Labour Research August 2024

New Labour MPs' connections with unions The Labour government, elected last month, has 231 new MPs. Labour Research takes a look at their links with trade unions Hot — and bothered: health, safety and climate change The planet recently saw a string of the hottest months on record. What does this mean for workers' health and safety? Crisis in early years provision The TUC, unions and childcare charities continue to point to the woeful state of childcare and early years provision

News

Skills England (151 words)

Unions have embraced the government’s launch of Skills England — a new body which, Labour says,will deal with Britain's "fragmented and broken" ...
Open access

Green News (91 words)

Labour Research now has a new environmental and climate change news page (see page 23) — covering these issues from a trade union perspective. This ...
Open access

Unions say they stand ready to work with Labour government (376 words)

Unions welcomed Labour’s landslide general election victory on 4 July and made clear they stand ready to work with the new government to deliver on ...
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Council and school workers on verge of taking strike action (233 words)

Thousands of council and school workers were on the verge of taking strike action after members of the UNISON public services union voted to reject a ...
Open access

Labour's New Deal 'can be start of a new chapter' for working people (306 words)

“This King’s Speech begins the process of repairing and rebuilding Britain after 14 years of chaos and decline,” said TUC general secretary ...
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Labour could be 'game changer' (217 words)

Unions representing Tata steelworkers have emphasised that “time is of the essence” in saving 2,800 jobs as they reported positive, high-level ...
Open access

Restore probation service, says Napo (218 words)

The Napo probation and family courts union has called for “a comprehensive investment package” to restore the probation service to the standards ...
Open access

Prices rise more slowly (80 words)

Prices continued to rise more slowly in the 12 months to June, with Retaill Prices Index (RPI) inflation (the preferred measure of union negotiators) ...
Open access

Labour market indicators (207 words)

Statistics continue to show signs of “gradual cooling” in the labour market, the Office for National Statistics said last month. The number of ...
Open access

Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (423 words)

Inflation +2.9%, Average earnings +5.8% ...
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Union news

Unions in Scotland see 'stunning' rise in young worker membership (310 words)

The number of young employees joining trade unions in Scotland soared last year, with the number of union members aged 16-34 rising by a ...
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GMB loses 'agonisingly close' vote for recognition at Amazon (321 words)

Devastated workers at Amazon’s huge Coventry warehouse have turned their attention to legal action against the online giant after the ...
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Stanistreet steps down (54 words)

Michelle Stanistreet is stepping down as general secretary of the NUJ journalists’ union, though she will serve out the rest of her term. ...
Open access

RCN leader (66 words)

The RCN nursing union has appointed Professor Nicola Ranger as its new permanent general secretary and chief executive after she had acted in the ...
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Political funds (49 words)

Members of the BFAWU food workers union have voted by more than 97% in favour of retaining their political fund. The union is not affiliated to the ...
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Recognition wins (61 words)

After a successful recruitment campaign, the PCS civil service union has won two union recognition agreements for security officers employed by G4S ...
Open access

European news

Extra day's leave (98 words)

The latest agreement signed by the German chemical and energy workers’ union, IGBCE, provides an extra day’s leave for union members, the first ...
Open access

ETUC presses for action (58 words)

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has responded to new guidelines published by the re-elected European Commission president, Ursula von ...
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French unions (61 words)

French unions have welcomed the defeat of the far right National Rally party in the elections on 7 July. ...
Open access

Greek government introduces compulsory six-day working (338 words)

While governments and employers in other countries (including Spain — see below), are aiming to cut working time, the Greek government has ...
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Action looms over working time (330 words)

There may be strike action in September to push Spanish employers to shift their position on working time, Unai Sordo, general secretary of CCOO, the ...
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Features

Who are the new Labour MPs? (2,552 words)

Labour’s landslide victory in the 4 July general election saw it win 412 seats (see box on page 10), and the party has 231 new MPs, including many ...
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The heat is on: health and safety and the climate crisis (2,190 words)

The annual Hazards conference at Keele University, one of the biggest grassroots conferences for union safety reps and activists, starts at the end ...
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Parents face childcare nightmare (1,985 words)

Whether they can afford a traditional summer holiday or not — and around a third of Britons can’t — childcare costs over the six-week school ...
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Law Matters

Tribunal erred in failing to consider redeployment (330 words)

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld a claimant’s appeal against the rejection by the Employment Tribunal (ET) of his claim for unfair ...
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No indirect discrimination (322 words)

The Court of Appeal (CA) found there had been no indirect race discrimination against a group of contract workers when the employer failed to pay ...
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Negligence claim struck out (151 words)

The High Court in the case of Nistor & anor v Usdaw [2024] EWHC 1165 (KB) has struck out a negligence claim against the Usdaw shopworkers’ ...
Open access

Long delays for tribunal hearings (98 words)

Figures from the April minutes of the employment tribunals user group meeting reveal very long waits for some cases to be heard. ...
Open access

Law Queries

Q&A (746 words)

Tribunal recommendations ...
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Law Back-up

What does the law say on homeworking? (902 words)

Many contracts of employment include mobility clauses. But in the absence of a mobility clause, requiring the employee to move their place of work ...
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Health & Safety Matters

Increase in attacks against NHS staff (221 words)

University Hospitals Tees has launched a campaign to tackle violence after hospitals reported a 32% increase in attacks against staff over the ...
Open access

Teachers renew call for reform of Ofsted (302 words)

Teaching unions renewed their calls for reform of the Ofsted school inspection system after Reading Borough Council published an independent learning ...
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Health and safety concerns prompt hospital strike (178 words)

Around 50 theatre nurses at London’s Guys and St Thomas’s hospitals have taken strike action after bosses extended their start and finish times. ...
Open access

Climate groups call for ‘clear’ transition plan (310 words)

Ahead of July’s general election, more than 60 environmental groups, including Greenpeace UK and Friends of the Earth, signed an open letter to ...
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Labour's oil and gas ban: unions set out positions (314 words)

The Climate Change Campaign Trade Union Group (CCCTUG), which has 11 national union affiliates including the NEU, UCU and EIS education, PCS and the ...
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Resources highlight pollution issue (229 words)

To mark Clean Air Day on 20 June, the Trade Union Clean Air Network (TUCAN) and Greener Jobs Alliance premiered a new film, All in a day’s work — ...
Open access

Equality news

Shocking discrimination against women in football (218 words)

Shocking levels of discrimination against women in the football industry have been revealed in a recent survey by the professional football network, ...
Open access

Energy and utilities sector fails on diversity (306 words)

The energy and utilities sector continues to languish behind on diversity, according to a new report by the specialist energy service company, Energy ...
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International LGBT+ community supported (306 words)

The TUC’s annual LGBT+ conference at the end of June saw unions demonstrating their support for the international LGBTQ+ community — and ...
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Workplace Back-up

Making the case for a four-day working week (871 words)

A shorter working week with no loss of pay is a classic union aim, one that is gaining new traction from the 4 Day Week campaign. Supporters argue it ...
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