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Labour Research February 2024
What does new partnership law mean for unions? New social partnership legislation in Wales may give trade unions a greater voice. But how will this work? And what might be the pitfalls? Crisis in bus services deepens While bus services outside London have declined considerably in recent years, private bus operators continue to reap huge profits Funding cuts set the stage for arts gloom Despite contributing billions to the economy, the arts sector faces cuts while many cultural workers continue to struggle to make ends meet
News
Maternal deaths (138 words)
The RCM midwives' union has called on the government to take urgent action following figures showing the maternal death rate has reached levels not ...
Open access
Arts cuts (95 words)
Unions have raised serious concerns about a Suffolk County Council proposal to cut its entire arts budget. ... Open access
Junior doctors stage longest single action in NHS history (441 words)
Tens of thousands of junior doctors in England walked out for an unprecedented six days last month - the longest single strike action in NHS history. ...
Subscribers only
Unions march and rally in protest at anti-strike laws (174 words)
Workers from across the country were last month set to march and rally in Cheltenham to mark the 40th anniversary of the Thatcher government's ban on ... Open access
Wales report calls for better enforcement of labour rights (232 words)
Many workers' experience "is characterised by insecurity, stagnant wages, and a labour rights system that provides very little real protection", ... Open access
Withdrawal of Real Living Wage branded 'disgraceful' (234 words)
The CWU communications union has warned the Capita outsourcing giant it may soon be hit by strikes over a "disgraceful" decision to withdraw the ... Open access
Attendance drive 'irrational' (169 words)
The drive to push all civil servants to attend a workplace at least 60% of the time is "unnecessary, unreasonable and irrational", Mark Serwotka, PCS ... Open access
CEO's bonuses (68 words)
The communications union, the CWU, has called for former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells' bonuses to be returned following the public outrage ... Open access
Inflation pause (68 words)
Inflation rates paused in the year to December as the recent steady slowdown stuck at 5.2% on the Retail Prices Index (RPI), down only slightly from 5 ... Open access
Labour market indicators (184 words)
While vacancies levels and the rate of earnings growth continued to fall, other labour market trends were comparatively steady in the final months of ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (422 words)
Inflation +5.2%, Average earnings +5.0% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Union renews call for talks with online fashion giant over members' concerns (314 words)
Retail union Usdaw has repeated its call for discussions with online fashion retailer Boohoo on union recognition as the company faces damaging ... Subscribers only
Airline pilots' union elects its first female general secretary (221 words)
Airline pilots' union BALPA has joined the ranks of unions with female general secretaries by electing Amy Leversidge to the post unopposed. ... Open access
Cooperative Party (86 words)
The Cooperative Party - sister party to Labour - says it saw a membership growth of almost a fifth between 2019 and 2022 - more than any other ... Open access
European news
Unions oppose immigration law (128 words)
Marylise Leon and Sophie Binet, general secretaries of the CFDT and the CGT respectively, the largest and second largest union confederations in ... Open access
Call for public investment (100 words)
IG Metall, Germany's largest union with 2.15 million members, working primarily in metalworking and textiles, has called for large-scale public ... Open access
Spanish government defies employers on minimum wage (407 words)
The Spanish government has agreed to increase the country's minimum wage by 5% in 2024, despite opposition from the employers. ... Subscribers only
Setback for platform workers (223 words)
The plans for a new directive protecting the right of workers employed through platforms such as Uber and Deliveroo have suffered an unexpected ... Open access
Features
How will new partnership law strengthen workers' voice? (2,171 words)
The Wales trade union movement has welcomed as "historic" and "momentous" the new Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023 - which ... Subscribers only
'Silent war' on bus users (2,032 words)
Later this month, the Better Buses campaign will launch a national petition calling on the government to address the crisis in bus services. ... Subscribers only
What's the outlook for the arts? (2,233 words)
Amateur dramatic societies and operatic companies, unpublished poets and novelists, and weekend rock band and string quartet rehearsals all testify ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Tribunal was wrong over redundancy dismissal (336 words)
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that a tribunal was wrong in finding that a redundancy dismissal was fair where there had been no ... Subscribers only
Guidance on issues with interpreters at hearings (307 words)
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has given guidance on how tribunals should address issues with the quality of an interpreter at a hearing, in ... Subscribers only
Employment agencies and umbrella companies (224 words)
Many workers now work through agencies or umbrella companies, and this can be very confusing. It can often be difficult to establish basic things ... Open access
Law Queries
Q&A (808 words)
Sick pay and two jobs ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
How can trade unions become recognised? (877 words)
A "recognised union" is a union which is recognised "by an employer ... to any extent, for the purposes of collective bargaining". (S178(3) Trade ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Journalists and war (100 words)
The NUJ journalists' union repeated its call for Israel to adhere to international law and ensure journalists are protected as the death toll of ... Open access
Leisure time (141 words)
Workers in countries with the highest levels of collective bargaining coverage enjoy up to a month a year more leisure time, without loss of pay, ... Open access
Anti-strike law is 'inherently unsafe' (289 words)
The general secretary of the ASLEF train drivers' union, Mick Whelan, has described the government's Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 as ... Subscribers only
Push to improve conditions (235 words)
A "groundbreaking" new worker-driven initiative aims to improve working conditions in the UK fishing industry following the exposure of widespread ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Ensuring members' safety in cold weather (916 words)
Employers must ensure that workplaces are safe, and TUC policy officer Shelly Asquith explains this includes making sure they are not too cold. ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Working women have no support for menopause (209 words)
A recent survey from the Unite general union finds that 83% of female members experiencing the menopause do not have access to support within ... Open access
Chief executive pay 109 times that of workers' (342 words)
FTSE 100 CEOs had already earned the median annual salary for a full-time worker in the UK by around 1pm on Thursday 4 January, according to research ... Subscribers only
Women most vulnerable to underemployment (269 words)
Women are most vulnerable to wage, skill, and time-related underemployment, according to new research. ... Subscribers only
Workplace Back-up
Wellbeing policies: are they effective? (807 words)
Wellbeing policies are growing in popularity with employers, who see them as part of a response to the rising level of sickness absence. ... Subscribers only