News

London busworkers' pay boost (134 words)

Most London bus drivers and conductors are earning an extra pst20 a week thanks to a new bonus scheme introduced on 1 April by ...

Staff strike over "sexual harassment" (355 words)

Postal workers in Scotland took unofficial action at the end of March over what their local union, the Communication Workers' Union, said was sexual ...

Unions slam Marconi job cuts (263 words)

Unions have slammed plans by communications multinational Marconi - the former GEC - to axe 3,000 jobs worldwide over the next year, half of ...

Teachers unite on 35-hour week (374 words)

Teachers' unions in England and Wales have been displaying unprecedented unity around the demand for a 35-hour week and are threatening industrial action if ...

Nurses agree ballot (89 words)

The ruling council of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has authorised the holding of an industrial action ballot at the John Radcliffe Hospital ...

Foot and mouth hits workers in tourism (327 words)

The foot and mouth crisis has led the CBI employers' organisation to cut its projection for economic growth this year from 2.5% to 2%. ...

Unions welcome interest rate cut (216 words)

Unions lined up to welcome the second interest rate reduction in three months when the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cut the ...

Cheaper mortgages depress RPI (66 words)

Lower mortgage interest rates helped push down the headline rate of inflation to a 13-month low of 2.3% in March. Lower petrol prices as ...

Union news

Finance union in merger talks (250 words)

Finance union UNIFI is at the early stage of potential merger talks with leaders of the AEEU engineering and electrical union and the MSF ...

Bosses learning anti-union tricks (312 words)

The inside story on how union recognition campaigns have been operating since the statutory recognition procedure was introduced was revealed at last month's Labour ...

Recognition body shows its teeth (108 words)

Red Letter Bradford and Fullerton Computer Industries became the latest employers to have recognition imposed on them through the new statutory procedures. ...

European news

New union seeks to recruit (294 words)

Germany's biggest union Ver.di, which only came into existence at the end of March, is already pushing to increase its membership with a major ...

European works council (127 words)

The European Court of Justice has thrown out a claim from an employer that it did not need to ...

Spanish unions fall out over pensions (110 words)

The two main Spanish union confederations, the CCOO and the UGT, have taken radically different positions on a pensions deal reached last month with ...

French court condemns Marks and Spencer (320 words)

A court in France has condemned Marks & Spencer for its failure to consult employee representatives over the planned closure of its French operations ...

Features

Key Economic Indicators (321 words)

FULL-TIME AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS ...

Is the minimum wage debate over? (1880 words)

The introduction of a statutory minimum wage will be seen by many voters as one of the Labour government's finest achievements. But its value ...

Tribunal figures show union success (1565 words)

Last year, over 100,000 individuals were forced to resort to employment tribunals to get justice at work. And those cases that were backed by ...

French slash work hours (1780 words)

Long working hours are not inevitable. The determination shown by the socialist government in France to implement a 35-hour week has led to a ...

May (170 words)

* Saturday 12: Unions and the Internet. Conference organised by the TUC and the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics. ...

"Fair pay champions" urge firms to equalise pay (298 words)

The government has appointed two trade unionists as "fair pay champions" to address the issue of equal pay. Deputy general secretary of the T&G ...

Graduate employment (123 words)

Official figures published last month by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) show that black and ethnic minority graduates are less likely ...

Gay politics (115 words)

Information on all the political parties' policies on lesbian and gay issues, as well as candidates' voting records and views, can be found on ...

Nursery staff may act over low pay (283 words)

Nursery workers at the London Borough of Ealing are being balloted on industrial action in a dispute over re-grading for some of the authority's ...

Unions help learners to help themselves (1267 words)

Unions have been enthusiastically taking up the issue of adult learning, and are among the sponsors and award winners of this month's Adult Learners ...

Law Matters

Code fails to stop age bias, says MPs report (249 words)

The government's voluntary code on combating age discrimination is not working, according to a report from the education and employment select committee. Its findings ...

Temporary employees to get limited rights (241 words)

A proposed new law would give temporary workers the right to be regarded as permanent if they have been working continuously for four years ...

Limits on compensation (103 words)

Employees who are unfairly dismissed can only pursue their claims using unfair dismissal law, according to a ruling from the House of Lords, the ...

Human rights and disciplinaries (95 words)

The Scottish Court of Session has ruled that anyone at risk of losing their job through disciplinary measures has the right to a "fair ...

Select committee favours consultation (42 words)

The influential trade and industry select committee has called on the government to review employment laws which make it easier for companies to dismiss ...

Law Queries

Law Queries (738 words)

* My employer has underpaid me. Can I refuse to work until such time as he makes up what is owed to me? ...

Law Back-up

When is an employee not an employee (802 words)

To gain access to most employment rights, individuals have to be "employees", that is, working under a contract of employment. Back-up looks at recent ...

Health & Safety Matters

HSE starts debate on at-work road-traffic safety (162 words)

Preventing at-work road traffic incidents is the title of a discussion document recently issued by the Health and Safety Executive which also held a ...

Campaign for rail safety goes global (436 words)

International rail safety day on 29 March was chosen for the RMT rail union's one-day strike for safety on the London Underground. ...

Asbestos victims (128 words)

Victims of asbestos-related diseases "should not lose a penny of their compensation payments" after the collapse of insurance company Chester Street (formerly Iron Trades). ...

Safety rep win (124 words)

A safety rep has won a victory at an employment tribunal over her right to time off for health and safety training. Susan Catten, ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Protecting new and expectant mothers (728 words)

The importance of dealing with the health and safety risks to pregnant or breastfeeding women were highlighted last month when the Health and Safety ...

Workplace Back-up

Price index reveals consumer shifts (647 words)

When National Statistics published the retail prices index (RPI) figures for February it also announced changes to the basket of goods priced each month. ...

News from LRD

LRD executive committee (199 words)

There are three new faces on the LRD executive committee for April 2001 to March 2002. They are Richard Barker (nominated by the GPMU ...

A trade unionist's guide to the law at work (57 words)

The Labour Research Department's (LRD) latest guide The law at work 2001 includes an explanation of the law on union recognition, the regulations providing ...