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Labour Research December 2016
Post-Brexit racism - the aftermath of the EU referendum has seen some unpleasant incidents against BME and migrant workers; Executive pay - the fat cats are still skimming the cream, as the annual Labour Research executive pay survey reveals; Modern slavery - the government's Modern Slavery Act doesn't do enough to support victims, critics say; Books for Christmas - staff at the Bookmarks socialist bookshop suggest books you may like to give as festive gifts
News
Government's prison reform plans offer 'mixed picture' (343 words)
The crisis in the prison service reached unprecedented levels last month when the government was forced to seek a High Court injunction to get staff, ...
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One in ten shopworkers assaulted (312 words)
One in 10 shopworkers has been assaulted and nearly a third don’t report it, reveals a survey by shopworkers’ union Usdaw.
... Subscribers only
Industrial news (280 words)
Members of the UNISON public services union and the ATL teaching union employed as teaching assistants in Durham took two days’ strike action at ... Subscribers only
Schools face massive budget crisis, warn teaching unions (290 words)
Schools are facing the biggest real terms budget cuts in a generation, with cuts predicted to reach up to £2.5 billion a year by 2020.
... Subscribers only
Impact of Brexit highlights cuts (244 words)
The scale of the cuts endured by the civil service is in the spotlight as a leaked memo suggests tens of thousands more jobs are needed in the wake ...
Open access
Investment slowdown (125 words)
Construction union UCATT says the uncertainty created by government inaction and the disappointment in the industry at the Brexit vote is causing a ... Open access
CWU sends aid consignment to Syria (114 words)
As Labour Research went to press, the charity run by the CWU communications workers' union was getting ready to send a huge consignment of aid to ... Open access
No change in rate of inflation (62 words)
Inflation under the Retail Prices Index (RPI) — the measure favoured by union negotiators — was unchanged at 2.0% in October.
... Open access
Unemployment at 11-year low (261 words)
The UK unemployment rate has reached an 11-year low.
... Subscribers only
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (407 words)
Inflation +2.0%; Average earnings +2.5% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Teaching 'superunion' takes step closer to being realised (455 words)
Activists in two of the largest teaching unions — the NUT and the ATL — have agreed to take the next step towards merger.
... Subscribers only
UCATT members vote to merge with Unite (38 words)
Members of the UCATT construction union have voted by 85.5% in favour of transferring their engagements to the Unite general union from 1 January 2017 ... Open access
Scottish government announces fund for union modernisation (170 words)
Scottish trade unionists have welcomed a new £250,000 Scottish government fund to help unions modernise and to mitigate the negative impact of the ... Open access
Review on electronic balloting welcomed (214 words)
The government’s commissioning of an independent review of the use of electronic voting in industrial action ballots has been welcomed by the ... Open access
European news
Court case leads to delayed elections for employee reps (382 words)
A legal dispute over the right of a small Corsican union, the STC, to take part in elections for employee representatives in France has led the ... Subscribers only
Thumbs down to digitalisation (273 words)
The latest union survey of working life in Germany suggests a slight improvement overall. But it also finds that digitalisation has produced a range ... Subscribers only
Parliament accepts retirement age cut (248 words)
The Polish parliament has accepted a proposal from the government of the nationalist PiS party to reduce the retirement age to 60 for women and 65 ... Open access
Features
Unions take action on post-Brexit xenophobia (2,039 words)
Reports of a rise in xenophobia in the workplace have seen unions stepping up their response to the problem.
... Subscribers only
Fat cat pay continues to rise (2,211 words)
Top executives' remuneration packages have continued to ratchet up, albeit at a slower rate. Prime minster Theresa May has promised to address ... Open access
More needed to tackle slavery (1,740 words)
Legislation brought in by the government to clamp down on modern slavery doesn’t go far enough, say critics. Labour Research reports.
... Subscribers only
Books to give at Christmas (1,057 words)
Staff at the Bookmarks socialist bookshop provide their annual pick of books you might like to give to your labour movement friends at Christmas ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Landmark ruling boosts status of uber drivers (320 words)
In an historic victory for vulnerable workers in the “gig economy”, and a testament to the power of union representation, an employment tribunal ... Subscribers only
Parliamentary approval is necessary for article 50 (280 words)
In a highly significant constitutional law decision, the High Court has decided that the UK’s constitution does not allow the government to trigger ... Subscribers only
Asda equal pay claims (155 words)
In an important development in the multiple equal pay claims against Asda (Brierley and others v Asda Stores Ltd), an Employment Tribunal has ... Open access
Inquiry into future of work (92 words)
Parliament’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee (BEISC) has begun an inquiry into the future world of work and the rights of ... Open access
Law Queries
Liquidation (186 words)
Q. What can employees claim from the National Insurance Fund if their employer goes into liquidation?
... Open access
Gender pay reporting (298 words)
Q. What is gender pay reporting? ... Subscribers only
Tribunal awards (213 words)
Q. Are Employment Tribunal awards subject to any kind of limit? ... Open access
Law Back-up
What legal protections do breastfeeding mums have? (920 words)
In the wake of a ground-breaking Employment Tribunal case, this month’s Back-Up, looks at the legal rights of breastfeeding mothers at work. ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Prison officers warn of system ‘on the edge’ (371 words)
The POA prison officers’ union was forced to call off protests over what it describes as “the volatile and dangerous state of prisons” which ... Subscribers only
More action on rail safety (215 words)
Rail unions have stepped up their action to defend safety on trains and the London Underground (LU).
... Open access
Combating violence (95 words)
Lecturers’ union the UCU has welcomed a new report calling for universities to do more to combat violence and harassment on campus.
... Open access
Trade deal (154 words)
Following the temporary blocking in October of the Canada-European Union CETA trade agreement as a result of opposition led by the Belgian Wallonia ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Keeping work safe for disabled employees (881 words)
To mark International Day of Disabled People on 3 December, Back-Up looks at union activity on disability and health and safety, and on promoting ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Tribunal charges see case numbers plummet (260 words)
The number of working people challenging discrimination or unfair treatment at work has plummeted by 9,000 a month since charges of up to £1,200 to ... Subscribers only
Study reveals costs of pregnancy discrimination (389 words)
The total cost to women of being forced to leave a job due to pregnancy or maternity has been estimated to be between £46.6 million and £113 ... Subscribers only
Brexit and equality (115 words)
The House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee has launched an inquiry to consider the impact of the UK’s exit from the EU on equalities ... Open access
Gender pay gap (131 words)
The gender pay gap in the UK will not close until 2069 unless action is taken to tackle it now, according to new research by business consultants ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
Government announces disability proposals (946 words)
A government consultation on reforms to get more disabled people into work was released at the end of October. Back-Up examines the proposals.
... Subscribers only
Reviews
Walls come tumbling down (337 words)
The music and politics of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge
... Subscribers only
E-views
e-views (445 words)
I’ve been working on a website for a new initiative designed to encourage greater diversity and inclusion in the investment and savings industry. ... Subscribers only
News from LRD
LRD annual general meeting (118 words)
The 2017 annual general meeting of the Labour Research Department (LRD) is on Monday 15 May, 2017 from 2.00pm at Jerwood Space, Union Street, London ... Open access