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Fact Service August 2023
Issue 31: Teachers in England accept 6.5% pay rise. Food and shop price inflation slow TUC: let workers watch. World Cup Almost half think public sector pay is not enough. Taxpayers ‘forced to bankroll’ rail dispute Households missing essential bill payments ‘back to winter levels’.Unions want ‘broken’ civil service reformed. Economic turbulence a factor in worsening situation for children.
Issue 32: UK ‘faces five years of lost growth’. Consultants announce new strike dates. Monitoring tech must only be used with consent, committee says BA workers get big increase Industrial action continues on railways.Six million in insecure work
Issue 33: Inflation rate slows but prices to remain high for foreseeable future. Wages show record growth. Cost of staple foods ‘edges down.’ Funding of public services ‘not fit for purpose’. HSE to act on union’s safety warning
ISSUE 34: Top bosses’ pay rises by half a million pounds each. Median pay falls below 6% 13 million households not heating their homes when cold. Government is failing disabled people, watchdog tells UN. Regulator sets out guidelines to bar sexual harassment. Government borrowing rises but stays below forecast. Union plans London march against ticket office closures.
ISSUE 35 Unions reject strikes bill consultation. TUC: childcare crisis demands strategic Action. Network Rail holds back bonus from strikers. Half of all public sector workers could be employed by NHS by 2036. Food price inflation slows. Universal Credit shortfalls ‘putting millions at risk’. Employment by household inches up.
Issue 35
Unions reject strikes bill consultation (455 words)
Unions who have fought the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act since its inception (see previous issues) have labelled a newly-announced ...
Subscribers only
TUC: childcare crisis demands strategic action (322 words)
The TUC is calling for a new strategy for the care workforce in England after survey results from the Coram children’s charity suggested every ... Subscribers only
Network Rail holds back bonus from strikers (204 words)
The RMT transport union has reacted angrily to reports that Network Rail is withholding annual bonuses from workers who took part in strikes during a ...
Open access
Half of all public sector workers could be employed by NHS by 2036 (346 words)
One in two public sector workers and one in 11 of all workers could be working for the NHS by 2036, IFS research has found. ... Subscribers only
Food price inflation slows (202 words)
The rate of food price inflation slowed to 11.5% in August, down from 13.4% in July. The deceleration is the fourth consecutive one recorded by the ... Open access
Universal Credit shortfalls ‘putting millions at risk’ (597 words)
Universal Credit is falling so far short of the cost of essentials that it is putting the health of millions at risk, organisations representing ... Subscribers only
Employment by household inches up (128 words)
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that, of the estimated 21.3 million households (where at least one member is aged 16 to 64 ... Open access
Issue 34
Top bosses’ pay rises by half a million pounds each (507 words)
While millions of UK workers struggled to make ends meet in the cost of living crisis, top bosses’ pay increased from £3.38 million in 2021 to £3. ... Subscribers only
Median pay falls below 6% (420 words)
The median basic pay award has fallen below 6% for the first time this year, according to specialist consultancy XpertHR, which has tracked it as ... Subscribers only
13 million households not heating their homes when cold (331 words)
As many as 13 million UK households could be putting themselves at risk of illness by not putting the heating on when it is cold out, according to ... Subscribers only
Government is failing disabled people, watchdog tells UN (304 words)
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has sent the United Nations a report accusing the UK government of failing to act on worsening ... Subscribers only
Regulator sets out guidelines to bar sexual harassment (451 words)
The General Medical Council has released Good medical practice 2024, which sets out a guidelines for doctors’ behaviour in the workplace, including ... Subscribers only
Government borrowing rises but stays below forecast (110 words)
Public sector net borrowing in July 2023 reached £4.3 billion, £3.4 billion more than in July 2022 and the fifth-highest July borrowing since ... Open access
Union plans march against ticket office closures (64 words)
The RMT has announced plans to march to Downing Street on 31 August in protest against the planned closure of railway ticket officers. ... Open access
Issue 33
Inflation rate slows but prices to remain high for foreseeable future (379 words)
Inflation slowed to 6.8% CPI/9% RPI in July, thanks to falling energy prices, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has announced. The previous ... Subscribers only
Wages show record growth (594 words)
Wages grew at a record pace from April to June, according to the ONS, with regular pay (excluding bonuses) rising by 7.8%, the highest figure since ... Subscribers only
Cost of staple foods ‘edges down’ (144 words)
Food prices remain high but there are signs that the cost of some staples is “edging down”, according to the Kantar research company. ... Open access
Funding of public services ‘not fit for purpose’ (885 words)
Public spending services are failing to allocate money to many areas of England that need it most, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies ... Subscribers only
HSE to act on union’s safety warning (381 words)
The Health and Safety Executive is to finally investigate a policy from the Fire and Rescue Service on when and how firefighters should use their ... Subscribers only
Issue 32
UK ‘faces five years of lost growth’ (825 words)
The UK is facing is facing five years of lost economic growth, a 60% chance of recession, and widening inequality by the time of the next general ... Subscribers only
Consultants announce new strike dates (408 words)
The BMA doctors’ union has announced that consultants in England will strike on 19 and 20 September – in addition to the already planned two-day ... Subscribers only
Monitoring tech must only be used with consent, committee says (394 words)
Monitoring technology should only be used if the workers it will be watching agree, parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee has stated. ... Subscribers only
BA workers get big increase (157 words)
Around 24,000 staff at British Airways will get a significant pay rise, Unite has announced. ... Open access
Industrial action continues on railways (413 words)
Members of the Aslef train drivers’ union commenced their latest seven-day overtime ban this week.. ... Subscribers only
Six million in insecure work (74 words)
Insecure employment is widespread across the UK labour market and costly to workers grappling with the cost of living crisis, according to the Living ... Open access
Issue 31
Teachers in England accept 6.5% pay rise (542 words)
All four teaching unions in England have accepted a 6.5% pay rise and called off plans for what could have been an autumn of mass action. Industrial ... Subscribers only
Food and shop price inflation slow (235 words)
Food price inflation slowed for the third consecutive month in July, but stayed in double figures. It stood at 13.4% last month, its lowest level ... Open access
TUC: let workers watch World Cup (132 words)
The TUC has called on employers to let staff work flexibly if they want to watch the England Women’s World Cup team play. ... Open access
Almost half think public sector pay is not enough (143 words)
A survey by specialist publication Employee Benefits has found that almost half (46%) of organisations do not think recent public sector pay rises go ... Open access
Taxpayers ‘forced to bankroll’ rail dispute (316 words)
Taxpayers are having to fund the rail dispute, the RMT transport union has reported, after calculating that railway companies are being indemnified ... Subscribers only
Households missing essential bill payments ‘back to winter levels’ (246 words)
Some 2.4 million households missed or defaulted on an essential payment – such as a housing, bill, loan or credit card payment – in the month to 1 ... Open access
Unions want ‘broken’ civil service reformed (202 words)
The general secretaries of two unions have written to the government calling for reform of the “broken beyond repair” civil service pay system. ... Open access
Economic turbulence a factor in worsening situation for children (332 words)
Almost half of parents (47%) reported that their child’s social and emotional skills worsened during the first year of the Covid pandemic – and ... Subscribers only