![[Basket]](images/basket.png){kind=small}
Your order![[cover image]](images/issue/LR201708.jpg)
Labour Research August 2017
UK struggles to bridge the skills gap - There are increasing shortages of skilled workers in a number of areas of the economy. And Brexit looks set to make things worse; Backgrounds of the Commons’ new MPs – Labour Research examines the backgrounds of the new crop of MPs and finds that Labour’s new intake remain connected to the unions; Do we need a legal right to "disconnect"? - France recently introduced a legal right for employees to ignore work-related emails outside work hours. Does the UK need something similar?
News
Repeal Bill must not undermine workers’ rights, say trade unions (381 words)
Trade unions have called for guaranteed safeguards for working people as the Great Repeal Bill which brings EU laws into UK law begins its passage ...
Subscribers only
Irish union congress warns against negative impact of Brexit process (267 words)
Every effort must be made to avoid a reintroduction of physical borders for trade within Ireland and between Ireland and Great Britain, and to ensure ... Subscribers only
Centenary news (269 words)
In August 1939, Labour Research reported on the meeting of international trade unions that had taken place the previous month.
... Subscribers only
Taylor review on modern working practices a ‘missed opportunity’ (365 words)
The much-touted Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices has been lambasted as “disappointing” by trade unions (see also page 25).
... Subscribers only
Prison officers slam strike ban (167 words)
The POA prison officers’ union has slammed a High Court decision last month to permanently ban its members from taking strike action.
...
Open access
PCS hails major legal victory (263 words)
The PCS civil service union is celebrating a major win after the High Court ruled the government had unlawfully failed to consult them over its ... Subscribers only
Unemployment records a fall (215 words)
UK unemployment has recorded its seventh consecutive monthly fall. Unemployed numbers fell by 64,000 to 1.49 million in the three-month period ending ... Open access
RPI inflation slows down (76 words)
Retail price inflation has slowed down.
... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (414 words)
Inflation +3.5%,Average earnings +1.8% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Better news on membership (551 words)
New figures collated by the TUC suggest that overall membership of its affiliated unions has held up rather better than was indicated by the earlier ... Subscribers only
RMT considers rejoining Labour (105 words)
The RMT transport union, which was expelled from the Labour Party over 13 years ago, is considering rejoining the party.
... Open access
MBE for BME firefighter (61 words)
Michael Nicholas, secretary of the FBU Fire Brigades Union’s black and ethnic minority members’ section, has been awarded an MBE in the 2017 ... Open access
Mary Turner (94 words)
Mary Turner, who had been elected president of the GMB general union for the past two decades, passed away last month after a short illness.
... Open access
Scots youth surge (95 words)
Scottish trade unionists are reporting “a massive increase in activity” among young people in the workplace in the last few years. STUC deputy ... Open access
European news
Agreement still far off over rules on ‘posted workers’ (445 words)
European governments remain far from a compromise over new rules on labour mobility.
... Subscribers only
French labour law plans become clear (229 words)
Although most government business normally comes to a halt in August in France, this certainly is not the case this year as the new government ... Open access
Polish union membership stable (84 words)
New figures produced by the Polish opinion research agency CBOS show that 11% of Polish workers are union members.
... Open access
German works councils (107 words)
The main German union confederation, the DGB, is pressing for the experience and qualifications that works council members gain through work as ... Open access
Spanish unions protest (63 words)
The two main Spanish union confederations, CCOO and UGT, continue to protest against the threat of a prison sentence hanging over two union ... Open access
Features
Brexit widens UK skills gap (2,637 words)
Concerns over skills shortages in parts of the UK economy are being intensified by the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the status of EU ... Open access
Labour’s new MPs are still part of the union (2,634 words)
The shock hung Parliament result of June’s general election, with Labour doing much better than forecast, has also been good for the unions.
... Subscribers only
Do we need a right to ‘switch off’? (2,050 words)
Earlier this year, France brought in a law known as the “right to disconnect” to give workers a legal right to ignore work-related emails outside ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Collective redundancy consultation victory (344 words)
Nautilus International, the trade union for maritime professionals, has secured a milestone judgment relating to jurisdiction and collective ... Subscribers only
Ruling sees equal pension rights for gay couples (308 words)
In a landmark decision supporting LGBT rights, the Supreme Court has confirmed that an exemption under the Equality Act, which had been relied on to ... Subscribers only
Unions continue gig economy battle (246 words)
The union movement’s fight against bogus self-employment continues apace. Last month, the GMB general union started another legal challenge against ... Open access
Law Queries
Spent convictions (266 words)
Q. A member has to provide an enhanced criminal record certificate (ECRC) as part of a job application, but a spent conviction from decades ago has ... Subscribers only
Disciplinary hearing (196 words)
Q. An employer is refusing to disclose copies of witness statements in advance of a disciplinary hearing against our member. What can I do?
... Open access
Data subject access request (296 words)
Q. What is the procedure for making a data subject access request? ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
Improved rights needed for family guys at work (924 words)
A recent employment tribunal (ET) case, in which a father established he had been discriminated against when he was denied enhanced occupational ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Unions and TUC demand action on fire safety (342 words)
Unions and the TUC have called on the government to take action to improve fire safety in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster, which killed at ... Subscribers only
Zero hours, poorer health (236 words)
Young workers on zero hours contracts (ZHCs) are less likely to be in good health and have a higher risk of poor mental health than those with stable ... Open access
Hillsborough charges announced by CPS (227 words)
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced that six individuals have been charged with criminal offences over the fatal crush at the ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Public inquiries and other investigations (924 words)
After a disaster with large-scale loss of life like the Grenfell Tower fire, a number of different investigations will take place. Back-up explains ... Subscribers only
Equality news
LGBT people still face harassment at work (348 words)
More than one in three LGBT people (36%) have been harassed or bullied at work, according to a study published by the TUC.
... Subscribers only
More progress needed to improve social mobility (292 words)
Improving social mobility could boost the UK’s GDP by almost £600 per person per year, says research commissioned by educational charity The ... Subscribers only
Local government not working for women (243 words)
Local government is “not fit for the future” as a result of a range of outdated practices and attitudes that hold back gender equality, states a ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
Insecure workers must be given a stronger voice (869 words)
Union disappointment with the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices published last month (see page 5) extended to its rather watery ... Subscribers only
E-views
e-views (422 words)
One of the latest frontiers in technology is voice-controlled smart assistants. Systems like Apple’s Siri, Google Now and Microsoft’s Cortana ... Subscribers only