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Labour Research December 2015
Executive pay - The boom times never seem to stop rolling for top executives
Victimisation of reps – Labour Research finds that incidents of trade union reps being sacked or suspended appear to be on the increase
Must the arts bow out? - Growth in the UK’s creative sector is likely to be undermined by ongoing cuts in the publicly-funded arts
Books for Christmas - The Bookmarks socialist bookshop suggests books you may like to give at Christmas
News
Unions pledge to continue fight against anti-union Bill (336 words)
Trade unions have vowed to keep fighting the much-maligned Trade Union Bill as it goes through the House of Lords. Last month, MPs voted 305 in ...
Subscribers only
Spending cuts threaten education (331 words)
As the government freezes school funding, the NUT teachers’ union reveals the shocking effects budget cuts are having on schools and children’s ... Subscribers only
Industrial action (241 words)
Junior doctors have moved a step closer to unprecedented strike action. The industrial action ballot result, announced last month by the British ...
Open access
Unions denounce Network Rail privatisation proposals (243 words)
Rail unions have condemned proposals that could see Network Rail, the body that runs and maintains Britain’s railway network, fully or partially ... Open access
Shopworkers face violence (292 words)
One in five assaulted shopworkers did not report the incident to their employer, a survey by shopworkers’ union Usdaw has found.
... Subscribers only
Unemployment at seven-year low (192 words)
The UK unemployment rate fell to a seven-year low in September, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.
... Open access
Inflation falls again (74 words)
The annual rate of inflation under the Retail Prices Index (RPI) dipped to 0.7% in October against 0.8% the previous month.
... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (406 words)
Inflation +0.7%; Average earnings +2.0% ... Subscribers only
Union news
New general secretary for Britain’s third largest union (164 words)
Members of the UK’s third largest union, the GMB general union, are to have a new general secretary for the first time in over a decade after ... Open access
Check-off ban will hit employers (412 words)
Public sector employers as well as unions will lose out from the ban on check-off facilities for union subscription payments, according to Dave ... Subscribers only
PCS political fund (95 words)
Members of the PCS civil service union have voted overwhelmingly in favour of retaining their political fund. The union said the 91% vote in favour ... Open access
Qatar union branch (76 words)
The GMB general union has called on construction firms operating in Qatar to recognise the newly-launched Qatari branch of the Philippines Workers ... Open access
Union aid (58 words)
Humanitarian aid activists from the CWU communications union were joined by those from the Unite, UNISON and GMB unions in taking provisions to ... Open access
European news
Planned reform of French labour code becomes clearer (373 words)
French prime minister Manuel Valls has set out his government’s plans to revise the rules governing the country’s employment relations — the ... Subscribers only
Lithuanian workers’ rights under attack (286 words)
The Lithuanian government has said it is willing extend the parliamentary session into next year to ensure that its controversial changes to the ... Subscribers only
Greek general strike (82 words)
Greece’s two main union confederations, GSEE, covering the private sector and state-owned companies, and ADEDY, covering government employees, ... Open access
Freedom of movement (70 words)
Luca Visentini, the new general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), has said that freedom of movement for workers within the ... Open access
Call for changes (69 words)
Jörg Hofmann, the new head of Germany’s largest union, IG Metall, has called for changes in the operation of the German union confederation, the ... Open access
Features
Monster pay packets keep fat cats purring (2,254 words)
Eye-watering remuneration packages remain the order of the day for top executives.
... Open access
Sacked for defending the union (2,372 words)
Victimisation of trade union reps seems to be on the up. Labour Research examines a number of recent cases and looks at how legitimate union ... Subscribers only
Arts upstaged by unparalleled cuts (1,794 words)
The state-funded arts face drastic and unprecedented cuts, despite their contribution to growth in the UK’s creative sector.
... Subscribers only
Best book buys for Christmas (1,238 words)
Staff at the Bookmarks bookshop make their annual suggestions for books you may like to gift at Christmas to your labour movement friends.
... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Tribunal fees review: revisions on the cards (299 words)
There have been two significant developments in relation to employment tribunal fees. New evidence has been submitted for the Ministry of Justice’s ... Subscribers only
Union queries rationale for change on payments (281 words)
A Treasury consultation on the simplification of the tax and National Insurance treatment of termination payments “does not give sufficient ... Subscribers only
Cabbies issue claims over right to minimum wage (247 words)
A few weeks ago (as anticipated in Labour Research, September 2015, page 26), four employment tribunal claims were issued in London against the ... Open access
Law Queries
Time off for religious festivals (277 words)
Q. A member has requested additional time off work to attend a religious festival. Does the employer have to grant this request? ... Subscribers only
Pay slip information (121 words)
Q. One of our members finds his pay slips confusing. Are there rules on information in pay slips?
... Open access
Employers’ use of CCTV (329 words)
Q. A member’s employer has installed CCTV in the office. This makes our member feel very uncomfortable. Is this allowed? ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
Restrictions still likely in spite of concessions (829 words)
Earlier this year, the government conducted a consultation on tackling intimidation of non-striking workers, an issue addressed in the proposed Trade ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
HSE statistics reveal ‘very worrying trend’ (245 words)
The latest annual statistics on deaths, injuries and ill-health at work show “a very worrying trend and highlights once again the folly of the ... Open access
Court summons may boost bhopal victims’ campaign (261 words)
Campaigners say that this month could see an important development in the decades’ long struggle for justice for survivors of the world’s worst ... Subscribers only
Safety in prisons (126 words)
The POA prison officers’ union reported in late October that it was seeking urgent meetings with the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) ... Open access
Fire crews attacked (143 words)
The FBU fire brigades’ union has condemned recent attacks on fire crews around Bonfire Night, Halloween and other public festivals and events, ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Unions urge action on climate change crisis (861 words)
This month, an important international conference is taking place as world leaders from nearly 200 countries gather to try to thrash out a global ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Gender gap for top earners remains high (316 words)
The gap in annual salaries between top-earning women and top-earning men has hit 55% reveals an analysis published by the TUC.
... Subscribers only
Major equality review reveals mixed picture (325 words)
A major review of equality and human rights protection has found that while life has improved for some over the past five years, for others progress ... Subscribers only
Age bias is still prevalent, study finds (239 words)
Almost nine in 10 employers do not check whether their managers hire workers older than themselves, according to a recent survey.
... Open access
Workplace Back-up
Older women workers face multiple barriers (910 words)
Older women are more likely to be in work now than at any time since modern records began, according to new government statistics. But they face ... Subscribers only
Reviews
Percy Bysshe Shelley (210 words)
Poet and revolutionary ... Open access
A history of the barricade (206 words)
Eric Hazan, Verso, hardback, 128 pages, £9.99
... Open access
E-views
e-views (393 words)
The latest website I’ve been working on has just gone live. The new Fire Brigades Union (FBU) website has been launched after a few months in ... Subscribers only
News from LRD
2016 annual general meeting (100 words)
The 2016 annual general meeting of the Labour Research Department (LRD) will be held on Monday 16 May, 2016 from 2.00pm at Jerwood Space, Union ... Open access