News

Prices take upward turn (56 words)

Inflation rose from 1.8% in the year to April to 2.1% in the year to May largely as a result of more expensive seasonal ...

Unemployment falls again (214 words)

UK joblessness continued to fall in May, with the claimant count jobless total dropping by 3,200 to 976,800, the lowest level since November 1975. ...

Unions issue warning on public services (422 words)

The future of public services emerged as one of the decisive issues in the election, but the TUC and a number of affiliated unions ...

Lecturers' union calls for investment in universities (226 words)

Nearly half of UK higher education institutions were in deficit last year, according to research by the Association of University Teachers (AUT). ...

Drugs giant cuts jobs (171 words)

Drugs multinational GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plans to cut more than 2,000 jobs, in a reorganisation following last year's merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. ...

Unions stump up election cash (229 words)

Unions provided the Labour Party with substantial financial support during the general election period. Five unions gave eight donations totalling pst835,000, according to the ...

Working time worries over "self-employed" (136 words)

A proposed new directive on the organisation of working time for mobile road haulage workers received its second reading in the European Parliament last ...

Firefighters and park police in dispute (279 words)

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) on Merseyside is balloting its members for strike action for the second time in six months. The ballot result ...

European news

European ministers agree consultation rights (489 words)

Workers in the UK can look forward to new information and consultation rights, but for many there is a five-year wait before they take ...

Spanish deal at Marks & Spencer (121 words)

Retail group Marks & Spencer has reached a deal on redundancy terms with its Spanish employees following the major demonstration in May against the ...

Dutch unions' closer co-operation (267 words)

The individual unions belonging to the FNV, the largest union confederation in the Netherlands, have agreed to seek closer co-operation. At their congress at ...

Features

Key Economic Indicators (335 words)

FULL-TIME AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS ...

Law Queries (724 words)

* We have been transferred to a new employer under the transfer regulations ...

Building unions in call centres (2398 words)

On the face of it, "21st century sweatshops", as call centres have been dubbed, should provide fertile hunting ground for unions, with large numbers ...

Boost for race equality (1472 words)

The TUC has welcomed the first major amendment to the 1976 Race Relations Act, which puts tough duties on public bodies to promote race ...

White, male bastion resumes (1535 words)

Trade union officials are in but manual workers are out, in the first new parliament of the 21st century. And new Tories are much ...

Postal union delivers unexpected result (246 words)

There was another surprise result in a union general secretary contest at the end of May when Billy Hayes was voted to the top ...

Lyons verdict delay (82 words)

A decision on whether government inspectors will investigate the finances of the MSF manufacturing, science and finance union was put off last month. ...

Northern Ireland membership (51 words)

Trade union membership in Northern Ireland rose slightly during 1999, according to the annual report of the Northern Ireland certification officer. Total membership in ...

Journalists gain (31 words)

The National Union of Journalists has increased its paying membership for the third year running. Total membership rose by 759 to 32,876 and paying ...

Paid study leave campaign (39 words)

Manufacturing, science and finance union MSF has become the latest union to back the Paid Educational Leave Campaign which is calling for statutory minimum ...

Bank managers regain partial union role (131 words)

Finance union UNIFI and the HSBC (formerly Midland) bank have come to a compromise over representation of the bank's 12,500 junior and middle managers. ...

Recognition after 10 years (77 words)

A recognition deal covering some 5,000 employees has been struck by unions at the children's charity, NCH, after 10 years of campaigning. ...

Unions changing to fit recognition law (1608 words)

Unions are being very sparing in using the statutory recognition procedures. And the law is leading many to put recruitment and organisation at the ...

Events (246 words)

July ...

Law Matters

WORKERS MAY STRIKE OVER TRANSFER TO NEW EMPLOYER (339 words)

The Court of Appeal has ruled that public service workers have the right to strike over transferring to a new employer. Although the ruling ...

Job Seeker's allowance biased (103 words)

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the Job Seeker's Allowance (JSA) discriminates against fathers who are separated from their partners but share the ...

Pension compensation (74 words)

The Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled that in calculating what an employee should receive as compensation for loss of a future pension, the tribunals ...

Human rights claims (64 words)

In a recent case alleging breaches of the Human Rights Act 1998 the court ruled that the Act was not relevant. In the case ...

JOURNALIST WINS VICTORY OVER 24-HOUR CALL-OUT (232 words)

Journalist John Bald has won an important victory against his former employer, the Capital Press Agency, which dismissed him shortly after he objected to ...

Law Back-up

Employees must raise claims while in work (846 words)

Workers have a legal right not to be discriminated against while in employment. But, as Back-up reveals, this right does not extend to discrimination ...

Health & Safety Matters

WORKERS WIN RIGHT TO CHALLENGE EMPLOYERS (225 words)

Injured workers can now take civil action against employers who fail to carry out risk assessments, following a six-year campaign initiated by the FBU ...

UNISON members win stress awards (78 words)

Public services union UNISON has won compensation for two former employees of Cumbria County Council who lost their jobs as a result of work-related ...

European safety week in October (69 words)

The European Week for Safety and Health at Work will take place from 15-22 October. The theme, "Success is no accident", will highlight accident ...

Asbestos compensation (49 words)

The campaign to secure full compensation for asbestos-related disease sufferers after the collapse of insurers Chester Street Holdings Ltd earlier this year has succeeded. ...

CHARTER SHOULD COVER WORKPLACE VICTIMS, SAYS TUC (249 words)

The TUC is calling for the Victim's Charter to include the victims of workplace crimes, particularly where breaches of health and safety law have ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Employers have legal duty to assess risks (816 words)

A recent change in the law (see p22) allowing workers to take civil legal action against employers who do not carry out risk assessments ...

Equality news

Pregnancy pay-out (87 words)

Around 500 female cabin staff will receive compensation worth pst2.3 million from British Airways for pay they lost when pregnant. The women were transferred ...

Respect festival (64 words)

Platinum-selling rap artists Run DMC will headline the Respect anti-racist music festival which takes place in London later this month. The free festival, to ...

Gay partners gain (70 words)

Gay partners of workers at Eurotunnel have won the right to the same travel concessions as heterosexual partners, thanks to negotiations by the T&G ...

GAYS NOT PROTECTED BY CURRENT ACT (366 words)

The Sex Discrimination Act does not protect lesbians and gay men from discrimination, according to a ruling last month by the Court of Session ...

DISABLED ACADEMICS GO MISSING FROM STATISTICS (214 words)

There are 14,000 "missing" disabled academics working in higher education, according to recent research by the Association of University Teachers (AUT). ...

Workplace Back-up

Guide gives advice on negotiating pay (785 words)

Negotiators putting forward a pay claim need to think about more than a simple annual pay rise. Back-up outlines a guide from the UK's ...

News from LRD

News from LRD (88 words)

Thanks everybody! ...

Tackling violence at work (149 words)

Violence at work is not just about physical assault. Often it takes the form of threats and abuse which can have an equally devastating ...

Reviews

The fight to ban asbestos 1995-2000 (135 words)

Tony O'Brien, Construction Safety Campaign, PO Box 23844, London SE15 3WR, 36 pages, A4 size, pamphlet, pst3.00 (pst2.50 for 10 or more) ...

Lethal work (196 words)

A history of the asbestos tragedy in Scotland ...

Public services or corporate welfare (136 words)

Rethinking the nation state in the global economy ...

Trade unions of the world (113 words)

Harper Publishing, 410 pages, paperback, pst63.00 ...

E-views

E-views (296 words)

A survey released last month by the Consumers' Association made the headlines after they discovered that email as a preferred means of communication was ...