![[Basket]](images/basket.png){kind=small}
Your order![[cover image]](images/issue/LR201402.jpg)
Labour Research February 2014
Regulator weakened - Vulnerable workers may be at greater risk thanks to changes to the Gangmasters Licensing Authority
Fighting the bedroom tax - Trade unions are at the heart of the campaign against the bedroom tax
Public procurement - The UK lacks a clear strategy for public procurement. Will the recent revision of European directives on procurement help matters?
What’s up docks? - UK ports are facing changes which present a number of challenges for the sector and its workers
News
Brickyard workers build international solidarity (335 words)
The horrific treatment of bonded brickyard workers in India, graphically documented by the BBC in early January, spurred Peterborough brickyard ...
Subscribers only
Flood defence cuts berated (325 words)
With winter floods devastating communities around the country, unions last month called for a re-think over plans to axe 1,500 jobs vital to flood ... Subscribers only
Transport in London (156 words)
The RMT rail union is involved in two disputes in London — on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and on London Underground. ...
Open access
First Bus (105 words)
Bus drivers working for FirstGroup in Weymouth and Bridport in Dorset took strike action over pay last month. ... Open access
Banking union condemns RBS plans for big bonus payouts (311 words)
The Conservative-led coalition government may feel the time is right to allow big bonus payouts at the publicly-owned RBS bank. ... Subscribers only
Biomass hopes are dashed (222 words)
As Labour Research went to press, efforts were being made to save the Eggborough Power Station in Yorkshire, following a government decision not to ... Open access
Recovery not ‘fairly shared’ (254 words)
TUC public opinion sampling revealed some significant fault-lines for the coalition government at the start of the year. ... Subscribers only
Unemployment nears Bank target (211 words)
The unemployment rate is almost at the target at which the Bank of England may consider an interest rate rise. ... Open access
RPI inflation goes up (76 words)
The annual rate of inflation — as measured by the Retail Prices Index (RPI) — was up to 2.7% in December 2013 against 2.6% in November. ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Inflation +2.7% , Average earnings +0.7% (400 words)
Inflation +2.7% , Average earnings +0.7% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Lords reject attempts at modifying anti-union Bill (450 words)
The House of Lords has blocked efforts to remove the worst aspects of Part 3 of the lobbying Bill (the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party ... Subscribers only
Unite slams ‘Benefits Street’ (184 words)
General union Unite’s unique Community branches — made up of members not in a workplace — made their presence felt last month by protesting ... Open access
Boots pharmacists (118 words)
The Pharmacists’ Defence Association Union, which represents around 2,300 of the 6,891 Boots pharmacists, has taken another step forward in its ... Open access
CSP growth (85 words)
Membership of the physiotherapists’ union, the CSP, has passed the 52,000 mark for the first time. ... Open access
Accord senior post (34 words)
Dave Fleming, former head of the finance sector at general union Unite, has been appointed to the post of assistant general secretary (development) ... Open access
European news
New German government plans to improve pensions (377 words)
The new German government is pushing forward with a plan to make significant improvements to the country’s pensions system, which will come into ... Subscribers only
Further step towards new rules in Italy (266 words)
Italy’s three main union confederations and the main employer body have taken a further step towards new and clearer rules setting out who has the ... Subscribers only
French unions divided (205 words)
France’s two largest union confederations have responded differently to the announcement by the French president François Hollande of a ... Open access
Features
Vulnerable workers at risk (1,975 words)
The changing remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority is leading to union fears over intensified exploitation of vulnerable workers. ... Subscribers only
Fighting the bedroom tax (2,152 words)
As the hated and unfair bedroom tax drives thousands of social housing tenants into debt and despair, Labour Research looks at how trade unionists ... Subscribers only
Procuring a new strategy? (1,505 words)
Will the recent revision of European directives governing public procurement provide more scope for sustainable growth, or yet more deregulation? ... Subscribers only
Is overcapacity harbouring trouble for docks industry? (1,667 words)
UK ports — and those who work in them — are faced with a number of challenges as the sector goes through major changes. ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
‘Flawed’ zero hours consultation criticised (350 words)
The government’s consultation on zero hours contracts closes on 13 March 2014 — and unions are not optimistic. ... Subscribers only
Judgment is a setback for agency workers (265 words)
A worrying judgment by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT), if upheld, could deny hundreds of agency workers equality rights under the Agency ... Subscribers only
Government rebuffed (111 words)
In a rebuff to the government, the Joint Committee on the draft Deregulation Bill has said that a proposal in the Bill to allow ministers to scrap ... Open access
Blacklisting judgment (127 words)
In a disappointing judgment, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has refused to imply a contract between blacklisted health and safety rep Dave ... Open access
Law Queries
Question of a disability (231 words)
Q. I believe that I am a disabled person. My employers are refusing to make reasonable adjustments because their occupational health doctor thinks ... Open access
Paid holiday entitlement (224 words)
Q. I have started a new job doing part-time hours, three days a week. My employer has told me that I am allowed to take holidays, but will not be ... Open access
Recovery of training costs (284 words)
Q. I am thinking about leaving my employer but I am worried about having to pay back my training costs. Do I have to pay them back? ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
Care workers must be paid for travel time (913 words)
This month’s Back-up looks at an employment tribunal decision with very important ramifications for care workers across the country. An Employment ... Open access
Health & Safety Matters
Fire station closures denounced by union (261 words)
The firefighters’ FBU union has written a letter of complaint to the Greater London Authority (GLA) about the conduct of London mayor Boris Johnson. ... Subscribers only
Call for public inquiry into helicopter safety (289 words)
The RMT transport and offshore union has issued a further call for a public inquiry into helicopter safety. ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Back-up
Tackling the impact of alcohol misuse at work (824 words)
Back-up looks at how a good alcohol policy can help overcome the impact on the workplace of alcohol misuse. ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Austerity’s impact on LGBT people is hidden (353 words)
New research commissioned by the public services union UNISON has found that in addition to facing greater financial hardship as a result of the ... Subscribers only
Emergency help scheme fails disabled tenants (266 words)
Nearly a third (29%) of disabled people affected by the bedroom tax who applied for the emergency support the government claims will protect the most ... Subscribers only
Anti-racist education (123 words)
The EIS Scottish teachers’ union is calling for anti-racist education to be made a requirement in all Scottish schools after an evaluation of ... Open access
Gender equality (124 words)
The battle for equality is far from over for women workers, particularly those with children, according to interim results from “the biggest ever ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
TUC: apprenticeships need more diverse mix (738 words)
New research from Unionlearn, the TUC’s learning and skills organisation, reveals that gender and race remain huge barriers for young apprentices ... Subscribers only
Reviews
Employment Tribunal claims (212 words)
Tactics and precedents ... Open access
Alphabetical (225 words)
How every letter tells a story ... Open access
E-views
e-views (392 words)
One technological trend predicted to grow significantly in 2014 is wearable technology. Some are predicting this will be the next big area of growth ... Subscribers only
News from LRD
LRD Annual General Meeting (90 words)
The 2014 annual general meeting of the Labour Research Department (LRD) is on Monday 19 May, 2014 at Jerwood Space, Union Street, London SE1 0LN ... Open access