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Workplace Report February 2020
Post and telecoms - Royal Mail faces industrial action over breach of agreements while BT face possible strike action over compulsory redundancies; Outsourcing - Union organisation has been building in outsourcing firms, and has achieved important victories; Latest case law on discrimination
Pay and prices
January rise of 2.8% for deals (100 words)
There was a boost to pay settlements in the New Year.
...
Open access
Labour Research Department’s Payline Database (226 words)
Percentage increases on lowest basic rates (by agreements covered)
... Open access
Average weekly earnings (AWE) (267 words)
Regular pay excluding bonuses. Percentage annual increases
...
Subscribers only
Full-time weekly average earnings (40 words)
ASHE 2019 median uprated by AWE. ... Open access
XpertHR (19 words)
Median increases for three months to January 2020 ... Open access
Prices (78 words)
1 Retail Prices Index (RPI),
Jan ’87=100 ... Open access
2020 forecasts (39 words)
1 Fourth quarter ... Open access
Bargaining news
Government plays catch up with teachers' pay (740 words)
Schoolteachers in England have been promised the “biggest sustained uplift to their pay ranges since 2005”, but unions are sceptical, and want to ... Subscribers only
BT Consumer attendance deal gets thumbs-up from CWU (373 words)
The CWU communication workers’ union has reached an agreement with BT Consumer on improvements to attendance arrangements.
... Subscribers only
Bill aims to allow CDC pension schemes (294 words)
A new Pension Schemes Bill working its way through the parliamentary system will finally introduce some much discussed new initiatives.
... Subscribers only
Revamped minimum wage enforcement regime (274 words)
New rules for cracking down on employers who do not pay the National Minimum Wage (NMW)/National Living Wage have been published by the government. ... Subscribers only
Exploitation highlights need for labour enforcer (422 words)
The Tory government has plans for a major overhaul of labour market enforcement, amid growing concern for workers trapped in conditions of modern ... Subscribers only
Bakery unions push back against ‘consolidated’ wage rates (293 words)
Failure by Northern Ireland bakery firms to ensure enhance hourly rates that include consolidated additions such as overtime and shift allowances, ... Subscribers only
Threat to offshore bargaining (260 words)
Energy sector contractors represented by the Offshore Contractors’ Association (OCA) have indicated their intention to serve notice on the trade ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Joint project to explore pay and advancement for ethnic minority women (347 words)
Campaigners, the Fawcett Society and Runnymede Trust, are working in partnership to deliver a project exploring the pay and progression of ethnic ... Subscribers only
Bristol Uni and UCU agree plan to tackle gender pay gap (330 words)
Ambitious plans to eliminate the gender pay gap at the University of Bristol have been set out in a landmark agreement between the UCU university and ... Subscribers only
Landmark guide to LGBT inclusive apprenticeships (238 words)
Unionlearn has launched the first ever lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) inclusive guide to apprenticeships.
... Open access
Learning and training news
All-time low for lifelong learning (404 words)
Current digital and technological changes are rapidly advancing at a time when participation in lifelong learning in the UK, and therefore access to ... Subscribers only
Recruitment and organisation news
TSSA build on relationship with UK arm of train builder (276 words)
The TSSA transport staff union has reached an important recognition agreement in principle with Spanish train manufacturer TALGO.
... Subscribers only
MU strikes the right note (128 words)
The Musicians’ Union (MU) has recorded a bumper year for membership recruitment, with numbers rising by over 5% to 32,055 from 30,319.
... Open access
Derecognition move by offshore companies (88 words)
Three unions representing offshore workers have condemned plans they say are being made by the Offshore Contractors Association (OCA) to terminate ... Open access
European news
Three-year Danish deal brings real-term pay increases (393 words)
Danish unions, acting together in the CO Industri negotiating group, have a signed a three year agreement with the DI employers’ association.
... Subscribers only
German care workers get more but still want collective deal (346 words)
Service workers’ union Ver.di has welcomed a recommendation from Germany’s official commission on social care for the elderly that pay for those ... Subscribers only
It’s double pay cheer at Heineken, Netherlands (123 words)
Unions have agreed a 7.5% pay increase for workers at Heineken in the Netherlands, paid in stages.
... Open access
Minimum wage in Spain (105 words)
The national minimum wage in Spain is being increased by 5.5% this year to €950, although as this monthly amount is paid 14 times, with extra ... Open access
Supermarket increases pay in Poland (82 words)
Kaufland, the German supermarket chain with around 16,000 employees in Poland, is increasing pay for its cashiers by between 7% and 15% from March, ... Open access
Law - Discrimination
Discrimination - the law (883 words)
Discrimination law is found in the Equality Act 2010 (EA10). The EA10 lists nine “protected characteristics”: age; disability; gender ... Subscribers only
Employer not liable for third-party harassment (914 words)
Mr Bessong works as a registered mental health nurse for an NHS Trust. He is Black and Asian. Bessong
suffered a serious assault and racial abuse ... Subscribers only
Baseless theft accusation tainted by racial prejudice (777 words)
Miss Otshudi is from the Democratic Republic of Congo and of Black African ethnicity. She worked as a photographer for a childrenswear retailer, ... Subscribers only
Unwanted shoulder massage was not related to sex (710 words)
Mr Raj worked for business services group Capita, as a Customer Service agent, processing forms for the NHS until he was dismissed at the end of his ... Subscribers only
Tribunal could draw inferences from male managers’ sexist views (689 words)
Ms Rajput held a senior position at the bank where she worked. She became pregnant. ... Subscribers only
Disability discrimination not to offer agency worker trial period (594 words)
Ms Oldfield was assigned as an agency worker to Birtenshaw, a charity running homes for children and young adults with disabilities and special ... Subscribers only
Health & safety news
Bladder cancer just one target of GMB campaign (392 words)
The GMB general union launched a new bladder cancer campaign to mark World Cancer Day on 4 February.
... Subscribers only
Union concerns over ‘toxic fog’ in Leeds rail depot (308 words)
Toxic diesel fumes emitted by trains at a Leeds rail depot could be linked to cancers among the workforce, according to the general Unite union.
... Subscribers only
Education unions step up campaigns on workloads (276 words)
Unions organising in further education (FE) in Wales have opened strike ballots in the latest phase of their campaign for action on “spiralling ... Subscribers only
Health & safety - HSE Monitor
Outdoor workers exposed to high levels of pollution (379 words)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) must recognise exposure to ambient — outdoor — air pollution as an occupational health issue and adopt a ... Subscribers only
Company boss jailed over death of warehouseman (294 words)
Company director Han Rao was handed a four-year jail sentence earlier this month, after being found guilty of the manslaughter by gross negligence of ... Subscribers only
Concerns over drones (160 words)
Pilots’ union BALPA says new research reinforces its concerns that the number of drone flights in controlled airspace is being underestimated.
... Open access
New regulations on decent work in fishing (117 words)
UK regulations to implement the International Labour Organization (ILO) work in fishing convention and bring decent work to the industry have been ... Open access
Features
Post and telecoms unions ready to fight over management failures (3,568 words)
Union members at Royal Mail are balloting for industrial action over the future of the service and the managerial breach of agreements, while BT ... Subscribers only
Low-paid workers push back against outsourcing firms (2,289 words)
Recent union victories provide important proof that outsourced workers, when properly organised, are able push back against a system stacked against ... Subscribers only