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Labour Research March 2015
Gender imbalancing act - What are unions doing to help redress the gender imbalance which hinders women’s access to certain occupations?
Women in leadership - Women constitute 51% of the population. But there’s some way to go before this is reflected in politics and other positions of power
Corporate welfare – Labour Research looks at the ways in which subsidies and tax breaks benefit wealthy individuals and corporations
Women under the coalition - What is the labour market position of women after five years of the coalition?
News
Lack of earnings growth sees Treasury lose out on billions (398 words)
The Treasury has lost out on £33.4 billion of income tax and National Insurance (NI) receipts because of the lack of earnings growth in the UK. ...
Subscribers only
Publisher ‘preys on young people’ (292 words)
The NUJ journalists’ union has accused newspaper group Newsquest of lacking integrity after it announced plans to charge students for the chance of ... Subscribers only
Industrial news (258 words)
Members of manufacturing union Unite at the Defence Support Group have won a pay rise after going on strike. They have accepted a rise of 1% plus a ... Subscribers only
Unions react angrily to revelations of tax evasion on massive scale (291 words)
Further controversy has grown over the government’s lack of prosecutions of these tax evaders — despite 1,100 people being identified in the UK, ... Subscribers only
Parents are made to stump up (226 words)
Children’s access to important educational opportunities is becoming even more dependent on their parents’ ability to pay, according to an annual ...
Open access
Northern Ireland strike action looms (140 words)
Widespread strike action taking place in Northern Ireland in March was becoming a very real possibility as Labour Research went to press. ... Open access
Rail unions warn pensioners will lose out (93 words)
Prime minister David Cameron has been accused of playing Fagin with an underhand raid on rail staffs’ pensions, according to the four rail unions. ... Open access
Slowdown in rate of inflation (233 words)
Falling prices for motor fuels and food contributed to the slowdown in the inflation rate, the Office for National Statistics said. ... Open access
Joblessness falls again (73 words)
Unemployment fell by 97,000 to 1.86 million in the three months to December 2014, according to the Labour Force Survey. It was last lower over six ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (414 words)
Inflation +1.1%, Average earnings +2.4% ... Subscribers only
Union news
PCS check-off campaign makes ‘significant progress’ (343 words)
The PCS civil service union has switched 40% of its members to paying their union subscriptions by direct debit following the government’s attack ... Subscribers only
Union boost for Labour campaign (133 words)
The largest union affiliated to the Labour Party, general union Unite, has agreed to donate £1.5 million to the party’s campaign funds on top of ... Open access
RMT president stands for Greens (47 words)
The RMT transport union has donated £7,000 to the Green Party, and its president, Peter Pinkney, is standing as a Green candidate in the general ... Open access
CWU election (66 words)
Nominations for the CWU communications union’s general secretary election are open until 10 March. ... Open access
Recognition for GMB (134 words)
The GMB general union has won the right to collectively bargain on behalf of 569 agency workers at Marks and Spencer’s Swindon distribution centre. ... Open access
Independent unions (54 words)
The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, which has mobilised low-paid workers around the Living Wage, has received a certificate of ... Open access
European news
Syriza plans restoration of minimum wage in Greece (338 words)
The new Greek government led by the left-wing Syriza party has promised action to restore the minimum wage to its previous level and to revive ... Subscribers only
Belgium’s unions reach partial deal although action goes on (280 words)
Two of Belgium’s three main union confederations have backed an agreement with employers on pay increases over the next two years. But they still ... Subscribers only
Woman heads Irish unions (121 words)
Patricia King, current vice-president of Ireland’s biggest union SIPTU, has been appointed general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. ... Open access
New head of CGT in France (123 words)
Philippe Martinez, a former worker at the Renault car company and head of the French CGT union confederation’s metalworking section, has been ... Open access
Features
This is still a man’s world (2,528 words)
It continues to be an uphill struggle for women to gain entry into — and remain in —many better-paid occupations and industries dominated by men. ... Subscribers only
There’s some way to go yet (1,986 words)
It’s two steps forward and one step back when it comes to women achieving leading roles in UK society. Labour Research assesses the position. ... Subscribers only
The real welfare beneficiaries (2,385 words)
The government makes much of cutting welfare spending. What it is less vocal about is the corporate welfare that goes to businesses and individuals ... Open access
How have women fared under coalition policies? (1,479 words)
Labour Research finds that working women continue to be the biggest losers under the coalition administration. ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
PCS win preserves sick pay (388 words)
The Public and Commercial Services Union has won a key victory in the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT), overturning cuts to the sick pay and annual ... Subscribers only
Blow over Woolworths challenge (472 words)
The Advocate General (AG) of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) has released a disappointing Opinion in the challenge by retail ... Subscribers only
Law Queries
Restructuring and maternity (389 words)
Q. I am on maternity leave and a cost-cutting restructuring is taking place where I work. I’ve been told that my role has been “deleted” ... Subscribers only
What constitutes disability? (300 words)
Q. I’m off work with stress and anxiety and had hoped my employer would agree to me homeworking for some of the week as a short-term measure. But ... Subscribers only
Disability discrimination (96 words)
Q. I had a serious depressive illness six years ago but have been completely free from illness for the last four years. Am I still protected from ... Open access
Law Back-up
Absence procedures can be contractual (898 words)
Three trade unions have won an important court victory, defeating an attempt by the Department of Transport (DoT) to force through punitive changes ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Workload proposals receive short shrift from unions (667 words)
The government has outlined its plans for tackling teacher workload — but these have been met with scepticism by disappointed teaching unions. ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Back-up
Asbestos exposure is still a workplace issue (860 words)
Far from being a thing of the past, it’s estimated that some form of asbestos is still present in around 1.5 million workplace properties. And the ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Many fathers cannot access new rights (406 words)
Two in five new fathers won’t qualify for shared parental leave, warns the TUC. ... Subscribers only
Universities challenged on racism (237 words)
Race inequality remains prevalent in all areas of higher education, including staffing, admissions and employment, according to a report released by ... Open access
Gay-friendly employers (260 words)
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has been named as 2015’s top gay-friendly employer. ... Subscribers only
Workplace Back-up
UK’s job creation is not all that it seems (909 words)
Prime minister David Cameron last month heralded “astounding job creation” in the UK economy, bragging that “wages are already growing faster ... Subscribers only
Reviews
Here we stand (187 words)
Women changing the world ... Open access
Martha’s story (197 words)
The girl who broke her chains ... Open access
E-views
e-views (424 words)
Anyone running a website will be aware of a growing threat from malicious software, usually powered by networks of infected computers known as ... Subscribers only
News from LRD
LRD Annual General Meeting (94 words)
The 2015 annual general meeting of the Labour Research Department (LRD) will be held on Monday 18 May, 2015 from 2.00pm at Jerwood Space, Union ... Open access