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Labour Research December 2012
All work and no pay - Unpaid work is on the rise in a variety of forms - from the government's Work Programme to an increase in unpaid internships; The big squeeze - Families are now under enormous pressure thanks to the coalition's relentless austerity drive; The branch meeting - Is the branch meeting holding up in the era of Facebook and video conferencing? Christmas books - The staff at the Bookmarks socialist bookshop suggest books you may like to give as Christmas gifts
LRD Centenary
Centenary News (268 words)
As the centenary year of the Labour Research Department (LRD) draws to a close, we look back to 1987 when the organisation last celebrated a major ...
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News
Scrapping agricultural board will entrench ‘feudal’ system (345 words)
Farm workers from across the country last month descended on Parliament Square to protest at plans to abolish the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB). ... Subscribers only
Extension of Living Wage is needed (343 words)
Last month, during a week-long promotional campaign, the living wage (LW) rose from £7.20 to £7.45 an hour, except for London where it is ... Subscribers only
Government is ‘siding with violent criminals’ say unions (464 words)
The coalition government has been accused of “siding with violent criminals” for cutting compensation to victims of violent attacks. ... Subscribers only
Education department slashed (200 words)
Education secretary Michael Gove has been accused of creating a “nightmarish experiment” after announcing cuts of up to 50% in the ...
Open access
Academies (98 words)
Government plans to force 400 primary schools to become academies have met with widespread concern. ... Open access
RCN report (147 words)
The NHS is sleepwalking into a crisis according to the RCN nurses’ union. ... Open access
Unemployment rate edges down (210 words)
According to the Labour Force Survey, unemployment fell by 49,000 to 2.51 million in the three-month period ending September, with the unemployment ... Open access
Inflation rises sharply (61 words)
In October, inflation rose sharply on both main measures, according to the Office for National Statistics. Under the Retail Prices Index (RPI) it ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (398 words)
Inflation +3.2%, Average earnings +1.7% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Unions astonished by Virgin Media’s de-recognition move (407 words)
Shocked unions at Virgin Media have been urging members to stick with them in the face of the company’s all-out attempt at union ... Subscribers only
RMT attacks blacklisting website (231 words)
The RMT transport union has demanded that action is taken against a blacklisting website targeting trade unionists. ... Open access
Faces at the top (107 words)
John Smith, who has been general secretary of the Musicians’ Union since 2002, has been re-elected for a further five-year term. ... Open access
Trades councils (105 words)
The TUC, together with labour movement ISP Leftspace, is developing the “Unions in the Community” trades councils website. ... Open access
European news
Day of action sees strikes hitting southern Europe (419 words)
Workers in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy all took part in simultaneous general strikes last month against austerity policies. ... Subscribers only
Target for women on boards (216 words)
The European Commission has agreed to put forward legislation setting a target for at least 40% of board members in quoted companies to be women by ... Open access
Greek austerity (170 words)
The latest set of austerity measures in Greece, worth €13.5 billion (£10.8 billion) over two years (2013-14), was passed by the Greek ... Open access
New labour code in Slovakia (105 words)
In contrast to the cuts in employee rights in much of the rest of Europe, the centre-left government in Slovakia has introduced changes to its ... Open access
Features
Tens of thousands are made to work for no pay (2,035 words)
Unpaid work is an increasing problem, and unions and others report that it is taking a variety of forms. ... Subscribers only
Pay freeze leads to big squeeze (1,608 words)
The coalition government’s austerity drive is placing family budgets under enormous pressure, with many workers now experiencing serious ... Subscribers only
Maintaining the branch meeting (1,580 words)
In the second of a two-part series on the union branch, Labour Research examines the cornerstone of branch activity — the branch meeting. ... Open access
Dahl, Marx and bad pharma (1,240 words)
From Roald Dahl and Karl Marx to misleading drug companies — staff at the Bookmarks socialist bookshop suggest books for festive gifts. ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Government scraps third-party harassment rule (375 words)
The government will be repealing rules outlawing third party harassment. Currently, section 40 of the 2010 Equality Act (EA) enables employees to ... Subscribers only
Equality questionnaires withdrawn (253 words)
Workers who believe they have suffered discrimination will no longer be able to use statute-backed equality questionnaires. ... Subscribers only
Tribunal power to be removed (213 words)
Tribunals are to lose the power to make statutory recommendations for failing employers. ... Open access
Law Queries
Reinstatement (304 words)
Q. We’re keen to get a recently dismissed colleague back to work and are helping her with an unfair dismissal claim. We ticked the box on the ... Subscribers only
Volunteers (165 words)
Q. Our member does voluntary work in her spare time. Unfortunately in that unpaid role she has suffered race discrimination. Can she use the ... Open access
Legal costs (231 words)
Q. We noticed that under some household insurance policies, people can recover their legal costs in taking their employer to a tribunal. What are ... Open access
Law Back-up
What’s at stake in new workplace contract? (892 words)
A new type of workplace contract, known as an “employee-owner” contract, is expected to be introduced during 2013. Back-up investigates. ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Chemicals industry shows poor reaction (276 words)
There is continuing controversy over the enforcement of the European Union Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals ... Subscribers only
Letdown over nano risks (223 words)
There will be no new Europe-wide regulations to tackle the risks associated with nanotechnology. ... Open access
Academics suffer high stress levels (255 words)
Research by the UCU university and college union shows that higher education (HE) staff are suffering high levels of stress — higher than ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Back-up
Clock turned back on health and safety (875 words)
In the final stages of the Commons debate on the draft Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, the government slipped in an amendment to health and ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Big rise in joblessness for young black men (365 words)
Young black men have experienced the sharpest rise in unemployment since the coalition government came to power, says a TUC report on youth ... Subscribers only
Universal credit will see disabled people worse off (303 words)
An investigation into how Universal Credit will affect disabled people and their families finds that up to half a million, including those in work, ... Subscribers only
Female executives paid less (241 words)
A female company executive can expect to earn £400,000 less than her male equivalent over the course of her career, according to a study by the ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
Low-paid workers lose out in pension schemes (881 words)
In the latest salvo of dire news on workplace pension provision, new TUC research reveals the low-paid are being hit hardest. Back-up examines the ... Subscribers only
Reviews
Interactive coalition timeline (193 words)
Institute of Employment ... Open access
London’s overthrow (228 words)
China Miéville, The Westbourne Press, 96 pages, paperback, £7.99 ... Open access
E-views
e-views (389 words)
Which unions have the most social media influence? With the increasing importance of social media, the organisations I work with and advise are ... Subscribers only
News from LRD
LRD annual general meeting (107 words)
The annual general meeting of the Labour Research Department will be on Monday 20 May 2013, from 2.00pm at Jerwood Space, Union Street, London SE1 ... Open access