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Labour Research November 2013
Anti-blacklisting gains - The fight is far from over, but considerable inroads have been made against the blacklisters; Workers struggle with debt - Workers are finding it harder and harder to stay afloat financially. How are unions responding? New pensions consensus? - Not everything has gone unions’ way on pensions, but a new and workable consensus may now be emerging; Europe: health and safety - Is Europe still the driving force on workplace health and safety it once was?
News
Child poverty on the rise among families in work (384 words)
Calls are mounting for action to tackle in-work poverty following last month’s publication of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission’s ...
Subscribers only
Food banks get union assistance (263 words)
Members of the Community trade union are playing their part in volunteering and raising cash for food banks. ... Subscribers only
Teachers industrial action (93 words)
Members of teaching unions the NUT and NASUWT are continuing their campaign of industrial action under the banner Protect teachers and defend ...
Open access
Postal workers (166 words)
A ballot by the postal workers’ CWU union last month in the wake of the government’s flotation of the Royal Mail saw members voting 78% in ... Open access
Firefighters consider way forward in pensions dispute (265 words)
Leaders and officials of the FBU firefighters’ union were meeting to consider the way forward in their dispute over retirement and pensions as ... Subscribers only
GLA proposal is welcomed (235 words)
Construction union UCATT has welcomed a leading Tory’s call for an extension of the remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) to the ... Open access
Ineos (75 words)
As Labour Research went to press, Ineos had yet to confirm whether it would reverse its decision to close the petrochemical plant at its Grangemouth ... Open access
University strike (55 words)
University unions UCU, UNISON and Unite were planning their first joint UK-wide strike on 31 October, following a 1% pay offer that would signify a 13 ... Open access
First Great Western (57 words)
Members of rail union RMT working for sub-contractor Mitie on First Great Western have been taking strike action in what the union describes as a ... Open access
Environment Agency (52 words)
The Prospect scientific and technical union reacted angrily to news that the Environment Agency is to lose more than 10% of its staff — 1,400 jobs ... Open access
Jobless queues get a little shorter (216 words)
The unemployment rate fell in the latest three-month period.The rate under the Labour Force Survey was down to 7.7% from 7.8%. ... Open access
RPI inflation stays above CPI rate (67 words)
Inflation under the measure favoured by union negotiators — the Retail Prices Index (RPI) — remains well above the rate of the government’s ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (401 words)
Inflation +3.2%, Average earnings +0.4% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Miliband reaffirms unions’ collective link with Labour (284 words)
The Labour Party’s interim report on its links with unions says leader Ed Miliband wants to retain a collective link as well as improving ... Subscribers only
Derecognition move challenged (231 words)
A worldwide campaign to persuade the United Nations to reverse its decision to derecognise its unions has been launched by the LabourStart online ... Open access
New leader for Community (94 words)
Roy Rickhuss will be the general secretary of the 35,000-strong Community trade union from next January after being elected unopposed. ... Open access
Usdaw votes to retain fund (75 words)
Members of shopworkers’ union Usdaw have voted by 93% to 7% in favour of retaining their political fund in the union’s statutory 10-yearly ballot. ... Open access
TSSA/Unite merger called off (66 words)
The planned merger of the TSSA transport staff union and general union Unite — agreed by its conference last May — has been called off. ... Open access
European news
Red tape initiative presents threat to workers’ rights (367 words)
Important employee rights appear threatened by new plans announced by the European Commission to review existing legislation. ... Subscribers only
German minimum wage is on the horizon (263 words)
The introduction of a minimum wage is a key issue in discussions on the future programme of Germany’s coalition government. ... Subscribers only
Greece general strike (124 words)
Greece’s largest union confederation, GSEE, is planning a further general strike on 6 November. It is protesting against a new, and probably ... Open access
Unions are key to health and safety (146 words)
Workplaces in France with union reps are more likely to have a health and safety committee and therefore to take action on health and safety issues. ... Open access
Features
Blacklisting the blacklisters (2,448 words)
While the fight against blacklisting is far from over, relentless campaigning by unions and the Blacklist Support Group has seen significant gains. ... Subscribers only
Workers burdened by debt (2,003 words)
Working households are increasingly falling into unmanageable debt — and in some cases, into the arms of the “legal loan sharks”. ... Subscribers only
New consensus on pensions? (1,706 words)
While there remain major battles on the pensions front, the TUC feels that the emergence of a new consensus on the issue is a victory for unions. ... Subscribers only
Will Europe still fly the flag for workers’ safety? (1,488 words)
Labour Research examines whether Europe will remain a driving force for improving workers’ health and safety. ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Overtime must be a part of holiday pay (373 words)
An employment tribunal has confirmed that holiday pay under the Working Time Regulations 1998 must be based on a worker’s normal remuneration, not ... Subscribers only
Business confidentiality could not be justified (231 words)
More than 300 employees at the two main depots of beer, wine and spirit wholesaler Waverley TBS Limited have been awarded protective awards of 75 ... Open access
Remission scheme hits savers (256 words)
Not content with introducing tribunal fees, the government has made it even harder for low paid workers to bring employment tribunal claims by ... Subscribers only
Law Queries
Pay for untaken holiday (300 words)
Q. When my member resigned from her job, she was owed three days of untaken holiday. Her contract said that on termination of the employment, she ... Subscribers only
Wages during notice period (156 words)
Q. My member has been on long-term sick leave and is being dismissed for capability (ill health). Is he entitled to be paid his normal wages during ... Open access
Restructuring (327 words)
Q. My employer is carrying out a restructuring exercise. This has meant redundancies and the creation of three new posts. My member scored badly in ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
Tribunal ruling is a win for union organisation (751 words)
In September 2013, the London Central Employment Tribunal confirmed that Zak Dahou was automatically unfairly dismissed for his trade union ... Subscribers only
Attack on representation (91 words)
The Institute of Employment Rights has produced a new report, The political attack on workplace representation — a legal response, by Alan Bogg ... Open access
Health & Safety Matters
Employment minister loses safety brief (335 words)
New employment minister Esther McVey has had her health and safety responsibilities removed following revelations about the safety record of a ... Subscribers only
Union issues warning on network rail job cuts (169 words)
The TSSA white collar transport union has warned that proposed cuts by Network Rail in management grades will hit safety roles. ... Open access
HSE needs more funding, say unions (172 words)
The Unite general union last month called on the government to increase funding for the HSE health and safety watchdog. ... Open access
Blacklisting ‘deal’ (61 words)
The Blacklist Support Group has welcomed the announcement of a construction industry-funded compensation scheme for the victims of blacklisting. ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Fit notes give insight on mental health at work (865 words)
Mental health disorders are on the increase, according to recent research. Back-up reports. ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Birmingham reaches equal pay agreement (244 words)
Birmingham City Council (BCC) and the GMB, UNISON and Unite unions have reached an agreement to settle 11,000 equal pay claims dating back to 2008. ... Open access
Rising part-time work sees bigger ethnic gap (271 words)
Black and minority ethnic workers are much more likely to be in marginal employment than their white counterparts as a result of a rising tide in ... Subscribers only
Women hardest hit (137 words)
Women are being hit hardest by austerity measures, with single mothers now set to lose the equivalent of almost two months’ income a year, ... Open access
Young shopworkers struggle (105 words)
A survey of young members by shopworkers’ union Usdaw has found that a lack of available hours is having a real impact on their ability to afford ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
Skills league reveals under-performance (881 words)
In a new report on the standard of basic skills in literacy and numeracy of 16- to 24-year-olds, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and ... Subscribers only
Reviews
Black and white on the buses (249 words)
The 1963 colour bar dispute in ... Open access
Safe at work? (198 words)
Dave Putson, Spokesman, 183 pages, paperback, £15 ... Open access
E-views
e-views (416 words)
I recently developed a new website for the UCATT construction union. Most of their members do not work at a desktop PC — so it was vital for the ... Subscribers only
News from LRD
LRD annual general meeting (64 words)
The 2014 Labour Research Department annual general meeting will be on Monday 19 May 2014, from 2.00pm at Jerwood Space, Union Street, London SE1 0LN. ... Open access