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Labour Research September 2013
Union membership - The coalition’s austerity programme has impacted on membership in unions with a public-sector presence. But it isn’t all doom and gloom; Employees get on board - Board-level representation for workers is back on the UK agenda, but 13 out of 28 EU states already have it; Labour movement online - The top websites and blogs where union members can link up for union news and online campaigns; Health and safety of young - The Con-Dem government is cutting health and safety regulation at school and work
News
Post Office and Royal Mail staff vote to take action (416 words)
Last month, workers in Crown post offices voted by nine to one in favour of industrial action short of a strike. Action is likely be in the form of ...
Subscribers only
Public enquiry call over police input into blacklist (224 words)
Calls are growing for a public enquiry into blacklisting after claims that the police helped gather evidence on union activists for construction ...
Open access
Living Wage (111 words)
Cleaners working for contractors OCS, which provides cleaning services in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council, have voted ... Open access
Bike and Tube disputes (146 words)
Members of the RMT transport union are involved in two disputes in London. ... Open access
Outrage over coalition’s threat to gag unions (355 words)
The TUC has accused the government of pushing a bill through parliament that will not just gag unions, but any group or organisation that disagrees ... Subscribers only
NHS lifts ban on HIV staff (204 words)
The government’s decision to lift a ban on HIV positive NHS workers performing surgery has been hailed as a “victory for common sense” by ... Open access
Job schemes fail young (225 words)
Young people struggling to find work are being failed by nationally-run job schemes designed to help them, warned a report by the Local Government ... Open access
Slight fall in unemployment (203 words)
The number of unemployed people fell, but youth unemployment edged nearer a million. ... Open access
Inflation dips (77 words)
Inflation — as measured by the Retail Prices Index (RPI) — fell to 3.1% in July from 3.3% the previous month. ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (398 words)
Inflation +3.1%, Average earnings +0.6% ... Subscribers only
Union news
PCS challenge end to check-off (199 words)
The PCS civil service union is taking communities secretary Eric Pickles to the High Court this month over his scrapping of “check-off” for ... Open access
Union links with Labour (135 words)
Unions affiliated to the Labour Party have invited party leader Ed Miliband to a private meeting during this month’s TUC Congress to discuss their ... Open access
TUC sees membership slip (298 words)
Delegates attending the annual TUC Congress this month will find that aggregate membership of their unions has slipped by 2% over the past year to a ... Subscribers only
No charity shown to Unite (234 words)
The Unite general union has accused the Samaritans charity of derecognising it, after the charity claimed that the recognition agreement “does not ... Open access
European news
German election likely to lead to minimum wage (489 words)
Whatever the result of the German election this month, it is likely that more workers will be covered by some form of minimum wage. ... Subscribers only
Threat to Polish union funding (197 words)
Poland’s governing party, PO, has produced a report which claims that unions cost too much and have too many privileges (see Labour Research, ... Open access
Spain’s redundancy measures (218 words)
Almost a year after its last major change to employment law, which made it easier and cheaper to dismiss employees, the Spanish government has ... Open access
Features
Austerity impacts on headcount (1,541 words)
The 145th TUC Congress meets this month, five years on from the 2008 crash and four since the country hit the depths of recession. But growth is all ... Open access
Is there room at the top? (1,428 words)
A generation ago, plans for workers in UK boardrooms were ditched. Labour Research looks at the European experience now the issue is back on the ... Subscribers only
News and blogs — just a click away (1,603 words)
As delegates gather in Bournemouth for the 2013 TUC Congress, Labour Research takes a look at where they are likely to be viewing the latest online ... Subscribers only
Should dying be part of work experience? (1,851 words)
As the new school year begins and school leavers look for their first jobs, Labour Research looks at how the Tory-led coalition government is ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
European court backs employer over TUPE (372 words)
In an unexpected and very disappointing decision, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that employees whose contract terms are governed by ... Subscribers only
New rules on how to issue a tribunal claim (239 words)
New rules have been published, setting out the methods that must be used to issue a tribunal claim from 29 July 2013. ... Open access
No automatic carry over of holiday while sick (250 words)
The issue of accruing and carrying over holidays while absent through long-term sickness has again been considered by the Employment Appeal Tribunal ... Subscribers only
Law Queries
Tribunal fees (264 words)
Q. I have a potential tribunal claim for eight days of unpaid holiday pay, but my total claim is only worth £350. Must I pay a tribunal fee of ... Subscribers only
Sick pay (289 words)
Q. My employer won’t pay my contractual sick pay. What are my rights? ... Subscribers only
Contract terms (235 words)
Q. I accepted a promotion and was given a new contract which I read but didn’t sign. I got a pay rise and better holiday, but my new contract says ... Open access
Law Back-up
When custom or practice becomes contractual (822 words)
The Court of Appeal has given new guidance on enhanced redundancy pay based on custom and practice. Back-up reports. ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Compensation culture is a myth, figures show (370 words)
The number of people receiving awards for work-related injuries has plummeted over the last 10 years — discrediting government claims that the UK ... Subscribers only
Understaffed coastguard (180 words)
More than one quarter of UK coastguard watches were staffed below safe risk-assessed levels last summer, according to the PCS civil service union. ... Open access
Concern over HSE Guidance (245 words)
The approach taken by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) towards revising guidance aimed at larger organisations and businesses has alarmed the ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Workers worry about working on their own (891 words)
A considerable number of jobs can require workers to work in conditions where they are isolated and alone. Back-up examines the legal position on ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Move to help disabled people get work (339 words)
The government has launched a two-year advertising campaign to help businesses become more confident about recruiting disabled people. ... Subscribers only
Youth contract scheme branded a ‘disaster’ (284 words)
Data released on the government’s Youth Contract scheme shows that over 60% of those who started on the scheme left their employment within six ... Subscribers only
Equal pay audits (136 words)
The TUC has welcomed the new powers under the 2010 Equality Act to order equal pay audits, but has said the remit is too limited as the Act will ... Open access
Ethnic minority women in Coventry (135 words)
A local report looking at how spending cuts are affecting black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) women in Coventry — an area where one third of ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
TUC highlights spike in involuntary temp jobs (893 words)
Once again the latest statistics show a fall in unemployment, but the reality behind the figures reveals a complex story. Back-up takes a closer look. ... Subscribers only
Reviews
Buildings of the labour movement (213 words)
Nick Mansfield, English Heritage, paperback, 154 pages, ... Open access
Capitalism and sport (227 words)
Politics, protest, people and ... Open access
E-views
e-views (379 words)
A new addition to the world of trade union apps has just been released. TUC unionlearn’s popular Climbing Frame website, an online service ... Subscribers only
News from LRD
LRD at the TUC on stand 53 (42 words)
The Labour Research Department will once again have a stand at the TUC Congress in Bournemouth from 8 to 11 September. If you’re attending ... Open access