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Labour Research February 2017
The right prescription? - further substantial change to already heavily pressured health and care services is under way, thanks to Sustainability and Transformation Plans; Cold logic of hot desking - hot desking seems to be on the rise, as cash-strapped local authorities reduce office space. How can unions influence the practice to safeguard members?; Domestic violence - the effects of domestic violence and abuse can often spill over into the workplace - which makes it an important issue for trade unions to address
News
Academic staff call for higher education Bill to be mothballed (329 words)
Survey results released by the UCU lecturers’ union have highlighted the opposition of academics to the Higher Education and Research Bill ...
Subscribers only
Welsh government introduces Bill to rescind aspects of Trade Union Act (317 words)
Unions in Wales have welcomed the decision of the Welsh government to introduce legislation to repeal aspects of the Trade Union Act adopted by the ... Subscribers only
Centenary news (265 words)
In the February 1947 issue of Labour Research, the magazine reported on the recent nationalisation of the coal industry as follows:
... Subscribers only
Prime minister’s key Brexit speech fuels concerns over jobs and rights (385 words)
Unions called on prime minister Theresa May to calm the fears of working people after she declared that in order to control immigration, the UK will ... Subscribers only
Southern rail strikes suspended (145 words)
Three strike days on Southern rail, scheduled for 24, 25 and 27 January, were called off as the rail operator and the Aslef train drivers’ union ...
Open access
Majority of schools face funding cuts (258 words)
Every constituency in England stands to lose out from the government’s funding proposals for schools, according to the schoolcuts.org.uk website ... Subscribers only
Unemployment falls to 1.6 million (210 words)
Unemployment under the Labour Force Survey count fell by 52,000 to 1.6 million in the three months to November 2016.
... Open access
Inflation highest for two years (66 words)
Inflation is at its highest level since July 2014. Under the Retail Prices Index (RPI) — the measure favoured by union negotiators — the annual ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (410 words)
Inflation +2.5%, Average earnings +2.8% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Lecturers vote on top job as third candidate joins Unite race (225 words)
Voting is underway among the 105,000 members of the University and College Union (UCU) in the election of their next general secretary.
... Open access
Penman re-elected (34 words)
Dave Penman has been re-elected general secretary of the FDA senior public servants’ union for a further five-year term. He was first elected ... Open access
Shopworkers’ campaign stepped up (195 words)
Retail union Usdaw is stepping up its campaign to organise staff at low-cost supermarket chains Aldi and Lidl and to get the firms to recognise the ... Open access
Health union gains recognition (195 words)
The TUC-affiliated Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association has finally gained recognition and national bargaining rights in England from NHS ... Open access
Heartunions week (51 words)
The TUC is asking workplace reps to sign up for this month’s Heartunions week which showcases the work of union activists and members in the ... Open access
BA dispute sees membership surge (98 words)
General union Unite announced that it had seen a surge in membership among British Airways cabin crew leading up to last month’s 48-hour strike ... Open access
UNISON election hearing (83 words)
The certification officer is to hold another hearing this month in relation to the complaints about the 2015 general secretary election in public ... Open access
European news
Court battle gets underway over France’s new labour law (461 words)
Following last year’s major demonstrations against France’s new labour law, the CGT, one of France’s largest union confederations, has taken ... Subscribers only
Amazon dispute sees new tactics (219 words)
Germany’s Ver.di union has announced new tactics in its struggle with online retail giant Amazon.
... Open access
Cyprus unity talks backed (74 words)
Leaders of the main union confederations in both the Greek and Turkish parts of Cyprus have issued a joint declaration calling for a successful end ... Open access
Call for robotics law (113 words)
The legal affairs committee of the European Parliament has approved a report calling for European legislation to regulate developments in the area of ... Open access
‘Quality’ employment (55 words)
The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) has called for an improvement in the quality of public sector workers’ employment ... Open access
Features
Sustainable development? (2,749 words)
Critics say that Sustainability and Transformation Plans for health and care organisations in England will create yet more chaos across the NHS.
... Open access
Hot desking thrives in cold financial climate (1,779 words)
Labour Research looks at the rise in “hot desking” arrangements — the problems these arrangements can bring, and how unions can make them ... Subscribers only
Domestic abuse: a union issue (2,140 words)
Domestic abuse may appear to be a wholly personal matter to do with private lives. However, its impact is often felt in the workplace, making it a ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Another blow dealt to bogus self-employment (313 words)
Last month, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) secured a significant victory against courier firm CitySprint in the ongoing battle ... Subscribers only
Judgment draws attention to access to justice issues (289 words)
In a ruling which is helpful to claimants of limited means, and which draws attention to the importance of protecting the principle of access to ... Subscribers only
Workers’ rights Bill (177 words)
A new Bill intended to protect employment rights post-Brexit has been presented to Parliament by Melanie Onn, Labour MP for Great Grimsby.
... Open access
New director (67 words)
A new director of labour market enforcement was announced recently.
... Open access
Law Queries
Data protection (288 words)
Q. What is the General Data Protection Regulation? ... Subscribers only
Rest breaks (317 words)
Q. If an employee wants to bring a claim against an employer for failure to provide a rest break, will they have to prove the employer actively ... Subscribers only
Disciplinary hearings (134 words)
Q. Can a trade union official only accompany a member to a disciplinary hearing if the union is recognised? ... Open access
Law Back-up
Draft codes on picketing and balloting published (938 words)
In preparation for the dramatic changes to picketing and industrial action requirements introduced by the Trade Union Act 2016 (TUA), the government ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Union decries rise in attacks on nhs staff (277 words)
The rise in attacks on NHS staff is “completely unacceptable” and is being fuelled by increased pressure on the health service, says public ... Subscribers only
Breast cancer and night work: doubt cast on research suggesting no link (255 words)
An Oxford University study which concluded that “night shift work, including long-term shift work, has little or no effect on breast cancer ... Subscribers only
Brexit ‘hijack’ (156 words)
A letter to MPs from the head of structural engineering company REIDsteel has prompted a warning from the TUC that “bad bosses are trying to hijack ... Open access
Offshore fears (98 words)
Almost four in 10 offshore workers have been in a situation where they were unable to report an incident for fear of victimisation, says a new survey ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Have guidelines led to effective penalties? (953 words)
On the first anniversary of Sentencing Council guidelines coming into force for health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences (as well as for ... Subscribers only
Equality news
One in eight workers now living in poverty (398 words)
One in every eight workers in the UK — 3.8 million people — is now living in poverty, according to Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion 2016, ... Subscribers only
Executive ranks must open up to more women (255 words)
Companies listed on the FTSE 100 should have at least a third of their executive pipeline positions filled by women by 2020, a government-backed ... Subscribers only
Low levels of social mobility scar BME youth (452 words)
Despite doing better at school, young people from black and Asian Muslim communities are more likely to be unemployed and face social immobility ... Subscribers only
Workplace Back-up
Mental health support needs more, say critics (917 words)
Prime minister Theresa May announced a package of measures in January to improve mental health provision in schools, workplaces and communities. But ... Subscribers only
E-views
Mental health support needs more, say critics (457 words)
Passwords are an essential part of life now — from carrying out the weekly shop, to accessing social media, to logging into your union website. But ... Subscribers only
News from LRD
LRD Executive Committee (125 words)
The LRD is inviting nominations for the 16 places on its executive committee (EC) and for the post of honorary treasurer for the period May 2017 to ... Open access