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Labour Research July 2019
Making common cause with environmental campaigns - Joint campaigning and dialogue with green groups around climate change has become more important than ever for today’s trade unions; Doing violence to youth culture? - Trade unionists have expressed anger over police and mainstream media claims that drill music contributes to youth violence; More children in working families live in poverty - The impact of government policy on children is ensuring that child poverty in households with working adults is hitting record levels
News
Union hails ‘fantastic’ ruling for Northern Ireland police staff (324 words)
NIPSA, the Northern Ireland public service union has hailed a “fantastic result for police staff” after the Court of Appeal upheld an industrial ...
Subscribers only
Appeal over British Steel sell-off (338 words)
Unions have urged the government to ensure that British Steel is sold “as a whole”. In late May, news emerged of 80 potential purchasers for the ... Subscribers only
Security privatisation (151 words)
The PCS civil service union fears increased risk to the safety of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) staff following the announcement that HMRC is ...
Open access
Traffic wardens (96 words)
Over 120 traffic wardens in Camden, north London, have succeeded in their bid for improved pay after taking 33 days’ strike action.
... Open access
Over a quarter of prison staff have been victims of physical violence (310 words)
Over a quarter of staff working in prisons have been the victim of physical violence within the last year, according to new figures from a coalition ... Subscribers only
Ford must not be let off the hook (214 words)
Unions have said that Ford should not be allowed to “tiptoe away” following the announcement that it is to close its Bridgend engine plant in 2020 ... Open access
Social workers tell of crisis (236 words)
Social workers say they are no longer able to do their jobs effectively because years of cuts have created a crisis in the sector, according to a ... Open access
Unemployment lowest since 1974 (210 words)
The UK unemployment rate is at its lowest level for almost 45 years.
... Open access
Inflation stable (64 words)
Cheaper fares, particularly the cost of flights, were offset by dearer energy and petrol prices, and so the rate of inflation in May under the Retail ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (414 words)
Inflation +3.0% Average earnings +3.3 ... Subscribers only
Union news
Union membership on the rise, but challenges remain (537 words)
The TUC has given a cautious welcome to the rise in trade union membership and union density but says that “challenges still remain”.
... Subscribers only
Lecturers’ union has new leader (171 words)
Members of the UCU university and college lecturers’ union have a new leader after electing Jo Grady in a record turnout.
... Open access
Chris Keates (62 words)
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, has announced that she is to retire after 15 years at the union’s helm.
... Open access
RCN leader role (102 words)
Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) have voted against a proposal to review the leadership role of the organisation.
... Open access
Online petition platform (73 words)
Cross-union campaign group Unions21 has launched a digital platform to encourage workers to speak out about problems at work. WorksForUs allows ... Open access
European news
French government outlines key aspects of pension plans (420 words)
The French prime minister, Edouard Philippe, has presented key elements of his government’s future pension plans which are likely to result in ... Subscribers only
Health and safety gets a boost (228 words)
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has welcomed a new document on health and safety, adopted by the Council of the EU which brings ... Open access
Polish teachers plan to renew strike (87 words)
The largest Polish teachers’ union, ZNP, has said it plans to recommence its strike in September, assuming that the action is backed by union ... Open access
Worker directors lift performance (147 words)
A new study of 560 European companies has found that those with employee representatives on their supervisory boards — bodies setting the ... Open access
Features
Establishing common ground (2,573 words)
Unions are engaging with environmental campaigns and arguing for a workers’ voice in the debate on how to respond to the climate emergency.
... Open access
Unions condemn moral panic over drill music (2,536 words)
Unions have joined the growing chorus of voices criticising the scapegoating of drill musicians over violence, as Labour Research reports.
... Subscribers only
More children face poverty (2,325 words)
Child poverty in working families is now at record levels. And with Tory leadership hopeful Boris Johnson promising tax cuts for the rich, all the ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Victory for paramedics in holiday pay ruling (350 words)
Paramedics who work regular but voluntary overtime have won the right to have their additional hours included in their holiday pay in East of England ... Subscribers only
Blacklisted construction workers receive £1.9 million (280 words)
Fifty-three workers who were blacklisted by the construction industry are set to get compensation totalling £1.9 million in settlement of their ... Subscribers only
Parental leave pay and maternity pay (126 words)
It is not discriminatory to pay men on shared parental leave less than an enhanced rate paid to women on maternity leave says the Court of Appeal in ... Open access
Dismissal for religious advocacy (124 words)
Dismissal of a nurse for initiating conversations about religion with patients was not a breach of her right to freedom of religion, the Court of ... Open access
Law Queries
Pregnancy discrimination (307 words)
Q. I used to have a good working relationship with my manager, but since I announced that I am pregnant she has become a bit distant. Before I was ... Subscribers only
Restructuring (244 words)
Q. Our employer is going through a restructuring process and has told us we have to reapply for our own jobs. Can I refuse? ... Open access
Custom and practice (238 words)
Q. We have always been allowed to have the morning off on the day after our annual conference. But this year our new manager has said we need to take ... Open access
Law Back-up
Can collective agreement terms be legally binding? (886 words)
A recent decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) highlights the question of whether terms in a collective agreement are legally enforceable. ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
School cleaning cuts pose risks to health (335 words)
Cuts to cleaning services in schools are “creating an environment where germs and disease can spread rapidly and with serious repercussions for the ... Subscribers only
Care workers suffer attacks (198 words)
Care workers suffered more than 6,000 violent attacks that left them with serious injuries over the last five years, according to new official ... Open access
Pressure maintained over bullying policy (153 words)
Andrea Leadsom’s resignation as Leader of the House of Commons “must not distract from the essential work on bullying and harassment of ... Open access
Leave for domestic abuse survivors (84 words)
The PCS civil service union is to launch negotiations with the Cabinet Office to secure 10 days’ paid leave for domestic violence survivors.
... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Burnout now officially a work-based syndrome (889 words)
The European trade union body, the ETUI, has welcomed a recent “landmark decision” by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare burnout an ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Train operating firms need greater diversity (350 words)
There is a “glaring gap” between the number of female, black and minority ethnic (BAME) and younger train drivers and the population they serve, ... Subscribers only
Poor support undermines disabled self-employed (262 words)
Growing numbers of disabled people are choosing self-employment, but are being let down by poor support from government, according to joint research ... Subscribers only
Asylum migrants face greater hurdles (263 words)
Migrants who originally migrated to the UK for asylum-based reasons and who are entitled to work here remain less likely to be in employment than ... Subscribers only
Workplace Back-up
Augar review outlines plans for post-18 education (892 words)
Unions have responded to the recently-published, long-awaited Augar Review into post-18 education and funding, including apprenticeships and ... Subscribers only
E-views
e-views (406 words)
I’ve been working with the TUC’s unionlearn learning and skills organisation to create a range of new tools for apprentices and those thinking of ... Subscribers only