News

Inflation remains at 2.4% (59 words)

The underlying rate of inflation was unchanged last month at 2.4%, just below chancellor Gordon Brown's 2.5% target. ...

Eighth fall in dole figure (212 words)

UK unemployment has continued to fall with the number claiming unemployment benefit falling by 12,000 in June to 963,700. It was the eighth successive ...

Bosses are improving conditions (89 words)

British work culture is changing dramatically, with employers going beyond the law in introducing improved conditions. So says the annual Employment Trends survey published ...

Strikes double in year (183 words)

The number of days lost in strikes doubled between 1999 and 2000, according to government figures. The figure for the calendar year 2000 was ...

Employers extol virtues of unions (147 words)

Employers are increasingly taking a positive stance towards unions because they believe officials and stewards can be allies in implementing changes in the workplace. ...

Fire authority "breached" deal (216 words)

The sustained strike by Merseyside firefighters last month was over the employer's flouting of nationally agreed procedures over the way in which firefighting is ...

Unions vow to fight shipyard job cuts (234 words)

The destruction of British manufacturing continued apace last month, with the announcement of more than 1,100 shipyard job losses at defence contractor BAE Systems, ...

Marconi decision was "foolish" (247 words)

Union leaders at UK telecoms multinational Marconi, which last month announced it is to axe 1,600 UK jobs, have been giving details of where ...

Factory job losses mount up (127 words)

About 500 people demonstrated in south Wales last month against the loss of hundreds of jobs at telecoms equipment manufacturer Solectron. Workers and members ...

Union news

Union density steady again (220 words)

Union membership is rising in line with the growth of jobs despite large-scale redundancies in some well organised industrial sectors. ...

Unions cautious on statutory recognition (211 words)

Further evidence that unions have been very cautious in using the statutory recognition procedure came in the annual report of the Central Arbitration Committee ...

IPMS and EMA to merge (101 words)

A new union with over 100,000 professional members will start work on 1 November as the IPMS civil service specialists union merges with the ...

TUC membership slips slightly (95 words)

The TUC's membership figures slipped by 25,000 last year, despite the general increase recorded in the Labour Force Survey (see above). Total affiliated membership ...

European news

Non-EU workers to be let in to fill gaps (237 words)

The European Commission wants European-wide rules for immigrants coming to the European Union to work which are flexible but recognise the reality of the ...

New German works council law agreed (113 words)

Planned changes to Germany's law on works councils, which are directly elected by the whole workforce, were agreed last month. The changes (see Labour ...

Change for Spain's bargaining rules (131 words)

Government, unions and employers have started negotiations on a possible new structure for collective bargaining in Spain. The unions want a greater role for ...

Italian unions split on pay (290 words)

A major rift has opened up between Italy's main union confederations, with the largest, CGIL, refusing to sign a new metalworkers' pay agreement backed ...

Features

CONTENTS (183 words)

It is increasingly possible to invest in a more socially responsible pension fund ...

Unions' private fears (1341 words)

Union leaders remain unconvinced about government moves to reform public services through the increased use of the private sector. And the evidence from schools ...

Taskforce to advise on flexible working (146 words)

A government taskforce to examine ways of giving working parents the right to ask to work flexible hours has been welcomed by the TUC ...

IT for hearing-impaired people (129 words)

The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) is launching a major project providing fully accredited part-time IT training courses for hearing-impaired people. The ...

Same-sex partnerships (89 words)

London mayor Ken Livingstone has announced a register of same-sex partnerships to be in operation in London from September. ...

Charities fail on disabled staff (291 words)

Some charities do not appear to be practising what they preach when it comes to employing disabled staff, according to a recent survey by ...

Ethical pensions - what's the difference? (2124 words)

Last month saw another major step putting "socially responsible investment" into the mainstream with the launch of the FTSE4Good Index. ...

Events (267 words)

September ...

Where are all the black officials? (1515 words)

Apart from one or two high-profile union leaders, black trade unionists are singularly absent from the top of union hierarchies, according to a Labour ...

Bill awaits rail report (234 words)

Hazards campaigners have condemned the government for its failure to propose new occupational safety legislation in the coming session of parliament. While the government ...

Rail safety (140 words)

The TUC is calling for unions to have a greater say in safety on the railways following publication of the official report into the ...

Risks to children (107 words)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) used the opportunity of Child Safety Week in June to highlight the risks of children being killed or ...

TUC calls for action on rehabilitation (212 words)

The TUC has warned that government plans to cut the sickness absence due to workplace injury and illness by 30% by 2010 have no ...

Health staff to be protected from violence (119 words)

Action to protect NHS staff from violent or abusive patients has been announced by the Department of Health and national guidance for trusts will ...

How will firms consult their workforces? (1358 words)

The detail of the European information and consultation directive is still up in the air. Some employers will want to go above the unions ...

French minimum wage raised (115 words)

The French national minimum wage, the SMIC, has been increased to 43.72 FFr (£4.07) an hour. ...

How union initiatives are raising skills (779 words)

The Union Learning Fund, now in its fourth year, has been instrumental in providing the resources for unions to set up learning and training ...

Law Matters

Temporary workers win right to holidays (397 words)

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that all workers, including temporary workers on contracts of less than 13 weeks, have the right ...

Deaths in custody (124 words)

Nearly 2,000 people have died while in police custody or in prison during the last ten years. While the death rate for those in ...

Increase in tribunal costs (42 words)

The maximum costs that can be awarded against an individual in a tribunal claim have risen to £10,000 with effect from 16 July 2001. ...

Pensions count in pay bargaining (70 words)

In an important legal development the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) has ruled that pensions are included in the legal definition of "pay". ...

Government plans review of dispute resolution (152 words)

The government is continuing moves to shift claims out of the employment tribunals into other forms of dispute resolution. Following the introduction in May ...

Law Queries

Law Queries (758 words)

* One of my members was dismissed several weeks ago. She recently attended an appeal where the employer offered her the job back, having ...

Law Back-up

Why has the number of tribunals soared? (771 words)

The number of tribunal cases has risen four-fold in the last decade and in some areas there can be a nine-month delay before a ...

Health & Safety Back-up

HSE issues advice on tackling work stress (690 words)

Stress, depression or anxiety are the second most commonly reported work-related illnesses and their incidence appears to be rising. Back-up examines recent guidance on ...

News from LRD

News from LRD (182 words)

Equal pay ...

Reviews

Trade unions of the world (113 words)

Harper Publishing, 410 pages, paperback, £63.00 ...

The captive local state (126 words)

Peter Latham, Socialist Renewal, Russell House, Bulwell Lane, Nottingham NG6 0BT, price £2.00 ...

New Labour and Thatcherism (160 words)

Political changes in Britain ...

Facing up to Thatcherism (208 words)

The history of NALGO 1979-93 ...

What's wrong with Labour? (201 words)

A critical history of the Labour Party in the 20th century ...

E-views

E-views (299 words)

There are a number of legal websites of interest to trade unionists. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (www.employmentappeals.gov.uk/) offers judgments in full text, indexed by ...