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Labour Research June 2023
Do public inquiries lead to meaningful change? Terrible disasters or major government failings often lead to public inquiries. But what, exactly, can these inquiries deliver? Time to divest from fossil fuels Unions are increasingly looking into the risks for pension funds investing in fossil fuels — and promoting alternative reinvestment Exploitation in the seafood industry Many fisheries workers in the global seafood industry are exposed to shocking lawlessness and non-existent health and safety procedures.
News
NMW Bill (146 words)
Labour MP Paula Barker has used the ten-minute rule to introduce a National Minimum Wage Bill in Parliament. ...
Open access
Fair minimum in social care (111 words)
New TUC research shows that raising wages to a fair minimum of £15 an hour across the social care sector would boost England’s economy by £7.7 ... Open access
Stay alert to future threats — despite retreat from Brexit Bill (357 words)
The government has U-turned on its union-condemned plans to revoke thousands of EU laws by the end of the year (see Labour Research, December 2022, ...
Subscribers only
Call for Post Office chief to go over bonuses linked to Horizon inquiry (271 words)
The CWU communication workers’ union has backed Labour MP Kevan Jones’ call for Post Office chief executive Nick Read to “resign or be ... Subscribers only
Unions take to High Court in battle over strike-breaking legislation (342 words)
As the wave of industrial action continued across sectors including health, education, the civil service and railways last month, unions took their ... Subscribers only
Food workers are going hungry (224 words)
More than 60% of food workers have reduced the amount of food they eat, and just under half (45%) reported skipping meals to make sure others could ... Open access
Compensation (130 words)
The BMA medical union has won more than £3 million compensation for a doctor who was unfairly dismissed for whistleblowing. ... Open access
Pensions campaign (122 words)
The Unite general union’s retired members national committee has joined forces with the National Pensioners Convention and the Scottish Pensioners ... Open access
Inflation eases (71 words)
Inflation rates eased to levels last seen a year ago, but prices continue to rise steeply. Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation slowed to 11.4% in ... Open access
Labour market indicators (202 words)
There were contradictory estimates of the employment trend in labour market data released in May. ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (421 words)
Inflation +11.4%, Average earnings +4.9% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Resistence to online behemoth’s anti-union stance continues (432 words)
Unions large and small are starting to nibble away at online giant Amazon’s resistance to union organisation in the UK. ... Subscribers only
Another union agrees to back PR (213 words)
The 360,000-strong retail and distribution union, Usdaw, has become the latest union to back proportional representation (PR) for Westminster ... Open access
Title change (75 words)
The NUJ journalists’ union has decided to abolish the century-old titles for its key workplace representatives of “mother of chapel” and ... Open access
Inter-union dispute (71 words)
Three unions who organise school support staff have had their complaint about the activities of the National Education Union (NEU) upheld by a TUC ... Open access
Black members (87 words)
Retail and distribution union Usdaw has launched a Black Members’ Development Programme to help address the under-representation of Black members ... Open access
European news
Transparency Directive approved (158 words)
National ministers in EU states have finally approved the EU Pay Transparency Directive, which aims to help close the gender pay gap. ... Open access
Woman to lead largest union (80 words)
A woman is set to be elected as the head of Germany’s largest union, the 2.15-million-member IG Metall, for the first time. ... Open access
Meetings with PM do not alter union resolve over pensions (334 words)
The leaders of France’s five main union confederations held a series of meetings with the French prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, last month. ... Subscribers only
Strikes and strike threats produce significantly improved wage offers (324 words)
Industrial action is becoming more common in the Netherlands, a country that, in the past, has been known for its moderate wage increases and ... Subscribers only
Features
Public inquiries: do they produce change? (2,464 words)
This month marks the sixth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire, with the final report of the public inquiry into the disaster still awaited. This ... Subscribers only
Divesting our pension funds (2,391 words)
At a recent trade union briefing, Rianna Gargiulo, campaign and community organiser at the Friends of the Earth environmental campaign, explained ... Subscribers only
‘The most dangerous industry’ (2,314 words)
In 2014, someone forgot their mobile phone in a taxi in Suva, the capital of Fiji. Under normal circumstances such a mundane act of forgetfulness ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Only one conciliation certificate required for multiple claims (344 words)
The Court of Appeal has ruled that only one early conciliation certificate is required in relation to multiple claim forms. ... Subscribers only
Judgments on appearance of bias (315 words)
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has issued judgments in two recent cases relating to the appearance of bias. ... Subscribers only
Mental health reasonable adjustments (104 words)
Acas has issued new guidance on reasonable adjustments for mental health at work. This is aimed at both employers and workers. ... Open access
New digital platform for ET claims (109 words)
A new platform is being rolled out as part of the project to update case management technology in the Employment Tribunals (ETs). ... Open access
Law Queries
Q&A (877 words)
Tribunal claims made from abroad ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
what legal protection do whistleblowers have? (893 words)
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) is designed to protect whistleblowers from detrimental treatment by their employer. ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Expert body needed (116 words)
A new expert body, with powers to research workplace injury and diseases and make recommendations to the Scottish government on the payment of ... Open access
Compensation for firefighters (101 words)
The FBU marked Firefighters’ Memorial Day on 4 May with a call for the UK government to introduce legislation ensuring firefighters diagnosed with ... Open access
Action on bullying and harassment demanded (333 words)
It will be a “disgrace” if the government allows its own backbenchers to sabotage new laws to prevent harassment at work, the TUC says. ... Subscribers only
Anniversary of Rana Plaza (204 words)
Protesters from the Rana Plaza Solidarity Collective gathered outside clothing stores in central London to remember victims of the fatal factory ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
‘Clean up our air to look after your mind’ (900 words)
The event is coordinated by the Global Action Plan environmental charity which says air pollution is the biggest environmental threat to health. The ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Travellers, Roma and Gypsies face discrimination (224 words)
Romany Gypsy, Roma, Irish Traveller and travelling communities experience extremely high levels of racial assault, poor health, precarious ... Open access
Women experience bias over fertility treatment (301 words)
One in four women undergoing fertility treatment experiences discriminatory treatment at work, according to a recent report. ... Subscribers only
Setback for progress on closing gender pay gap (336 words)
Around 10,000 UK companies, charities, and public sector departments with 250 or more staff filed their gender pay gap figures before the deadline of ... Subscribers only
Workplace Back-up
What’s behind the rise in sickness levels? (914 words)
Sickness absence from work rose last year with the proportion of working hours “lost” at its highest for nearly 20 years. Absence statistics ... Subscribers only