![[Basket]](images/basket.png){kind=small}
Your order![[cover image]](images/issue/LR201806.jpg)
Labour Research June 2018
Grenfell: unions remain part of the fight for justice - Union support continues to be part of the ongoing fight for justice for Grenfell victims and survivors; TUC celebrates its 150th anniversary - The TUC is 150 years old this month. We look back through the archives to see how Labour Research has reported on the annual TUC Congress over the years; Open University under threat - Plans for major budget cuts, redundancies and restructuring have led to a staff revolt at the Open University
News
Government’s move on ship tenders slammed by unions (309 words)
Unions have warned the government against “betraying” UK shipbuilders as they call for navy ships to be built in Britain.
...
Subscribers only
Urgent action required to address needs in underfunded adult care (299 words)
Social care staff are suffering from low pay and low esteem, says a report published last month by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee. ... Subscribers only
Thousands march to demand new deal for working people (290 words)
Last month, tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of London demanding a new deal for working people.
... Subscribers only
Grammar school plans criticised (222 words)
Unions have criticised a new £50 million government fund to help grammar schools expand “when schools up and down the country are desperately ...
Open access
Franchise must return to public sector (252 words)
Rail unions are calling for the East Coast rail franchise to be brought back under permanent public control after the transport secretary, Chris ... Subscribers only
Inflation undermines earnings (216 words)
Inflation is continuing to eat away any improvement in workers’ earnings.
... Open access
Joblessness rate falls (70 words)
Unemployment was down by 46,000 to 1.43 million in the three-month period ending March 2018, the Labour Force Survey shows.
... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (414 words)
Inflation +3.4%, Average earnings +2.3% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Hearing to consider complaints over Unite leadership election (315 words)
A hearing this month will consider nine further complaints about the conduct of the 2017 leadership election in the Unite general union.
... Subscribers only
Green light for restructuring plan (318 words)
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) is to proceed with a major internal restructuring and renewal programme with the aim of achieving financial ... Subscribers only
Contribution rates (120 words)
Members of the NUJ journalists’ union have rejected a rise in union contribution rates proposed by the union’s national executive committee.
... Open access
Gaza deaths condemned (121 words)
The UNISON public services union last month condemned “the brutal massacre of 58 Palestinian protestors and injury to over 2,700 more” by the ... Open access
European news
Macron presses ahead with more labour market changes (483 words)
Later this month, the French parliament will start a formal debate on new legislation covering training and unemployment benefits.
... Subscribers only
Stand taken against German far right (190 words)
The DGB, the main German union confederation, has formally agreed a policy of non-cooperation with the far right.
... Open access
EPSU Legal challenge (141 words)
EPSU, the European public service union federation, has decided to challenge the refusal of the European Commission to transform a European-wide ... Open access
UK now less popular for Poles (102 words)
Only just over one in 20 Poles, thinking about working abroad, currently choose the UK as their preferred destination. This is a drop from one in ... Open access
Features
The fight for justice and accountability continues (2,048 words)
As the first anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire approaches, Labour Research looks at union action to support those affected, and the fight for ... Open access
TUC: marking 150 years (2,667 words)
The TUC is 150 years old this month. Labour Research looks back at how we reported on some significant moments in TUC history.
... Subscribers only
Keeping it open and accessible? (1,832 words)
The “university of the second chance”, the UK’s Open University, has been faced with dramatic change in recent years, as Labour Research ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Victory for Unison in pay progression battle (238 words)
In a long-running battle to secure incremental pay progression for members working for Nottingham City Council, the UNISON public services union has ... Open access
Action continues against gig economy exploitation (339 words)
Trade unions continue apace with legal action taking a stand against exploitation of workers in the gig economy.
... Subscribers only
Teachers’ action (90 words)
The NASUWT teachers’ union successfully persuaded the Scottish Court of Sessions to reject East Dunbartonshire Council’s “eleventh hour ... Open access
Collective bargaining rights (68 words)
The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has made an application for judicial review of a decision by the Central Arbitration ... Open access
Brexit (62 words)
The House of Lords recently voted by 316 to 245 in favour of keeping the European Charter of Fundamental Rights after the UK leaves the European ... Open access
Law Queries
“Without prejudice” (207 words)
Q. A member has received a letter from their employer headed “without prejudice” and offering to settle potential claims. What does “without ... Open access
Non-disclosure clauses (318 words)
Q. Are non-disclosure clauses in settlement agreements lawful?
... Subscribers only
Payments in lieu of notice (155 words)
Q. Do the new taxation rules on payments in lieu of notice (which came into effect on 6 April this year) apply if our member’s employment ... Open access
Law Back-up
How does immigration status impact on work? (964 words)
The scandal of the way in which the Windrush generation has been treated by the government has cast a light on how immigration status can impact on ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Austerity cuts blamed for increased violence (516 words)
The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) has reacted angrily to “misleading” government figures on prison officer recruitment, and blamed ... Subscribers only
Amazon conditions slammed (160 words)
The GMB general union has called on the Amazon online retail giant to address “hellish” working conditions as the company announced that its ... Open access
Unions act on mental ill-health epidemic (232 words)
The pressurised and stressful world of work is leading to an epidemic of mental health illness, while a “conspiracy of silence” means the true ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Safety: how to push beyond legal minimum (949 words)
As part of its campaign to mark the 40th anniversary of the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations (SRSCR), the TUC has published a ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Child poverty soars in working families (345 words)
The number of children growing up in poverty in working households is set to be one million higher this year than it was in 2010, according to new ... Subscribers only
Carers returning to work need more support (280 words)
Most carers wanting to return to work do not receive any support, finds a government consultation.
... Subscribers only
Pay gap reporting (158 words)
The first investigations of employers who failed to file gender pay gap reports will begin in June, says a letter from the Equality and Human Rights ... Open access
LGBT+ high performers (97 words)
A survey of high-performing LGBT+ employees finds that 60% of respondents believe that being out at work has had a positive impact.
... Open access
Workplace Back-up
Presenteeism levels have tripled since 2010 (864 words)
New research finds that the number of employers reporting staff turning up to work when they are ill has tripled since 2010. Back-up looks at the ... Subscribers only
E-views
e-views (423 words)
The TUC’s learning and skills organisation, unionlearn, helps trade unions deliver learning and manages the Union Learning Fund (ULF). I’ve ... Subscribers only
News from LRD
AGM agrees changes (228 words)
The 2018 annual general meeting of the Labour Research Department (LRD) agreed that the LRD should become a company limited by guarantee in order to ... Open access