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Labour Research February 2021
Labour abuse in global supply chains - modern slavery and other abuses in global supply chains have intensified since the start of the coronavirus pandemic; Still prosecuting the War on Want - this month sees the labour movement’s international anti-poverty charity, War on Want, celebrating the 70th anniversary of its founding; What will reform of the inflation measure mean? - Government plans for significant changes to the way inflation is calculated have considerable repercussions for workers
News
Plans for new onslaught on workers’ rights condemned (353 words)
Trade unions responded with fury to reports that the government has secret plans to rip up workers’ rights, including ending the 48-hour week (see ...
Subscribers only
Musicians say government must change its tune on work permits (281 words)
The campaign to enable musicians to work permit-free in the EU has stepped up, with the Musicians’ Union (MU) demanding government support for a ... Subscribers only
Safeguard Eurostar’s future, say unions (234 words)
Rail unions have called for urgent action to prevent the collapse of the vital Eurostar link to the continent after the channel tunnel train operator ...
Open access
Johnson urged to speed up pay rise for health workers (307 words)
Health unions representing more than 1.3 million workers across the UK wrote to prime minister Boris Johnson last month urging him to speed up the ... Subscribers only
Sick pay increase needed (259 words)
The TUC has called on ministers to urgently increase financial support for people who have to self-isolate to help bring down Britain’s ... Subscribers only
Carillion chiefs face legal ban (234 words)
The move to start legal steps to bar eight former directors of the collapsed Carillion construction giant from top boardroom positions has been ... Open access
UK economy remains blighted (206 words)
The disruptive effects of the pandemic are continuing to blight the economy. ... Open access
Inflation rises (69 words)
Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation rose to 1.2% in December, up from 0.9%, bringing it closer to levels seen since the start of the first lockdown. ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (432 words)
Inflation +1.2%, average earnings +3.5% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Christina McAnea elected first woman to lead UNISON (332 words)
When Christina McAnea became leader of the 1.2 million-strong UNISON public services union last month she also became the first woman to head up a UK ... Subscribers only
Charged contest for leadership (294 words)
General union Unite faces a fraught contest in its forthcoming leadership election with the announcement that a fourth hopeful has put his name in ... Subscribers only
Bakers’ union may break with Labour (211 words)
Bakers and food workers’ union BFAWU is considering disaffiliating from the Labour Party and is currently consulting its 17,000 members on the ... Open access
European news
Germany’s works councils set for boost from new law (448 words)
The German government has announced that it will introduce legislation to make it simpler to set up works councils representing employees at the ... Subscribers only
Unions put forward own version of plans for closure of coal mines (190 words)
Mining unions in Poland have put forward their own proposals on the end of coal mining in the country, after expressing their dissatisfaction with ... Open access
Date for Spanish protest (129 words)
The two main Spanish union confederations, CCOO and UGT, have agreed to organise a joint protest against the government on 11 February. They are ... Open access
Representation in French micro enterprises (127 words)
Next month, employees in micro enterprises in France — those with fewer than 11 employees — will be able to vote on which unions should represent ... Open access
Features
Countering labour abuse (2,385 words)
The coronavirus pandemic has shone a light on — and worsened — labour abuses in global supply chains, as Labour Research reports. ... Open access
Seventy years fighting against global poverty (2,203 words)
The labour movement’s international anti-poverty charity, War on Want, celebrates its 70th anniversary this month. ... Subscribers only
Getting the measure of inflation (2,396 words)
Alongside the Spending Review at the end of November last year, chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the government would go ahead with a fundamental ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Post-brexit review of rights gets under way (364 words)
Employment legislation is under review now that Britain is no longer part of the EU. ... Subscribers only
Discrimination cases: allow interim relief, says tribunal (276 words)
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has said interim relief should be available in cases of discrimination. ... Subscribers only
Former Royal Mail manager awarded compensation (247 words)
A former Royal Mail manager has won compensation of more than £233,000 for his claims of harassment, direct discrimination and victimisation. ... Open access
Law Queries
Dismissal appeal time limit (302 words)
Q. I was dismissed with two months’ notice, which runs out next week. I’m still awaiting the outcome of my appeal. I know the time limit for ... Subscribers only
Adjustments after accident (232 words)
Q. I’ve been off work since an injury in a car accident three months ago. I plan to return to work next month. My employer wants me to return full ... Open access
Inducement to end collective bargaining (245 words)
Q. We finally gained recognition with our employer at the beginning of last year. We’ve just been offered a 1% pay rise which members rejected. ... Open access
Law Back-up
University breached laws on victimisation of reps (922 words)
Back-up highlights a recent case that provides a useful review of the scope of protection for carrying out trade union activities when the employer ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Unions urge shutdown of non-essential work (273 words)
Unions have reacted with disbelief that the Westminster and Scottish governments are allowing non-essential work to continue at the same time as ... Subscribers only
Safety rules now outdated (232 words)
Workplace safety rules written at the beginning of the pandemic are out of date, risking the health of essential workers and everyone working outside ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Refusing dangerous work: using ‘Section 44’ (961 words)
Last month, thousands of teachers and support staff forced the government to move to remote teaching for most primary school pupils by sending ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Working class women carry covid work burden (437 words)
Working-class women were the worst affected by spring 2020’s UK-wide lockdown — and the same pattern is likely being repeated again, according to ... Subscribers only
Over-50s face exclusion (233 words)
Employers are failing to identify and tackle potential age bias in their recruitment processes, with most employers interviewed not seeing it as a ... Open access
Parents must be able to access furlough (243 words)
School closures mean the government must ensure employers offer working parents access to the furlough scheme, says the TUC. It is concerned that not ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
Remedying age bias in public sector pensions (710 words)
An attempt to save money on public sector pensions resulted in age discrimination — now the government must put it right, as Back-up reports. ... Subscribers only
E-views
e-views (393 words)
If a website has a lot of content and information, it’s important to provide tools to help visitors navigate through the content to find what ... Subscribers only
News from LRD
2021 LRD AGM (110 words)
The 2021 annual general meeting of the Labour Research Department (LRD) will be held online on Monday 17 May 2021 starting at 2.00pm. ... Open access