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Fact Service April 2020
issue 17 (30/04/2020) - TUC: no return without Covid risk assessment; Minute's silence marks IWMD; 78% of closed businesses have furloughed; Unions take government to court; BMA calls for masks for non-NHS workers; PPE crisis continues; More help goes online; Call for clarity on pregnant workers; Disabled workers request Covid support
Issue 16 (23/04/20) - UK braces for Covid-19's effect on jobs, claims and economy; December to February pay continued upwards; One step forward, one back as PPE "scandal" continues; Unions call for minute's memorial silence; Union action paying off for London bus staff; International unions speak out on Covid-19; Furlough extended
Issue 15 (16/04/2010) - Workforces demand protection from Covid-19; Only 40% of businesses confident of carrying on; No end in sight to medical PPE crisis ; TUC calls for universal credit boost; FCA: pension freedoms have increased risks
Issue 14 (09/04/2020) - Half UK companies likely to furlough workers, a quarter expect redundancies; PHE upgrades coronavirus protection advice; Government promises fail to mask PPE shortage; Minimum wage rises lead employment law changes; International Workers' Memorial Day 2020
Issue 13 (02/04/2020) - Thirty executives share £185 million bonanza; Coronavirus concerns raised with committee; Holiday carry-over rules over COVID-19; UK economy flat; Care workers are not getting protective kit
Issue 17
TUC: no return without Covid risk assessment (502 words)
The TUC is calling for enforceable action to ensure that everyone returning to work does so to a workplace that has been risk-assessed for Covid-19. ...
Subscribers only
Minute’s silence marks IWMD (87 words)
International Workers’ Memorial Day was widely observed this Tuesday (April 28th), after unions’ calls for it to be marked with a minute’s ...
Open access
78% of closed businesses have furloughed (211 words)
Figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that almost a quarter of businesses responding to its survey on the economic effects of ... Open access
Unions take government to court (352 words)
Four public services unions are taking the government to court over pension benefits. The Fire Brigades Union (FBU), prison staff union POA, public ... Subscribers only
BMA calls for masks for non-NHS workers (176 words)
Doctors’ union the British Medical Association (BMA) has said that workers should be provided with face masks, and the public should now be ... Open access
PPE crisis continues (280 words)
There is no sign of an end to the shortage of PPE for the NHS and care sectors. In the latest indication of the scope of the shortfall, the Royal ... Subscribers only
More help goes online (183 words)
Even more resources have been posted online as a way of working around the limitations imposed by the coronavirus lockdown. ... Open access
Call for clarity on pregnant workers (226 words)
UNISON has joined with unions the NEU, UNU and other organisations including Maternity Action and the Fawcett Society in alerting first secretary of ... Open access
Disabled workers request Covid support (169 words)
Disabled workers have asked for support from supermarkets and for the public to respect social distancing. ... Open access
Issue 16
UK braces for Covid-19's effect on jobs, claims and economy (783 words)
Employment in the UK had reached record levels ahead of the coronavirus crisis, latest figures show – news tempered by an increase in unemployment ... Subscribers only
December to February pay continued upwards (438 words)
UK pay has continued to grow faster than inflation. The estimated increases in average weekly earnings in the three months up to February 2020 – ... Subscribers only
One step forward, one back as PPE “scandal” continues (388 words)
The potentially lethal shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for key workers – in particular in the NHS and care sectors – continues, ... Subscribers only
Unions call for minute’s memorial silence (102 words)
UNISON, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives have all asked for the UK to hold a minute’s silence at 11am on 28 April – ... Open access
Union action paying off for London bus staff (150 words)
Intense lobbying by Unite is making London’s bus service safer for its workers. Despite the rising number of deaths among staff (see last issue) ... Open access
International unions speak out on Covid-19 (252 words)
International union bodies have released a joint statement on Covid-19. The TUC, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), America’s AFL-CIO, ... Subscribers only
Furlough extended (119 words)
The TUC has welcomed the extension of the government’s Job Retention Scheme from the end of May to 31 June. General secretary Frances ... Open access
Issue 15
Workforces demand protection from Covid-19 (706 words)
Trade unions are advocating on behalf of workers - many of them in key, non-health service areas such as public and freight transport and the postal ... Subscribers only
Only 40% of businesses confident of carrying on (320 words)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released the second of its new weekly bulletins on the social and economic effects on Britain of Covid-19 ... Subscribers only
No end in sight to medical PPE crisis (887 words)
Extra supplies of vital PPE are finally reaching NHS staff in large numbers, but grave shortages continue, with potentially fatal consequences. At ... Subscribers only
TUC calls for universal credit boost (298 words)
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has appealed for an emergency top-up to universal credit to help people through the coronavirus outbreak. It ... Subscribers only
FCA: pension freedoms have increased risks (157 words)
The introduction of pension freedoms has contributed to a “significant risk of harm” to consumers, according to the Financial Conduct Authority ... Open access
Issue 14
Half UK companies likely to furlough workers, a quarter expect redundancies (889 words)
Just over half of UK companies look set to take advantage of the UK government’s furlough scheme - but a quarter of them also expect to make ... Subscribers only
PHE upgrades coronavirus protection advice (278 words)
Public Health England (PHE) has changed its guidance to health workers fighting Covid-19, advising them to move to a higher infection control ... Subscribers only
Government promises fail to mask PPE shortage (527 words)
Trade unions have been at the forefront of efforts to secure changes to working practices in order to meet the challenge of serving the public during ... Subscribers only
Minimum wage rises lead employment law changes (514 words)
A number of scheduled changes to employment law came into force this month. The headline one was the rise from 1 April in the National Living Wage ... Subscribers only
International Workers' Memorial Day 2020 (215 words)
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has announced that it is to repurpose International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD) on April 28 as ... Open access
Issue 13
Thirty executives share £185 million bonanza (747 words)
The company reporting season is under way in spite of the COVID-19 crisis and thirty top executives who received a total on £184.8 million feature ... Subscribers only
Coronavirus concerns raised with committee (480 words)
Worries from concerned workers have been revealed by the House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee. ... Subscribers only
Holiday carry-over rules over COVID-19 (323 words)
Workers who have not taken all of their statutory annual leave entitlement due to COVID-19 will now be able to carry it over into the next two leave ... Subscribers only
UK economy flat (167 words)
The UK economy ended last year on a flat note, official data shows. ... Open access
Care workers are not getting protective kit (515 words)
Social care workers across the country are at breaking point with many being given just plastic aprons and gloves to protect against coronavirus as ... Subscribers only