News

Review of top public sector pay gets thumbs down from unions (482 words)

A government review of fair pay among public sector executives has been labelled a “missed opportunity” by trade unions disappointed by its limited scope, ...

Blood service privatisation slammed (212 words)

Government plans to privatise parts of the NHS National Blood and Transfusion Service have caused widespread shock. ...

Redundancy watch (270 words)

The rate of job losses in the public sector continued at a ferocious rate. Among the larger recent announcements were the Ministry of Defence ...

Mass strikes warning if sweeping pensions reforms are implemented (355 words)

Trade unions have warned of mass strikes in response to plans for sweeping reforms to public sector pensions. ...

Unpaid overtime hits new record (198 words)

A record 5.26 million people worked unpaid overtime last year — the highest since records began in 1992, according to a TUC analysis of ...

Cuts watch (345 words)

A community trust regularly praised by prime minister David Cameron as the inspiration for his Big Society agenda has been forced to close down ...

Joblessness breaches 2.5 million (207 words)

The number of unemployed people has broken the 2.5 million barrier and is now at its highest level since 1994, latest figures show. ...

Smartphones added to basket (60 words)

Smartphones and mobile phone apps are two of the 19 additions to the 650-strong basket of goods used by the Office for National Statistics ...

Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (180 words)

Inflation +5.5%, Average earnings +3.5% ...

Inflation (180 words)

Retail Prices Index1 (RPI)% annual increase in RPI% annual increase in Consumer Prices IndexSept 2009215.3-1.41.1October216.0-0.81.5November216.60.31.9December218.02.42.9January 2010217.93.73.5February219.23.73.0March220.74.43.4April222.85.33.7May223.65.13.4June224.15.03.2July223.64.83.1August224.54.73.1September225.34.63.1October225.84.53.2November226.84.73.3December228.44.83.7January 2011229.05.14.0February231.35.54.4 ...

Union news

‘Unprecedented’ solidarity greets US unions over ban on collective bargaining (476 words)

US unions could end up gaining from the current wave of legislative attacks on union rights across the country, according to US union federation ...

UCATT ordered to re-run election for leader (286 words)

Construction union UCATT was thrown into a state of uncertainty last month, following an order by the certification officer that general secretary Alan Ritchie ...

European news

Action undermines far-right ploy to penetrate French trade unions (476 words)

French unions say they are determined to stop the extreme right Front National (FN) party using trade unionism for its own purposes. ...

Attack on conditions sparks strike call (373 words)

Changes to Romania’s labour code have seen protests by unions with the main union confederations now considering a general strike. ...

Features

Ethnic minorities clobbered (2244 words)

Government spending cuts continue to lead to huge job losses in the public sector (see Redundancy Watch) as well as to cuts in services. ...

Can legal strategies deliver racial justice? (1549 words)

Prime minister David Cameron’s declaration in February at the Munich Security Conference signalled a new chapter in UK race relations when he asserted that ...

Fight to save the NHS begins (1753 words)

The UNISON health service union has warned in no uncertain terms that the government’s proposals for reforming the NHS mean that the health service ...

Could nanomaterials be the new asbestos? (1434 words)

Hailed as the technology for the future, nanotechnology is big business. The global market in nanotechnologies has been forecast to reach a trillion dollars ...

Law Matters

‘Sense of justice’ after ruling favours unions (351 words)

Unions have won a Iandmark victory in the courts. It was, they said, a “major step for industrial freedom”. ...

Some equality changes come in, others delayed (288 words)

At a very late stage, the Con-Dems have introduced uncertainty over some of the duties under the 2010 Equality Act that were due to ...

Default retirement age goes (249 words)

In the run up to last year’s general election, the main political parties promised that if they formed the next government they would scrap ...

Law Queries

TUPE (305 words)

A. The Conservative-led government, and in particular the prime minister, David Cameron, has trumpeted the concept of “the Big Society” — encouraging social/voluntary action, ...

Terms and conditions (113 words)

A. Under section 4(3)(a) of the 1996 Employment Rights Act your employer must, at the earliest opportunity and certainly within one month of the ...

Minimum wage (294 words)

A. You are right that the standard rate for the minimum wage is just under £6 an hour (in fact it is £5.93); a ...

Law Back-up

Blowing whistle mustn’t mean workers suffering (898 words)

During the 1980s and 1990s a series of disasters occurred — including the capsize of the Herald of Free Enterprise cross-channel ferry, and the ...

Health & Safety Matters

Sickness absence is targeted once again (368 words)

To union scepticism, yet another review of the sickness absence system has been launched by the government, with an explicit agenda: to cut the ...

Daily dog fight half won (180 words)

A lengthy union campaign has resulted in new laws in Scotland from February and in Northern Ireland from the end of March, designed to ...

Court rules on asbestos exposure (241 words)

Safety campaigners have welcomed a landmark ruling over “low level” exposures to a cancer-causing substance, such as asbestos. ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Taking action to avert dangers at workplace (941 words)

Workers’ Memorial Day is marked on 28 April, when trade unionists across the world, not just in the UK, will once again be highlighting ...

Equality news

Disabled people face poverty in reforms (332 words)

Cuts to the disability living allowance (DLA) will leave disabled people, their carers and their children in poverty, said the TUC. ...

Top firms must do more on boardroom balance (307 words)

Britain’s top companies have been given four years to more than double the number of women in their boardrooms, but recommendations have fallen short ...

Council cuts hit equality (246 words)

Eric Pickles’ review of the statutory duties placed on councils, including those designed to protect women, has been attacked by public service union UNISON. ...

Workplace Back-up

Making menopause an issue for employers (813 words)

The menopause is an important occupational health issue. According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, 3.5 million (45%) of all ...

News from LRD

LRD annual general meeting (62 words)

The Labour Research Department annual general meeting is on Monday 18 April from 2pm at Jerwood Space, 171 Union Street, London SE1 0LN (the ...

Reviews

Stride toward freedom (248 words)

The Montgomery story ...

The life and times of Stella Browne (203 words)

Feminist and free spirit ...

E-views

e-views (390 words)

Apple computers have gone from strength to strength in the last few years, launching iconic products like the iPod, iPhone and now the iPad. ...