![[Basket]](images/basket.png){kind=small}
Your order![[cover image]](images/issue/LR202008.jpg)
Labour Research August 2020
Pandemic used to further NHS privatisation - critics say the government has “turbo charged” outsourcing of the NHS under cover of the coronavirus crisis; Charities struggle to stay afloat - the charity sector has seen a sharp fall in income while demand for services have risen creating a perfect financial storm; Young workers hardest hit economically - young workers aged under 25 are among those most likely to have lost work due to furloughing, job losses and hours reductions
News
Ministers ‘watching from sidelines’ as disaster unfolds (431 words)
Unions have warned that a national disaster is unfolding with last month’s figures from the Office for National Statistics showing that there are 65 ...
Subscribers only
Rail must return to public hands (244 words)
Rail unions are demanding the government “end the charade of privatisation and the grotesque waste of franchising” after it was confirmed that ...
Open access
Protest over Universal Credit (225 words)
Last month, trade unionists took part in the #UniversalDisCredit online day of action as part of a campaign by the Community section of the Unite ... Open access
Coherent plan necessary for struggling universities sector (267 words)
Universities and colleges desperately need a clear and coherent plan from government if the UK is to avoid losing educational capacity at a time when ... Subscribers only
Schools funding plea issued (261 words)
Education unions are calling on the government to “step up” ahead of the September return to school and amid concern that new funding increases ... Subscribers only
Muted response on public sector pay (244 words)
Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement last month that up to 900,000 public sector workers are to get an above-inflation pay rise received a muted ... Open access
Job loss announcements pile up (211 words)
The fall in output (GDP) continued last month, while job loss announcements piled up, making future rises in unemployment inevitable. ... Open access
Inflation subdued (64 words)
Inflation was subdued again last month. ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (402 words)
Inflation +1.1%, Average earnings -1.2% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Dave Prentis announces retirement as UNISON boss (313 words)
Dave Prentis, for two decades leader of the giant public services union UNISON, announced his retirement last month — just as his union announced a ... Subscribers only
Membership of TUC-affiliated unions records modest fall (282 words)
Total TUC union membership for the year leading up to the coronavirus pandemic showed a slight fall on the previous year. ... Subscribers only
Recognition claim by pharmacists’ union (108 words)
The PDAU pharmacists’ union has lodged a claim for statutory recognition for pharmacists at Lloyds Pharmacy — the UK’s second largest community ... Open access
Thousands attend TUC Organise 2020 (115 words)
Thousands of attendances were recorded for the 28 sessions of last month’s TUC Organise 2020 online event, the TUC says. ... Open access
European news
France agrees to slow down contentious pension reforms (353 words)
New French prime minister, Jean Castex, has said that changes to the country’s pension system are “necessary”, but he has agreed to slow down ... Subscribers only
Spain’s recovery plan agreed (291 words)
Spain’s two main union confederations, CCOO and the UGT, have reached agreement with the country’s two main employers’ associations and the ... Subscribers only
New rights for European drivers (131 words)
The European Parliament has given final approval to EU legislation on new rights for lorry, bus and coach drivers. The proposals, backed by the ... Open access
Call for limit on temporary work (101 words)
The FNV, the largest union organisation in the Netherlands, has called for a six-month limit on the use of temporary employment contracts. The ... Open access
Features
Tories use crisis to ramp up privatisation (2,744 words)
There is growing concern that the government has been using the coronavirus crisis to accelerate NHS privatisation. Labour Research reports. ... Open access
Crisis floors charity sector (2,566 words)
The charity sector faces huge problems due to the financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, as Labour Research reports. ... Subscribers only
Young workers hardest hit (2,327 words)
Chancellor Rishi Sunak last month announced a financial support package to try to save jobs in some of the sectors hardest hit by the coronavirus ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Government support doesn’t go far enough (328 words)
Payments from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for workers who are on furlough will end on 31 October 2020. ... Subscribers only
Holiday pay should not include profitability bonus (308 words)
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that workers’ holiday pay should not include a profitability bonus that was dependent on the ... Subscribers only
Views sought over laws on domestic abuse (219 words)
As part of a wider review of support for workers experiencing domestic abuse, the government is seeking views on what workplace laws could be used, ... Open access
Law Queries
Detriment for whistleblowing (291 words)
Q. I’ve made a few complaints to our head of department and to HR about my line manager — a bully whose behaviour is making people ill with ... Subscribers only
Homeworking post-lockdown (268 words)
Q. I’ve been working from home while I’ve been on lockdown. My employer is due to reopen and has told me I must return to the office. But I’d ... Subscribers only
Redundancy after furlough (167 words)
Q. My workplace is closing down and I’ve been given notice of redundancy. My employer has calculated my redundancy pay based on my furlough pay, ... Open access
Law Back-up
Can you challenge your selection for redundancy? (909 words)
Back-up looks at the law relating to redundancy selection, including when employees are asked to reapply for their own jobs. ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Back-up
At-risk employees need furlough extension (829 words)
From 1 August, there is a change in guidance on the coronavirus for clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) people. Back-up reports. ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Mothers pay heavy price for pandemic lockdown (385 words)
UK mothers have faced job insecurity and increased childcare responsibilities due to school closures, massive rates of job loss and furloughing, and ... Subscribers only
Financially-stretched families even worse off (277 words)
Many hard-pressed families have been forced to borrow money since the start of the coronavirus crisis, research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and ... Subscribers only
BAME workers feel obliged to hide identity (240 words)
Nearly half of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) workers in the UK (49%) say they feel they have to disguise part of their identity to fit in ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
How does the pandemic affect our pensions? (849 words)
Workplace pensions have become one more potential victim of the pandemic. But, as Back-up reports, members are being warned not to rush into ... Subscribers only
E-views
e-views (417 words)
I’ve been working with the TUC on the development of their new intranet. It’s just been launched and is developed entirely in SharePoint — a ... Subscribers only
News from LRD
LRD AGM (116 words)
The Labour Research Department’s delayed annual general meeting took place online on 20 July and approved the 2019 report and accounts, which ... Open access