News

Cuts leave key services at breaking point during riots (421 words)

The August riots and their aftermath have exposed the dangers of cutting key services with magistrates court staff, police and firefighters pushed to breaking ...

Charities face funding crisis (244 words)

Local authority budget cuts mean that more than 2,000 charities face losing some or all of their funding, according to research published by the ...

Redundancy Watch (269 words)

In the public sector, job losses have been announced at: Royal Bank of Scotland where up to 2,000 investment banking jobs are to be ...

Sellafield unions question rationale of plant closure (308 words)

Unions representing nuclear power workers have said the government’s decision to close Sellafield’s Mox plant with the potential loss of 800 jobs, is ill-conceived ...

Redundancy challenge fails (207 words)

Civil service unions the PCS and the POA have lost their legal battle to stop government cuts to redundancy terms for civil servants, despite ...

Workers feel chill on pay (267 words)

Employees are continuing to feel the pressure as pay levels fall below living costs, with almost three in five employees experiencing pay freezes so ...

Jobless women at 23-year high (214 words)

The latest unemployment figures show that the number of unemployed women increased by 21,000 in the second quarter of the year to reach 1.05 ...

Inflation steady (64 words)

Under the Retail Prices Index (RPI), the inflation rate was unchanged at 5.0% in July, according to the Office for National Statistics. ...

Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (183 words)

Inflation +5.0%, Average earnings +2.9% ...

Union news

Labour Party unions oppose reduced role (298 words)

The lead-up to this month’s annual Labour Party conference is likely to see a heated debate around the relationship between the party and its ...

TUC Congress takes new shape (265 words)

Labour rights, public sector pensions, the impact of cuts, and an alternative economic strategy are prominent themes on the agenda of the 143rd TUC ...

Union help stretched (134 words)

Public services union UNISON is being inundated with requests for welfare help from members facing financial crisis. ...

TSSA retirement and possible merger (85 words)

Gerry Doherty, general secretary of the TSSA transport staff union, is to retire early from the union after eight years at the helm. He ...

Union finances (129 words)

The August 2010 issue of Labour Research included a story on union finances as recorded in the annual report of the certification officer. ...

UCATT woman (32 words)

Construction union UCATT has appointed its first female regional secretary in Cheryl Pidgeon, who takes over the helm in the Midlands Region. She was ...

European news

Austerity measures are agreed by Cypriots (450 words)

The government in Cyprus and unions have reached agreement on a package of spending cuts and tax increases, which they hope will reassure financial ...

Hungarian code cuts benefits (206 words)

Unions have set out their objections to planned new labour code in Hungary, which will cut a wide range of employee benefits. ...

More cuts proposed in Italy (242 words)

Less than a month after the Italian parliament voted through the last austerity package, the government, under pressure from the European Central Bank (ECB), ...

Features

Battle on for ethical journalism (1968 words)

I suspect that Unite’s new general secretary, and fellow-Liverpudlian, Len McCluskey isn’t often called to public account because a local bus is late or ...

Jobless face bleak future (1218 words)

The answer so far seems to be no. There are serious problems, particularly among women, young people, and the long-term unemployed, which private sector ...

Unions show red card to racists (1755 words)

Unions’ efforts to combat racism in their ranks is one of a raft of internal measures they have taken with the aim of encouraging ...

Local activist links on union agenda (2027 words)

Unions have had a long history of organising beyond the workplace in their local communities, and now the local and national campaigns formed to ...

Law Matters

Football club loses (333 words)

Mr McBride worked as the manager/head coach of Falkirk Football Club’s under- 19s team. The team performed well and was at the top of ...

Worker or employee? (383 words)

In order to meet its cleaning contract with British Car Auctions (BCA), Autoclenz advertised for car valeters. The valeters signed contracts which characterised them ...

Ups and downs at Acas (240 words)

Employment advice and relations organisation Acas has published its latest annual report which gives a detailed breakdown of its activities in 2010-11. ...

Law Queries

Agency workers (239 words)

A. As of 1 October 2011 there will be. Under regulation 13 of the Agency Worker Regulations 2010 (AWR), hirers will be required to ...

Maximum working hours (261 words)

A. As the limit on the maximum number of hours that can be worked in a week is 48 hours, there will be no ...

Public office (240 words)

A. Employees who take up the post of magistrate (along with some other public offices) have the right to a reasonable amount of time ...

Law Back-up

Equal pay does not necessitate fair pay (960 words)

The cases looked at in this month’s Back-up are a reminder that equal pay law is about sex equality, not fairness. Equal pay law ...

Health & Safety Matters

Assessments are a ’money-saving’ ruse (364 words)

The government is more interested in saving money than in genuinely helping sick and disabled people back into work, says the TUC. ...

Dog controls demanded (165 words)

The CWU communications workers’ union is maintaining pressure on the coalition government, through its Bite back campaign, in its bid to secure a Dangerous ...

Recession link to suicides (250 words)

There is “almost certainly” a link between an increase in the suicide rate and the continuing financial crisis, according to a report in the ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Löfstedt review based on ’persistent myths’ (880 words)

In March 2011, the coalition government announced a wholesale review of health and safety legislation and set up a committee chaired by Professor Ragnar ...

Equality news

TUC criticises flexible working proposals (349 words)

The TUC has attacked proposals to remove minimum legal standards for flexible working requests as suggested in the government’s Modern Workplaces consultation, which closed ...

LGBT workers face inequality across EU (261 words)

LGBT people face obstacles in accessing employment in all EU member states, according to a new report. ...

Seafarers’ pay victory (146 words)

The RMT maritime union has welcomed the implementation of regulations introduced last month that will outlaw pay discrimination against EU nationals on UK flagged ...

TUC microsite (105 words)

The TUC has launched a microsite to help people who have little knowledge of their employment rights. The site, called Basic Rights @ Work, ...

Workplace Back-up

Women are still being ignored for top jobs (819 words)

More than 5,400 women are “missing” from Britain’s 26,000 most powerful posts and at the current rate of change it will take 70 years ...

Reviews

Uncommon (263 words)

Owen Hatherley, Zero Books, 140 pages, paperback, £9.99 ...

White riot (195 words)

Punk rock and the politics of race ...

E-views

e-views (400 words)

Many of us have been ripping our CDs and DVDs for years. When de-cluttering my previous home in preparation for putting it on the ...