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Labour Research October 2023
Untangling the problem of hair discrimination at work As Black History Month gets under way, Labour Research examines how hair discrimination at work impacts on Black people Sick and tired of health inequalities There are ‘vast inequalities’ across a range of health services. How can trade unions help to address these? Paternity leave and pay isn’t working Paternity leave and pay arrangements are hopelessly inadequate, with bad consequences for families — and the economy as a whole
News
Demand for funding of public services (227 words)
Last month’s Congress backed a call for investing fair funding in public services. Moving the motion, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea ...
Open access
Anti-union laws: Congress backs campaign of non-compliance (346 words)
As national strike action continued across public services, including the NHS, railways and education, along with many local disputes, delegates at ...
Subscribers only
GMB works to secure jobs at Wilko (296 words)
The GMB general union was last month working with Bassetlaw Council and the Welsh Government, alongside other organisations, in seeking a buyer to ... Subscribers only
Labour in power would transform working people’s lives, says Rayner (490 words)
Delegates are preparing to gather for Labour’s annual conference taking place this month in Liverpool from 8 to 11 October. ... Subscribers only
Party must engage on wealth (243 words)
The TUC last month demanded an “end to the grotesque inequality of the Tory era” and renewed its call for a “national conversation on taxing ... Open access
RPI inflation edges up (70 words)
Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation rose for the year to August, from 9.0% to 9.1%. However, most reports focused on an unexpected slowdown in the ... Open access
Labour market indicators (199 words)
Signs of a cooling labour market could be detected in data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in September: a reduced employment ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (421 words)
Inflation +9.1%, Average earnings +8.1% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Union membership inches up, but more needed to promote growth (541 words)
The TUC has registered a small increase in the total membership of its 48 affiliated unions over the calendar year 2022. ... Subscribers only
Strike map (139 words)
The industrial action support website, Strike Map, has joined up with the GFTU small unions federation in a mutually beneficial collaboration which ... Open access
PCS election (95 words)
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has embarked on the process of electing a new leader to replace retiring Mark Serwotka, who has been ... Open access
European news
Alarm over government plans (159 words)
Finnish unions have become increasingly concerned about the plans of the country’s new government, which came to power in June. ... Open access
Dividends outstrip wages (76 words)
A new study by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has found that while, on average, pay has risen by 6% across Europe so far this year, ... Open access
Germany’s largest union places four-day week on list of demands (290 words)
IG Metall, Germany’s largest union, has put a four-day week on its list of demands in negotiations for steel workers which begin next month. ... Subscribers only
Macron calls for conference to look at low-paid workers’ situation (332 words)
French president Emmanuel Macron has called for a conference between unions and employers to find ways to improve the situation of low-paid workers. ... Subscribers only
Features
Time to put an end to hair discrimination at work (2,132 words)
Last month, the World Afro Day campaign published shocking new research on workplace hair discrimination, revealing that “employers still want ... Subscribers only
Getting to grips with health disparities (2,087 words)
There are “vast inequalities across a range of health services” according to a recent NHS Race and Health Observatory (RHO) review of ethnic ... Subscribers only
Outdated, ungenerous and failing (2,137 words)
Societal norms on gendered parenting are shifting rapidly beyond the patriarchal “men at work, women at home” model. ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Dismissal of Ofsted inspector was unfair (309 words)
The dismissal of an Ofsted inspector was unfair where no disciplinary rules on the use of touch were in place, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ... Subscribers only
Time extension for claims (341 words)
It was right to extend time in a wages claim so that it could be considered, ruled the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in The Sports PR Company Ltd ... Subscribers only
Acas guidance on sickness absence (76 words)
The Acas Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service has released new and updated guidance on sickness absence, and a toolkit with tips and ... Open access
New claim and response forms (151 words)
The courts and tribunals service has issued new claim and response forms (ET1 and ET3) for claimants and respondent employers to use. ... Open access
Law Queries
Q&A (811 words)
Non-work-related accident and sickness pay ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
How can workers respond to variation of contract? (895 words)
There is no statutory right for employers to change contracts of employment unilaterally. ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
‘Sportswashing’ deals must end (172 words)
UK and French anti-asbestos campaigners and victims of asbestos exposure protested outside the France vs New Zealand rugby match in Paris last month, ... Open access
Legal challenge over Bibby Stockholm (64 words)
The FBU firefighters’ union has launched a legal challenge over the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset, which the government wants to use to provide ... Open access
Whistleblowing laws need ‘sweeping reform’ (269 words)
Failure to tackle management bullying is “fatally undermining efforts to prevent the next big NHS safety scandal”, the HCSA doctors’ union said ... Subscribers only
Stop 'culture of cutbacks' (254 words)
The RMT rail union called for an end to “continual” cuts to rail maintenance after the Network Rail rail infrastructure body was last month fined ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Back-up
Health and safety: the key issues reps report (908 words)
The TUC surveys safety reps every two years to help it understand their changing experiences, provide more support, and to inform campaigning ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Young people feel excluded from labour market (241 words)
A significant percentage of young people feel excluded from the labour market, according to a recent report by the City & Guilds Foundation ... Open access
Millions suffer effects of insecure employment (332 words)
The TUC reports that a swathe of the workforce is enduring the effects of insecure employment — and Black and minority ethnic (BME) workers are ... Subscribers only
Mandatory disability pay gap reporting is needed (299 words)
Now is the time to introduce mandatory disability pay gap reporting, says the TUC. The call from the union body follows a new report from the ... Subscribers only
Workplace Back-up
Overall, hybrid working has ‘positive’ outcomes (887 words)
Hybrid working, that mixture of home-based and in-person work, has now spread to many organisations around the country. While there are many types of ... Subscribers only