Pay and prices

Settlements move ahead of inflation (240 words)

THE latest figures from LRD’s Payline database show the median for settlements in the three months to November up slightly at 3.9% from 3.8% ...

Labour Research Department three-monthly pay figures (72 words)

Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered). ...

Full-time weekly average earnings (16 words)

All workers£585.80All male£643.70All female£495.20Managers£869.80Professionals£784.30Associate professional£605.40Admin & secretarial£405.70Skilled/craft£492.00Services£347.70Sales£321.80Operatives£455.20Other manual£353.20 ...

Average earnings indices (including bonuses) (62 words)

* 2000=100. ** Average of earnings increases for latest three months compared to a year earlier. (r) revised. (p) provisional. Source: National Statistics. ...

Other pay analysts (21 words)

Industrial Relations Services (median, three months to end November 2008)3.8%Incomes Data Services (median, three months to end October 2008)3.5% ...

Inflation forecasts (18 words)

Fourth quarter 2008 ...

Bargaining news

Breakthrough in civil service pay dispute (392 words)

PCS the civil service union has called off its planned industrial action over pay after a breakthrough in talks with the government. ...

Gender pay gap widens (327 words)

Figures from the 2008 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) show that in 2008 the full-time gender pay gap increased from 17.0% to ...

NUJ launches campaign to fight job losses (262 words)

NUJ journalists’ union reps from the regional press convened an emergency meeting at the end of November following the loss of over 500 jobs ...

Telegraph Group Pay Deal (63 words)

l Journalists and editorial staff at the Telegraph and associated publications agreed a three-year pay deal at the end of November, linked to inflation. ...

Redundancy negotiations for Woolworths’ workers (425 words)

Following the announcement from the auditors, Deloitte, that they had failed to find a buyer for high-street store Woolworths, the Usdaw shopworkers’ union has ...

5% for Stena Line (110 words)

RMT rail and maritime union dock and onboard ship workers at Stena Line ferries agreed a pay deal of 5% in November. In addition, ...

Meat inspectors’ pay (100 words)

UNISON general union members working in the meat inspection industry called off a strike planned before Christmas following an agreement on pay. Employers have ...

Probation service settlement (81 words)

NAPO the probation service union has agreed a two-year deal giving 2% in 2008-09 and 2.3% for 2009-10. The deal brings to an end ...

Piracy threat bonus for sailors in high risk area (189 words)

Seafarers serving on ships in transit through the Gulf of Aden are to receive special “war risk” payments following emergency meetings of the International ...

HBOS/Lloyds talks (91 words)

Accord, the union for Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) workers, has consulted 500 workplace reps on negotiations over the merger with Lloyds TSB (LTSB). ...

Northern Ireland’s teachers campaign for pay parity (281 words)

The NASUWT teachers’ union is balloting members in Northern Ireland for action short of a strike in the latest stage of a long-running campaign ...

Equity’s West End deal (154 words)

Equity has settled with the Society of London Theatres in a deal backed by 96% of its theatre members and a vote of two-to-one ...

Corus unions deny pay cut (334 words)

Community, the GMB and Unite unions representing steelworkers at Corus, a subsidiary of Indian-owned Tata Steel, have refuted stories that they offered to take ...

Equality news

Disabled employees face “negative treatment” (454 words)

Disabled workers and employees with long-term health conditions experience “disproportionate negative treatment” in the workplace says equality watchdog the Equality and Human Rights Commission ...

Triple glass ceiling (258 words)

A report from the Young Foundation and London Development Agency concludes that Muslim women, especially those that wear the “hijab” (headscarf), effectively face a ...

Statutory maternity pay too low say employers (199 words)

The current statutory minimum maternity pay is too low say over half of companies in a survey by the Incomes Data Services (IDS) pay ...

Recruitment and organisation news

Derecognition defeated by UCU (465 words)

The University and College Union (UCU) has fended off an attempt by Nottingham Trent University to derecognise it (see Workplace Report November 2008) and ...

Learning and training news

Government boosts apprenticeships (401 words)

Government proposals affecting learning and skills remained largely unscathed in the Queen’s Speech on 3 December 2008. ...

European news

Austria set for above-inflation pay round (336 words)

Austria's largest union, the GPA, has reached agreement with employers on an above-inflation settlement for the country’s 500,000 non-manual workers in the retail industry, ...

ABN Amro offers stability (460 words)

ABN Amro, the Dutch bank, has agreed a 3.5% pay increase for 2009. The unions have welcomed the deal as providing certainty in difficult ...

Unions reach agreement for Italian SMEs (247 words)

CGIL, the largest Italian union confederation, has refused to sign an agreement on new collective bargaining arrangements for small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). ...

Law - Discrimination

Discrimination law (779 words)

The definition of disability (284 words)

Case 1: The facts ...

Reasonable adjustments for disability (306 words)

Case 2: The facts ...

Equal pay: the “genuine material factor” defence (214 words)

Case 3: The facts ...

Disability: discrimination by association (145 words)

Case 4: The facts ...

Indirect religious discrimination (255 words)

Case 5: The facts ...

Equal pay: work of equal value (296 words)

Case 6: The facts ...

Indirect sex discrimination (325 words)

Case 7: The facts ...

Indirect age discrimination (344 words)

Case 8: The facts ...

Equal pay: job evaluation (235 words)

Case 9: The facts ...

Statutory grievances in equal pay claims (495 words)

Case 10: The facts ...

Race: the burden of proof (630 words)

Case 11: The facts ...

Health & safety news

Violence increasing against public service staff (255 words)

VIOLENT incidents against Scottish public service staff have risen again. UNISON Scotland released new figures showing that over 32,000 violent incidents against public service ...

CWU negotiates better Christmas mail handling (196 words)

CWU communication workers’ union action in Royal Mail will help ensure that Christmas does not turn into a safety hazard for postal workers. ...

Safety rep case studies (56 words)

THE RCN nursing union has launched nine case study documents showing how safety representatives make a real difference in the workplace. They cover work ...

BT targets sick workers (98 words)

Members of the CWU communication workers’ union marched in protest after BT workers with decades of exemplary service were targeted and tagged as under-performers ...

Airline baggage campaign (85 words)

UNITE general union is campaigning to cut the weight of airport baggage to 23kg. The union said that heavy bags could be contributing to ...

Needlestick warning for construction workers (155 words)

UCATT construction union has warned workers involved in housing maintenance to be vigilant for dirty needles in order to avoid possible needlestick injuries, after ...

Health & safety - HSE Monitor

Mess up or massage? (288 words)

THE HSE has blamed a “routing error” for producing substantially lower figures for musculoskeletal disorders this year, compared with previous years. ...

HSE accused of failing in safety enforcement (345 words)

IN the last five years Health and Safety Executive (HSE) staffing, safety prosecutions, convictions, enforcement notices and investigations of major injuries have all plummeted, ...

New “Brown Book” online (56 words)

A copy of the newly revised 1977 Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations, the related Approved Code of Practice and associated guidance can now ...

Violence risk checks (73 words)

The- HSE and local authorities have developed a toolkit to help employers and safety reps reduce the risk of work-related violence in licensed or ...

New chemical guidance (80 words)

THE HSE has put information and links on chemical safety in one place on its website. HSE said the page provides a simple signpost ...

HSE chair hails safety reps (133 words)

Judith Hackitt, chair of the Health and Safety Executive, emphasised the important role of safety representatives at work, at the Health and Safety and ...

Features

Securing the minimum wage for apprentices (2196 words)

Currently employers do not have to pay the minimum wage to apprentices aged under 19 or to older workers in the first year of ...

Early warning signs of cuts in shift patterns and premia (2241 words)

Evidence submitted in September and October to this year’s annual Payline survey on shift working from Labour Research Department showed the first signs of ...