News

Candidates called upon to back real increases in minimum wage (445 words)

The National Minimum Wage must not be allowed to wither on the vine, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber warned in the run up to ...

Public sector unions hit back (240 words)

Public sector unions are hitting out at the clamour for “efficiency” savings, and highlighting alternative waste-cutting measures. ...

Redundancy Watch (247 words)

Although the recession is officially over, the number of people being made redundant remains high, judging by recent announcements. ...

Jobs rescue plan jeopardised by Network Rail, says union (281 words)

The RMT rail union was last month hopeful that an intervention by government might save thousands of skilled maintenance jobs on Britain’s railways. ...

SATs boycott set to get underway (265 words)

Teachers and head teachers belonging to the NUT and NAHT unions are poised to begin a boycott of SATs school tests in English and ...

STUC disputes deficit strategy (216 words)

The Scottish Trades Union Congress, which held its annual congress last month, is challenging what it describes as the “apparent consensus” that puts cutting ...

Unemployment increases (185 words)

Unemployment showed an unwelcome bounce back upwards, according to latest official data. ...

Inflation shows sharp rise (58 words)

Inflation rose sharply to an 18-month high, the latest official figures show. Under the Retail Prices Index (RPI), inflation in March was 4.4%, against ...

Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (175 words)

Earnings and pay% annual rise in average weekly earnings*% rise in LRD pay deals**Whole economyManu-facturingServicesPrivate sectorPublic sector**Feb 2009 (r)-5.6-0.7-7.5-8.23.32.7March-0.91.7-1.9-2.12.32.5April1.41.61.71.13.01.5May0.8-0.21.10.32.71.5June1.21.11.40.43.91.5July0.6-0.60.5-0.52.32.0August 0.71.70.5-0.32.61.9September 0.81.61.10.02.91.9October 0.51.60.5-0.42.82.0November 0.82.01.10.32.61.8December 0.73.20.80.32.21.9Jan ...

Union news

British Airways’ report set out plan for union-busting (248 words)

British Airways was encouraged to break the Bassa cabin crew section of the Unite trade union in advance of the recent dispute over job ...

Unions supported (90 words)

Fewer than one in five workers feel that “unions have no future in modern Britain” as presented by some commentators, according to a poll. ...

European news

Proposed public sector pay deal may get thumbs down from Irish workers (435 words)

Trade union members in Ireland’s public sector may throw out a proposed pay deal with the government, which was only agreed at the end ...

Commission launches consultations on possible review of working time directive (435 words)

The European Commission has opened consultations with unions and employers at European level on a possible review of the working time directive. ...

Features

A nightmare on Downing Street? (2077 words)

Should the trade union movement fear a return of Thatcher-style slashing of workers’ rights and union-bashing if a Tory government is elected? Or should ...

Tories offer up usual suspects (2146 words)

The Conservative party’s election campaign slogan is Vote for change. However, that call for change does not appear to apply if you examine the ...

Do they put safety first? (1872 words)

The Tories have pounced on figures showing that Britain has one of the lowest fatality and non-fatal accident rates in the European Union to ...

Insisting the banks pay up (1533 words)

What could raise hundreds of billions of pounds to fight global poverty while simultaneously protecting public services and tackling climate change? The answer, according ...

Law Matters

Equality Act heralds wider rights at work (357 words)

Important new rights are expected to start coming into force from October now that the Equality Bill has completed its passage through Parliament and ...

Union wins on consultation (267 words)

The Unite general union has won a claim against a firm, which tried to use the “special circumstances” defence, for a failure to carry ...

Sick notes are replaced by GPs’ fit notes (259 words)

Last month, sick notes were signed off and replaced by a new fit note scheme. ...

Law Queries

Redundancy (248 words)

Q. A few months ago, after returning from maternity leave, our member decided to switch from full-time to part-time work. A little while later ...

Time off for training (260 words)

Q. I have seen a course that I would really like to do. However, it involves taking one afternoon off from work each week ...

Jury service (240 words)

Q. Our member has been summoned to do jury service. The employer is pressurising them into trying to get out of it. Where do ...

Law Back-up

A tribunal claim can go beyond time limit (966 words)

Observing tribunal time limits is vital for claimants — especially so when lodging a claim or an appeal. ...

Health & Safety Matters

Government responds to fatalities report (284 words)

Unions have largely welcomed the government’s long-awaited response to Rita Donaghy’s report into fatalities in the construction industry, One death is too many. ...

Teachers face burnout (202 words)

A lack of support from schools and managers has caused some teachers suffering from stress, burnout and depression to consider suicide, according to a ...

Firefighters killed (122 words)

The deaths of two firefighters, who were killed as they tried to put out a fire in a tower block last month, has once ...

Government response to ICL blast welcomed (121 words)

The government’s response to Lord Gill’s inquiry into the 2004 explosion at the ICL factory in Glasgow has been welcomed by the Scottish TUC. ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Unions want right to safety PINs at work (878 words)

The lack of enforcement and deregulation of health and safety has led to renewed calls for increased powers for union safety reps, including the ...

Equality news

Third of workers have to balance care duties (306 words)

Male and female workers are as likely to have to care for a partner, relative and friend as they are for children, according to ...

MPs’ committee calls for more women at top in City (332 words)

The lack of women at senior levels in financial institutions may have a detrimental effect on corporate governance and how executive decisions are challenged ...

Cancer patients also suffer work crisis (173 words)

Almost six out of 10 workers with cancer have had to make drastic changes to their working lives. ...

Fathers stay home (101 words)

Today, there are 10 times more stay-at-home fathers than a decade ago. ...

Workplace Back-up

Apprenticeships are key to skills shortages (790 words)

Ahead of this month’s general election, assorted interest groups have been setting out what they want to see an incoming government include in their ...

News from LRD

News from LRD (81 words)

Following the Labour Research Department (LRD) annual general meeting on 19 April the new LRD executive committee took office. ...

Reviews

The labour movement in Britain from Thatcher to Blair (213 words)

Keith Barlow, Peter Lang, paperback, 304 pages, £32.30 ...

‘Perish the privileged orders’ (236 words)

A socialist history of the Chartist movement ...

E-views

e-views (331 words)

The increasing importance of the media has been a feature of recent general elections. This election is no exception. However, one thing that has ...