News

Unions maintain campaign against health bill despite Lords’ failure (422 words)

Unions have vowed to continue their campaign to stop the Health and Social Care Bill,despite the “bitter disappointment” of a failed attempt to open ...

UNISON branch wins re-recognition (230 words)

Plymouth council has reversed its decision to derecognise UNISON, the largest union among the workforce, after a high-profile campaign. ...

Redundancy watch (277 words)

In the public sector, recent announcements of job losses include: the Northern Ireland Housing Executive is to shed 500 jobs; the BBC will cut ...

Government’s flagship youth programme runs into trouble (386 words)

Concerns over the viability of the government’s National Citizen Service (NCS) flagship youth programme continue to grow (see Labour Research, June 2011, pages 9-11). ...

‘Step forward’ for agency workers (269 words)

The introduction of the new Agency Workers Regulations on 1 October has been welcomed by unions as a key to winning equal treatment for ...

Student numbers fall (95 words)

A survey of 182 colleges has revealed half reporting a drop in enrolments of 16- 19-year-olds. ...

Carbon capture (82 words)

There is an urgent need to invest in carbon capture and storage (CCS) otherwise the jobs of 10,000 people directly employed in the coal ...

Sure Start cuts (60 words)

Campaiging group No Cuts for Kids has released research showing that 47 Sure Start centres will be closed within the next year, and 89% ...

Unemployment highest for 17 years (219 words)

Unemployment is at its highest level since 1994 and youth unemployment at a record high, the latest official figures show. ...

Inflation rockets to 5.6% (78 words)

Inflation is rocketing. Under the Retail Prices Index (RPI), inflation was up to 5.6% in September from 5.2% the previous month. It is now ...

Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (186 words)

Inflation +5.6, Average earnings +2.2 ...

Union news

Unions agree compromise on Labour Party leadership rules (312 words)

The Labour Party and its affiliated trade unions have agreed a compromise arrangement allowing for a new class of “registered supporters” to vote in ...

Nurses advised over day of action (215 words)

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has advised members not to undermine “the actions of our trade union colleagues” during the nationwide day of ...

General secretary elections (110 words)

Mick Whelan is the new general secretary of the 19,000-strong ASLEF train drivers’ union and will replace Keith Norman, who will step down by ...

Facility time attacked (93 words)

Cabinet secretary Francis Maude is to consult over civil service union officials’ facility time, he told the Tory Party conference last month. ...

Teaching unions work together (108 words)

The largest teaching union, the NUT, has signed a partnership agreement with three smaller teaching unions operating in different parts of the UK. The ...

Ex-TUC leader at BALPA (33 words)

Former TUC general secretary John Monks has been appointed president of airline pilots’ union BALPA. ...

European news

Portuguese unions set to strike over pay cuts and increased working hours (492 words)

The decision of the Portuguese government to increase the working week by half an hour and make further cuts in public sector pay, last ...

Continuing protests bring Greece to a halt (390 words)

Protests against austerity and cuts in bargaining rights are continuing in Greece, where much of the country was brought to a standstill in a ...

Features

Grim tide hits public sector (1999 words)

Pensions may be the issue fuelling this month’s strike action by public servants, but the attack on pensions is not the only threat staff ...

Race to the bottom is under way (1344 words)

Unions and the public are being kept in the dark over the details of a trade agreement allowing a reserve army of cheap foreign ...

Safety under threat (2082 words)

The coalition’s attack on the watchdog for workplace safety, the Health and Safety Executive, could leave the body unable to carry out the job ...

After Fukushima: what now for UK nuclear power? (1437 words)

A recent report on the impact of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami on the UK nuclear industry has reopened the debate on nuclear energy. ...

Law Matters

Chef unfairly sacked over kitchen danger (439 words)

The law is perfectly clear on when an employee can lawfully decline to carry out a task that puts them at risk, the Employment ...

Workplace rights threat (215 words)

The coalition government has published more details of how it intends to attack the mechanisms by which workers’ rights are enforced. ...

Two-year wait to file claim (249 words)

The qualification period for bringing unfair dismissal claims will be increased from one year to two. ...

Law Queries

Minimum wage (163 words)

Q. Quite a number of our members’ pay is at the level of the minimum wage. The employer has imposed a pay freeze for ...

Disability (254 words)

Q. We know that in order for an individual to be counted as disabled they must have been suffering from a condition for 12 ...

Agency workers (305 words)

Q. Our member is working at our workplace through an agency, that is they are not a permanent employee. Although they carry out the ...

Law Back-up

Legal carry-on over carrying on working (956 words)

The abolition of the statutory default retirement age in the UK took full effect last month. Back-up examines a German case which reached the ...

Health & Safety Matters

Spotlight thrown on hidden workforce (259 words)

Some construction workers face near slavery-like conditions, new research commissioned by construction union UCATT suggests. ...

Court backs asbestos compensation claims (207 words)

The UK Supreme Court has thrown out a legal bid by insurance companies to scrap the right of people in Scotland to claim damages ...

Protect media staff (131 words)

More must be done to protect journalists from violence, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) says. ...

Respect shop staff (108 words)

The shopworkers’ union Usdaw is running a Respect for Shopworkers week from 7 November to raise awareness of the violence, threats and abuse that ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Reps are route to safe working environment (791 words)

Safe maintenance was the theme of European Health and Safety Week at the end of October. Back-up looks at how safety reps can help ...

Equality news

Voluntary approach to tackle gender pay (419 words)

Theresa May, minister for women and equality, has launched a voluntary gender pay reporting scheme Think, act, report, despite criticisms that this approach is ...

Emergency care crisis (287 words)

A large proportion of working parents say they can rarely or never rely on close relatives or a support network for emergency childcare help, ...

Attitudes to disabled people deteriorate (236 words)

Negative attitudes towards disabled people are on the rise, a quarterly poll shows. ...

Workplace Back-up

Stress — it’s enough to make you sick (865 words)

Stress has become the biggest cause of long-term sickness absence for manual and non-manual workers for the first time. This was the main finding ...

Reviews

Why noise matters (242 words)

A worldwide perspective on the problems, policies and solutions ...

School wars (192 words)

The battle for Britain’s education ...

E-views

e-views (410 words)

The recent News of the World phone hacking scandal illustrated how easy it can be to access poorly protected information. The investigators who hacked ...