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Labour Research October 2021
Ethnicity pay gap reporting must be introduced - mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting is needed to cast light on and address race inequality in the workplace, say unions; What do unions want from the climate change talks? - as the COP26 conference gets under way at the end of this month, Labour Research examines what unions are looking for from the talks; Bill means more access for private companies - the government’s Health and Social Care Bill will add to NHS fragmentation and lead to greater influence from private firms
News
Government’s decision on health and social care levy condemned (494 words)
Health unions have slammed the government’s decision to implement a National Insurance hike to raise money to fund social care, and have ...
Subscribers only
Analysis warns of urban job losses (271 words)
Councils are warning of up to half a million job losses in urban areas as they struggle to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. ... Subscribers only
Food campaign supported (246 words)
The BFAWU foodworkers’ union’s ongoing “right to food” campaign gained the support of last month’s TUC Congress. The union’s motion ...
Open access
Unions give thumbs up to public campaign for three-day weekend (286 words)
Unions have supported calls for a three-day weekend with no loss of pay after a motion by the UCU university and college lecturers’ union passed at ... Subscribers only
TUC calls for economic reset (270 words)
The TUC has called for an urgent economic reset to tackle the huge Covid class divide. TUC research has revealed the extent to which low-paid workers ... Subscribers only
Backing given for nuclear plants (233 words)
The GMB general union’s motion for a new generation of nuclear plants received backing at last month’s Congress. The motion was seconded by the ... Open access
Job vacancies hit record high (192 words)
Record vacancy levels and headline-grabbing earnings growth point to a seemingly buoyant labour market. But with the furlough scheme now ended, we ... Open access
Inflation climbs (72 words)
Retail Prices Index inflation reached 4.8% in August, more than three times its 1.5% March level and up from 3.8% in July. ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (412 words)
Inflation + 4.8%, average earnings 7.1% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Graham trains her sights on online retail behemoth (318 words)
Sharon Graham, the new general secretary of the Unite general union, has pledged to use her experience in “leverage” campaigning to organise ... Subscribers only
RCN cancels policy debates (264 words)
The RCN nursing union was forced to cancel all policy debates at its annual Congress last month as part of the fallout of serious allegations of ... Subscribers only
Organising in the private sector (119 words)
Delegates at last month’s TUC Congress called on the General Council to take further steps to foster union organisation in the private sector. ... Open access
Political fund contributors up (121 words)
More union members paid into union political funds in their latest accounting year (usually 2019) than did so in the previous year, according to the ... Open access
European news
Uber trumped by union body in Netherlands court case (358 words)
An Amsterdam court has found in favour of the FNV union confederation and against the ride hailing company Uber in a dispute over the employment ... Subscribers only
Polish health workers demand action (295 words)
Polish health workers, who have set up a protest camp in front of the prime minister’s offices in Warsaw, have called for swift action from the ... Subscribers only
Court blocks agreement (212 words)
The European Court of Justice, the EU’s highest court, has backed an earlier judgment that the European Commission, the EU’s civil service, is ... Open access
Features
Race pay gap reporting ‘an obvious first step’ (2,098 words)
While ethnicity pay gap reporting could help address the disparity in earnings between black and minority ethnic employees and their white ... Open access
Trade unions and COP26 (2,270 words)
The United Nations Climate Change Conference gets underway in Glasgow at the end of this month. What do unions want to see come out of it? ... Subscribers only
Bill signals more private influence (1,883 words)
The Health and Care Bill is expected to return to Parliament next month. Unions are concerned that the latest ‘reforms’ mean more fragmentation ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Instruction to work extra days infringed working time rights (480 words)
A sales assistant who alleged her rights under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) were infringed when she was instructed to work 14 consecutive ... Subscribers only
Time limit for unlawful inducement claim runs from date of offer (387 words)
A claim for unlawful inducement has failed in the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) because it was brought after the employer notified the unions’ ... Subscribers only
Law Queries
Dispute over fitness to return to work (165 words)
Q. A member who has been off on long term sick leave for five months has now been signed off as fit to return by her GP. But the company won’t let ... Open access
Change of hours (298 words)
Q. I’ve been told my work hours are going to change because more people working from home means fewer people in the office to deal with customer ... Subscribers only
Disciplinary and concurrent grievance (257 words)
Q. My manager has been picking on me ever since I started working for her three years ago — including finding criticism with my work that isn’t ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
Dismissal without appeal: is it necessarily unfair? (911 words)
Does the lack of an appeal inevitably make a dismissal unfair? This month, Back-up looks at the circumstances in which a dismissal can be fair ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Ill health exacerbates lorry driver shortage (391 words)
Ill health is a major factor in the increasing shortage of lorry drivers, according to new research by the Unite general union. ... Subscribers only
COVID inquiry welcomed (157 words)
The UNISON Scotland public services union has welcomed the news that work is underway to set up a public inquiry to investigate the handling of the ... Open access
Renewables’ poor record under fire (240 words)
The rate of lost time injuries in offshore renewables was four times as high in 2020 as in offshore oil and gas, itself a high hazard industry, the ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Women’s needs must be placed on the agenda (798 words)
Last month, a Hazards Campaign event saw the UK launch of Bent out of shape — shame, solidarity and women’s bodies at work, the latest book by Dr ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Improved climate for equality bargaining (359 words)
In the two years before the outbreak of Covid-19, there were signs that the climate for equality bargaining had improved slightly compared with the ... Subscribers only
Parents struggle to find affordable childcare (282 words)
Difficulty accessing early years provision has left more than a quarter of parents with under-fives (27%) struggling to balance work and childcare, ... Subscribers only
Women of colour hampered (239 words)
While women of colour are severely underrepresented in management and senior leadership positions, the structural oppressions and systemic ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
What does good flexible working look like now? (866 words)
The post-lockdown world shouldn’t just be about home or hybrid working — it’s also an opportunity to highlight existing flexible working ... Subscribers only
E-views
e-views (405 words)
The firefighters’ FBU union has recently launched its next generation website. ... Subscribers only