

The TUC has welcomed the news that the government is reviewing the support and time off available to workplace reps. ...

TUC resolves conflict at Alliance and Leicester (138 words)

The TUC has advised ALGUS, the main union at the Alliance and Leicester Group, that manufacturing and services union Amicus has suspended its efforts ...

Ballot begins for UCU (135 words)

Voting gets underway this month for the first sole general secretary of the new University and College Union, created last June by the merger ...

Prospect changes address (32 words)

Prospect, the union for professionals, managers and specialists, has moved its head office to New Prospect House, 8 Leake Street, London SE1 7NN. Telephone ...

Features

Employee representatives from outside Germany could join company boards (418 words)

Employees of German companies based outside Germany could in future be electing their own employee representatives to go on the organisation's supervisory boards. ...

French unions in on the Act (100 words)

The French Senate last month passed an Act setting out new procedures for dealing with employment and social legislation. This procedure, which is now ...

Swedish workers identify key trade union priorities (312 words)

LO, the largest union confederation in Sweden, has just produced the first of a series of seven reports looking at employees' attitudes towards unions. ...

Fears grow over academy schools (2396 words)

* The Labour Research survey found that many local authorities feel they are not involved enough in decisions relating to school academies ...

How much is a union rep worth? (1730 words)

Does the government value the role of union workplace representatives? The reps themselves don't think so: a survey just published by Personnel Today magazine ...

Fighting the fear factor (1529 words)

Only 24% of adults with long-term mental health problems have jobs, the lowest employment rate for any of the main groups of disabled people. ...

Mexican workers fight back (1518 words)

* Campaigns by trade unions, representing teachers, miners, steel workers and textile workers have been taking place across Mexico ...

Temps face ill health (70 words)

Workers in temporary jobs are more likely to suffer health problems than those in secure employment, according to new research. ...

RSI awareness day (88 words)

This year's repetitive strain injury (RSI) awareness day will be one of the most important yet, Steve Fisher from the RSI Action group has ...

CPS is rapped over failure to prosecute (101 words)

The High Court has ordered the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to reconsider its decision not to prosecute a firm following the death of a ...

Corporate killing law will lack teeth (303 words)

Large organisations that kill will continue to escape prosecution under the new offence of corporate manslaughter, according to senior lawyers in a legal opinion ...

Unions are urged to be "red and green" to save the planet (234 words)

Climate chaos will be unleashed in less than a generation unless unions help exert "irresistible pressure" to reduce carbon emissions, attendees were told at ...

Asbestos regulations get a mixed response (915 words)

Asbestos is a term used for a number of naturally occurring minerals that have crystallised to form fibres. All types of asbestos fibres are ...

GMB loses patience over maternity pay (264 words)

The GMB general union has criticised HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for its continued failure to enforce a worker's right to maternity pay. ...

Women make slow progress towards the glass ceiling (287 words)

More than three decades after the Sex Discrimination Act was introduced, the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has revealed that women remain grossly under-represented in ...

Disabled people are denied work in teaching and nursing (365 words)

A legal review has found strong potential for discrimination in the criteria used to determine whether people are able to train and practise as ...

e-views (394 words)

Long before the Internet became a household word, the founders of Sun Microsystems coined a corporate slogan which at the time made little sense: ...

Law Matters

Tribunal rejects grounds for constructive dismissal (363 words)

A failure to resolve a grievance to the employee's satisfaction does not amount to a breach of contract, and neither does a failure to ...

Government agrees gradual increase in leave entitlement (318 words)

The minimum level of holiday entitlement for UK workers is set to increase from 20 to 28 days a year by the end of ...

Stronger penalties for minimum wage abuse (108 words)

Employers who pay their workers less than the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will face tougher penalties following changes to enforcement procedures announced last month. ...

Dispute resolution procedures will be reviewed (143 words)

Recommendations for changes to the statutory dispute resolution procedures are expected in the spring of this year. ...

Law Queries

Absence review (96 words)

Q: Our employer has started to take all forms of absence, including paternity leave, into account under its absence review procedures. Can it do ...

Pay protection (311 words)

Q: Is pay protection unlawful? I believe that in a recent case it was found to be sex discrimination. ...

Change in duties (277 words)

Q: A number of staff have been given new job descriptions involving additional duties. These changes have not been agreed with the union. Shouldn't ...

Law Back-up

Grievance procedures deny workers justice (950 words)

The statutory dispute resolution procedures were introduced in October 2004 by the Employment Act 2002, with the aim of settling many employment disputes without ...

Workplace Back-up

It's time to get a grip on our working hours (850 words)

UK workers working unpaid overtime clock up an extra seven hours and six minutes a week each on average, and would get an extra ...

News from LRD

LRD annual general meeting (44 words)

The annual general meeting of the Labour Research Department will be held on Monday 16 April at the Association of London Government, 59 Southwark ...

Reviews

Coming to terms with nature (141 words)

Leo Panitch and Colin Leys, (eds), Merlin Press, 384 pages, paperback, £14.95 ...

The right to strike (171 words)

K D Ewing (ed), Institute of Employment Rights, 310 pages, £15.00 - but £10.00 for Labour Research readers if they mention this review. ...

Democracy and revolution (108 words)

D.L. Raby, Pluto, 296 pages, paperback, £15.00 ...