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Labour Research February 2019
Tackling the scourge of modern slavery - Unions are essential to anti-slavery initiatives and have a crucial role to play in highlighting modern slavery; Building a climate for climate change jobs - How can unions promote a transition to green and sustainable production, including in sectors dependant on carbon-intensive industries?; How to report the ethnicity pay gap? - Ethnic pay gap reporting is on the cards. UK unions have expressed a range of views as to how such reporting could be achieved
News
Unions say ‘no deal’ to prospect of No Deal Brexit (391 words)
The heads of the British and Irish union federations have urged the government to halt the prospect of a No Deal Brexit after prime minister Theresa ...
Subscribers only
Uncertain future for car industry (291 words)
Unions are closely monitoring developments in the car industry after Jaguar Land Rover and Ford announced thousands of redundancies last month.
... Subscribers only
More High Street gloom (237 words)
The High Street has been dealt another hammer blow with the announcement that retailer Marks & Spencer is due to close more stores, despite it ...
Open access
NHS plan slated over failure to deal with staff shortages (321 words)
Health unions have slammed prime minister Theresa May’s 10-year plan for the NHS for failing to acknowledge that it must first deal with the ... Subscribers only
Warning over outsourcing (218 words)
The government has been accused of learning nothing in the wake of union research revealing that up to £95 billion of public sector contracts were ... Open access
PCS pay campaign launched (246 words)
Over the last month, the PCS civil service union has been carrying out briefings across the country as part of a mass consultation on the 2019 civil ... Open access
Manufacturing takes a big hit (198 words)
The UK economy has been hit by a “steep decline” in manufacturing, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.
... Open access
Inflation falls (69 words)
Inflation was at its lowest level for two years, official figures show.
... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (422 words)
Inflation +2.7%, Average earnings +3.2% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Pharmacists face final hurdle in long-running Boots saga (482 words)
Voting gets underway this month in the final stint of a long-running campaign by 7,000 Boots pharmacists to gain recognition at the firm for the ... Subscribers only
Unite launches immigration law helpline for migrant members (158 words)
The Unite general union has launched a Brexit immigration law helpline to assist its migrant worker members.
... Open access
PCS consultation on women's representation and participation (139 words)
The PCS public and commercial services union is conducting a consultation throughout the union on improving the representation and participation of ... Open access
Video game workers launch union branch (100 words)
The UK’s first ever union branch for video game workers has been officially launched by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), as ... Open access
European news
Zero hours contracts set to be outlawed in Ireland (474 words)
From the start of next month, zero hours contracts will be banned in Ireland. Other than in exceptional circumstances, workers will have a right to ... Subscribers only
French unions divided over Great Debate (234 words)
French union confederations have taken different positions on the so-called Great Debate, which the French president, Emanuel Macron, has launched in ... Open access
Hungarian protests (114 words)
Hungarian unions are continuing their protests against the so-called “slave law”, which substantially changes overtime arrangements.
... Open access
Strikes in Spain (75 words)
Spain’s two main union confederations, CCOO and UGT, have agreed to call for strike action across the country on 8 March as part of their campaign ... Open access
Call to delay Brexit (53 words)
Luca Visentini, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), has called for “the extension or withdrawal of article 50” to ... Open access
Features
Unions address horror of modern slavery (2,688 words)
Unions have a vital role to play in tackling the plight of the victims of modern slavery, as Labour Research finds.
... Subscribers only
Working for a just transition (2,493 words)
Labour Research looks at union policies and action on “just transition” — the process enabling a shift to a low-carbon economy that is ... Open access
Nailing down ethnic pay reporting (2,428 words)
The government has stated its intention to legislate for mandatory ethnic pay gap reporting. But there are a range of views, including those from ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Agency client was de facto employer of carer (294 words)
A live-in carer engaged by an agency for the same client for three years was an employee of the client, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ... Subscribers only
Obligation over written particulars is clarified (321 words)
Employees are entitled to receive a written statement of their employment particulars within two months of the start of their employment, as ... Subscribers only
Suggestion of lying did not show bias, says tribunal (244 words)
Telling the claimant’s barrister there was no need to “lie” did not demonstrate that the judge was biased, says the Employment Appeal Tribunal ... Open access
Law Queries
Consultation and job changes (337 words)
Q. Does our employer have to consult the union where they plan to make changes to our jobs but there are no actual redundancies? ... Subscribers only
Retraction of notice (176 words)
Q. Can I retract my notice? I have just resigned from my job but have had second thoughts. ... Open access
Acas and tribunal claim (238 words)
Q. Do I have to go through Acas to bring an employment tribunal claim? ... Open access
Law Back-up
Is the government’s ‘Good Work Plan’ good enough? (821 words)
The government’s Good Work Plan outlines its proposals to bring into effect recommendations following the Taylor Review. But the plan falls far ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Scotland’s teachers stressed by workload (304 words)
A shocking 76% of Scotland’s teachers frequently feel stressed as a result of their workload, according to new research by the EIS Scottish ... Subscribers only
New framework needed for workers’ health and safety (191 words)
A new Hazards Campaign manifesto calls for a health and safety framework fit for workers, with strong laws, strict enforcement and support for active ... Open access
UNISON issues call over violence at work (145 words)
Public services union UNISON has written to every councillor in the UK asking them to make the union’s End Violence at Work charter a central part ... Open access
Stamping out bullying (106 words)
The leader of the doctors’ BMA union in Scotland has called for urgent action to stamp out the “scandal” of bullying and harassment in the ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Taking the strain out of aches and pains (895 words)
This month provides unions and safety reps with an opportunity to focus on repetitive strain injuries (RSI) and other musculoskeletal disorders, with ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Brexit may worsen life for BAME communities (393 words)
Brexit has the potential to make life worse for black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) communities, both economically and socially. says a briefing ... Subscribers only
Women’s jobs hit most by automation and austerity (236 words)
Almost 400,000 jobs held by women in the public sector, banking and retail have been lost since 2011, according to research from the Royal Society ... Open access
Disabled people can’t use 40% of stations (227 words)
More than 1,000 railway stations in Britain lack disabled access, according to an analysis of Office of Rail and Road data by disability charity ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
Flexible working has hit plateau, says study (874 words)
New research shows that the number of people using flexible working has flatlined since 2010, despite the 2014 extension of the right to request ... Subscribers only
E-views
e-views (408 words)
One of the growing trends in technology is the increasing use of chatbots.
... Subscribers only
News from LRD
LRD Annual General Meeting (174 words)
Recruiting, organising and campaigning with young workers will be on the agenda at this year’s Labour Research Department AGM on Monday 20 May.
... Open access