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Labour Research May 2021
Who’s taking care of the children? - While private providers rake in huge profits, the market in children’s social care is failing the very young people it is supposed to protect; The COVID-19 toll on women worldwide - Government failures around the world have seen the global COVID crisis lead to devastating consequences for women; Gender-based violence under the spotlight - UK unions are stepping up the fight against violence against women and using a range of initiatives to tackle gender-based violence
News
Aviation industry further threatened by travel plans (328 words)
The aviation industry will remain on “its knees” because of government plans for travel, transport unions have warned. ...
Subscribers only
Government must repudiate ‘insulting’ report on race (275 words)
Unions have come together to call on the government to reject the “insulting” report released by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities at ... Subscribers only
Green job creation in Scotland (230 words)
Scotland needs a fundamentally different approach to maximise green job creation, with hundreds of thousands of jobs at stake, the Scottish TUC ...
Open access
A third of key workers are earning less than £10 an hour (271 words)
Around one in three key workers earn less than the £10 an hour minimum rate demanded by unions, according to TUC analysis. ... Subscribers only
British Gas guilty of ‘bullying’ following sackings, says union (233 words)
British Gas was last month accused of corporate bullying after it carried out the mass sackings of engineers who had refused to sign up to new terms ... Open access
Council finances ravaged (240 words)
Council finances across England and Wales have been hard hit by having to deal with COVID-19 alongside suffering cuts, the UNISON public services ... Open access
Slight fall in joblessness rate (203 words)
Lockdown is being wound down and vaccinations are climbing, but the economy and labour market are still in difficulty. ... Open access
UK inflation edges up (75 words)
Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation edged up very slightly to 1.5%, half a percent ahead of the Consumer Prices Index (CPIH) including a housing ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (413 words)
Inflation +1.5% Average earnings +3.9% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Election gets under way amid continuing controversy (428 words)
Voting takes place this month for a new general secretary of the 600,000-member GMB general union. ... Subscribers only
Teachers’ union goes to the polls (146 words)
An election process is under way for the first ever elected deputy general secretary of the 450,000-strong NEU education union. ... Open access
Unite leadership contest (232 words)
After months of speculation, Unite union general secretary Len McCluskey has announced his resignation, kicking off perhaps the most significant of ... Open access
European news
Irish government launches collective bargaining review (334 words)
The Irish government has launched a major review of collective bargaining in the country which could lead to more extensive union rights. ... Subscribers only
Disability progress threatened (264 words)
The economic disruption caused by COVID-19 threatens the progress that has been made across Europe in integrating disabled people into the labour ... Subscribers only
Works councils (114 words)
The German cabinet has agreed to back new legislation making it easier to set up works councils — elected employee workplace representatives. ... Open access
Delivery workers (123 words)
In Italy, delivery workers for the company Just Eat will in future be covered by the collective agreement for the transport of goods and logistics ... Open access
Features
Privatisation and the market fails children (2,516 words)
Something is going badly wrong in the children’s social care ‘market’, with private companies making huge profits in a broken system failing ... Open access
Crisis hits women hard (2,156 words)
The COVID pandemic has devastated the lives of women and girls across the world, worsening pre-existing gender inequalities. ... Subscribers only
Gender violence highlighted (1,654 words)
Labour Research looks at what unions are doing to tackle the violence women experience on the street and in other public places, as well as in their ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Outsourced contract can be split after TUPE (420 words)
An outsourced contract can be split and transferred to separate contractors under the service provision changes of the Transfer of Undertakings ... Subscribers only
Employee not entitled to choose settlement terms (228 words)
An employer’s offer to gift an employee a company car as part of a redundancy settlement was capable of being a contractual right, but only if all ... Open access
Judge erred in striking out claim (260 words)
An employment judge was wrong to strike out a claim for having no reasonable prospects of success without properly identifying the claims and issues, ... Subscribers only
Law Queries
Flexible shifts (371 words)
Q. We’ve been working a shift pattern for over 10 years where we work 140 hours over a four-week period and any hours above that are “banked” ... Subscribers only
Holiday after maternity (275 words)
Q. Before I went on maternity leave I worked full-time but I will be returning to work part-time. I took nine months’ maternity leave and had not ... Subscribers only
Redundancy and maternity (129 words)
Q. Am I right in thinking it’s unlawful to make someone redundant while they are on maternity leave? ... Open access
Law Back-up
Union loses recognition fight at court of Appeal (904 words)
The ruling followed a legal challenge by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which was blocked from gaining collective bargaining ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Compensation needed for long COVID victims (335 words)
The NASUWT teaching union is demanding financial compensation for teachers and education staff left unable to work as a result of COVID-19. The union ... Subscribers only
Mandatory jabs slammed (153 words)
Forcing care workers to get the COVID-19 jab will be counterproductive and may be discriminatory, unions who organise in the care sector are warning. ... Open access
Step forward in fighting cancer deaths (215 words)
The ETUC European trade union confederation has welcomed “significant amendments” to the European carcinogens and mutagens directive as an ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
TUC publishes advice on safe return to work (922 words)
As the government eases lockdown restrictions in line with its roadmap, published in February, the TUC has published new guidance on a “safe and ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Education must reflect impact of colonialism (391 words)
Teaching unions are calling for education to reflect the extensive impact of empire as well as the major contributions and achievements of Black ... Subscribers only
Employers admit bias (259 words)
A significant minority of employers admit bias against recruiting women who may go on to have children, according to new research by the Young ... Subscribers only
Call for action on BME youth joblessness (254 words)
With the BME youth unemployment rate increasing at twice the rate of that of young white workers during the pandemic, the TUC is calling on the ... Subscribers only
Workplace Back-up
Employee Ownership Trusts: pros and cons (944 words)
Employee ownership is on the increase. But it doesn’t necessarily add up to cooperation or workers’ control, as Back-up reports. ... Subscribers only
E-views
e-views (460 words)
It’s been over a year since we entered the first lockdown in the UK. During this challenging period, there have been many changes to our lives, ... Subscribers only
News from LRD
LRD Annual general meeting (157 words)
The 2021 annual general meeting (AGM) of the Labour Research Department (LRD) will be held online on Monday 17 May 2021 starting at 2.00pm. All ... Open access