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Labour Research August 2018
Crisis plagues the prison estate - Unions say that budget cuts and privatisation are significant factors behind the continuing crisis in Britain’s prisons; Thirty years of the Education Reform Act - Since the Education Reform Act was passed 30 years ago, the education system has undergone a variety of profound changes; Nightmare costs of holiday childcare - The high costs of holiday childcare mean many parents will struggle to ensure their children have a safe and happy summer holiday
News
Unions prepare to launch judicial review over pay cap (332 words)
The PCS, FDA and Prospect civil service unions are calling for a judicial review over the government’s below-inflation pay remit guidance.
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Subscribers only
Reps were unfairly dismissed, says employment tribunal ruling (269 words)
An Employment Tribunal (ET) has ruled that union reps at Picturehouse’s Ritzy cinema in south London were unfairly dismissed in June last year ... Subscribers only
Industrial news (245 words)
Members of the Unite general union at Luton airport last month suspended industrial action the day before a 60-hour strike was due to begin. A ...
Open access
Conservatives’ Brexit chaos places jobs and future at risk (377 words)
Unions have accused the government of gambling with jobs as the chaos of the Brexit negotiations continues to unfold.
... Subscribers only
Outsourcing plan reversed (125 words)
A hospital trust has reversed its decision to outsource NHS staff to a subsidiary, or “subco”, company, after a long-running campaign and dispute ... Open access
Prisons (113 words)
The POA prison workers’ union has said that the announcement that all new-build prisons will be subject to competition, and the public sector will ... Open access
Unemployment continues to fall (186 words)
Unemployment fell for the second consecutive month. Overall, the number was down by 12,000 to 1.41 million in the three-month period ending May on ... Open access
Inflation rebounds (68 words)
Inflation rebounded in June. The annual rate of inflation under the Retail Prices Index (RPI) — the inflation measure favoured by union negotiators ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (412 words)
Inflation +3.4%, Average earnings +2.5% ... Subscribers only
Union news
TUC records small decline in overall membership figures (300 words)
The latest membership figures from unions affiliated to the TUC suggest that overall membership has slipped back slightly in 2018 compared with last ... Subscribers only
Unite agrees statement on Brexit (295 words)
General union Unite’s policy conference last month agreed a statement respecting the UK’s vote to leave the EU but demanding certain conditions ... Subscribers only
UNISON award (96 words)
Public services union UNISON’s outstanding legal success in the Supreme Court overturning the government over employment tribunal fees has won the ... Open access
Fair tax (74 words)
The Fair Tax Mark, which demonstrates an organisation’s commitment to paying the right amount of tax, at the right time and in the right place, has ... Open access
Army union (69 words)
A proposal from the Scottish National Party to allow armed forces personnel to form a union is to be put to the House of Commons, according to The ... Open access
European news
Boost for work-life balance and workers’ minimum rights (340 words)
A common position on two important new proposed directives — on work-life balance for parents and carers, and on minimum rights for workers — has ... Subscribers only
Works council elections favour status quo (303 words)
The first analysis of German works council elections which took place between March and May this year indicates that Germany’s largest union, IG ... Subscribers only
Ryanair (172 words)
Low-cost airline carrier Ryanair has been hit by industrial action in several of its key markets.
... Open access
Rail strikes (96 words)
The series of two-day stoppages backed by all four French rail unions have ended (see Labour Research, May 2018, page 8).
... Open access
Features
No end in sight to prisons safety crisis (2,548 words)
Labour Research examines the chaos in Britain’s jail system and finds the conditions are also taking a severe toll on the prison workforce.
... Open access
Lessons in marketisation? (2,445 words)
The far-reaching Education Reform Act is 30 years old this year. Labour Research examines the pivotal changes wrought by the Act.
... Subscribers only
Holiday childcare nightmare (1,468 words)
School holidays — especially the long summer holiday — can be very stressful for working parents and low-income families who struggle to find ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Dismissal of rep was automatically unfair (312 words)
In a recent Court of Appeal decision, a trade union representative was found to have been unfairly dismissed when carrying out trade union activities ... Subscribers only
Another win chalked up over false self-employment (280 words)
There have been some important developments in employment status and bargaining cases pursued by unions over the past month or so.
... Subscribers only
Rise in ET claims (115 words)
The latest quarterly Employment Tribunal (ET) statistics for January-March 2018, published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), show a continuing ... Open access
Facility time (115 words)
The Cabinet Office and Civil Service have produced joint guidance on the new public sector employers’ duty to publish information on paid trade ... Open access
Law Queries
Overtime payments (207 words)
Q. A member is being paid at their usual rate for overtime. Is this lawful? ... Open access
Menopause and disability (267 words)
Q. Is the menopause a disability as defined under the Equality Act 2010? ... Subscribers only
Overpayment of wages (255 words)
Q. An employer overpaid our member and now wants to make deductions from her wages. Can they do this? ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
Working dads need much greater level of support (933 words)
The government has now responded to the conclusions of the inquiry on fathers and the workplace presented earlier this year by the House of Commons ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Government must act on teacher stress (341 words)
Teacher numbers continue to fall, according to the latest school workforce statistics released at the end of June and relating to November 2017. The ... Subscribers only
Union hits out at rail chaos (219 words)
The RMT rail union has called on transport secretary Chris Grayling to resign. The union’s call followed chaotic scenes across the rail network ... Open access
‘Union effect’ (106 words)
New research from the USA provides further evidence of the “union effect” on health and safety.
... Open access
Beauty industry (87 words)
Beauty workers pay a high price with their health and safety, according to a European Trade Union Institute report on the beauty industry. All that ... Open access
Campaigner awarded (59 words)
Scottish Hazards and Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) campaigner Louise Taggart has been named most inspirational health and safety person ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Protecting workers from the summer heat (859 words)
With the Met Office reporting temperatures reaching over 30oC this summer, unions and the TUC are calling on employers to work with their safety reps ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Apprenticeships need more diverse intake (303 words)
Businesses, industry sectors and the government urgently need to work together to encourage a more diverse intake on apprenticeships, according to ... Subscribers only
Euro unions fall short on youth recruitment (288 words)
Most European trade union confederations report an increase in the proportion of women in their membership across Europe, finds a new report by the ... Subscribers only
Reporting of sexual harassment gets a boost (233 words)
Over a quarter of UK workers have gained the confidence to report sexual harassment they see or experience in the workplace, thanks to the ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
NMW responsibilities still dodged by some (937 words)
Workers continue to be exploited by employers shirking their responsibilities to pay minimum wages, and concerns remain about age discrimination in ... Subscribers only
E-views
e-views (412 words)
Each year, the TUC hosts an annual Trade Union Communication Awards ceremony to celebrate the great work by unions in this area. The 40th such awards ... Subscribers only
News from LRD
LRD incorporation (126 words)
In line with the decision of the 2018 annual general meeting (see Labour Research, June 2018, page 26), the Labour Research Department (LRD) was ... Open access