News

Voluntary sector boom could offset job losses (195 words)

Employment prospects weakened at the start of this year, according to the latest quarterly report from the Manpower employment agency. But while leisure, retail ...

London authority reviews weighting (148 words)

The system of paying London Weighting allowances to compensate workers for the extra costs of living and working in the capital is to be ...

Councils slow on job evaluation (304 words)

Local authorities have been slow to implement local pay and grading reviews as required by the national single status agreement, reveals a survey by ...

Marconi job loss count rises (148 words)

Staff at telecoms group Marconi were faced with more bad news last month when the company warned it was looking to cut its workforce ...

Rail unions call for national bargaining, (509 words)

Rail unions ASLEF and RMT have called for a return to national bargaining to avoid the kind of pay disputes that have been rocking ...

Discontent rises in public sector, (214 words)

The CWU communication workers union is currently balloting nearly 150,000 members in Royal Mail in a pay dispute. The union is seeking 5% plus ...

Key economic indicators

Inflation falls to lowest for 32 years (65 words)

Inflation continued to fall in December, this time to its lowest level since March 1960. The headline rate of 0.7% was 0.2 percentage points ...

TUC looks for interest rate hike (182 words)

December saw unemployment rise for the third month in succession. The claimant count - the number of people out of work and claiming benefit ...

Union news

CWU signs call-centre agreement (102 words)

More than 4,000 call-centre staff are to be covered by a recognition deal struck last month between the CWU communications union and customer-relations company ...

Moss Evans (66 words)

Moss Evans, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G) from 1978-1985, died last month aged 76. He was best known for ...

Workplace partnership (97 words)

Partnership between bosses and employees can bring economic and organisational rewards if instituted correctly, according to two reports released last month. ...

CWU top jobs (43 words)

Tony Kearns has been elected to the post of senior deputy general secretary of the CWU communications union. He was the only man in ...

Recognition deals rocket (282 words)

The number of recognition deals signed by unions tripled in 2001, according to a new TUC survey undertaken by the Labour Research Department. ...

GMB cuts Party funds again (120 words)

The 700,000-strong GMB general union has taken the second decision in a year to slash funding to the Labour Party over its policies on ...

European news

Commission consults on corporate restructuring (245 words)

A European-wide agreement on corporate restructuring could be the result of consultation which the European Commission has started with unions and employers. ...

Italian unions step up strikes (200 words)

Italy's three main union confederations, CGIL, CISL and UIL, have intensified their campaign of industrial action against the right-wing government of Silvio Berlusconi. They ...

French MPs lose bid to limit redundancies (262 words)

The French constitutional council has rejected parts of new regulations on redundancy, which attempted to limit the cases where workers could be dismissed for ...

Features

Key Economic Indicators (308 words)

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Bosses rely on anti-strike law (1860 words)

The headlines talk of a renewed militancy among trade unions. But a Labour Research examination of employers' use of anti-strike laws shows some of ...

Global unions protest on wealth distribution (1420 words)

Unions across the world have stepped into the debate on the liberalisation of global trade. They want protection for workers and a fairer distribution ...

Opposition to housing sales grows (1816 words)

Thousands of council homes have been transferred to housing associations who can finance improvements. But opposition is growing among tenants and unions. ...

Time off for basic skills (1318 words)

The government is to pilot schemes for "workforce development" to improve the UK's lagging productivity levels. And this time it is compensating employers who ...

Underpaid wages (50 words)

According to latest government figures around £6.3 million has been recovered in underpaid wages since the National Minimum Wage was introduced in 1999. On ...

Housesitters' rights (93 words)

An employment tribunal has ruled that individuals who house-sit while the owners are away, perhaps to feed their pets or ensure that the house ...

Fresh start for offenders (104 words)

The TUC is adding its weight to demands for a government re-think on plans to allow employers to ask all job applicants for details ...

Law queries (258 words)

Our employer has taken on three new workers on two-month temporary contracts. They have been told they will not get any holidays or holiday ...

Law queries (188 words)

One of our members was summarily dismissed for being late. Although we accept that he had a bad record for attendance we think that ...

Law queries (105 words)

If an employer retires someone with the offer of a lump sum, but is then found to have unfairly dismissed that employee, can the ...

Law queries (119 words)

One of our members has recently died. He had been pursuing a disability discrimination against his employer at the time of his death. ...

Rulings stress temps' pregnancy rights (746 words)

It is unlawful to discriminate against a woman worker on the grounds of her pregnancy or the fact that she is taking maternity leave. ...

Asbestos campaigners plan action over payouts (413 words)

Asbestos action groups around the country will be meeting this month to plan a campaign in response to recent developments that threaten to rob ...

T&G leader speaks out on safety (112 words)

Bill Morris, general secretary of the T&G general workers' union, has hit back at Manchester Airport managing director David Teale who demanded that Morris ...

New injury targets for food industry (151 words)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Food Section, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and the main food industry trade unions - the GMB ...

Railway staff face record rise in violent attacks (204 words)

The RMT railworkers' union, is calling for urgent action to curb attacks on railway staff. The union was responding to the latest annual railway ...

Drugs and drink are workplace issues (777 words)

A recent survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that over 40% of employers do not have policies on alcohol and ...

Unions should keep an eye on social trends (872 words)

Keeping an eye on overall trends among the population at large is an important aspect of union policy development whether at the workplace or ...

Law Matters

Building workers win holiday rights (193 words)

Building workers have recently won an important victory in a tribunal claim for the right to paid holidays. ...

Temporary worker regulations will cover pay and pensions (264 words)

As Labour Research went to press the government was planning to publish its response to a public consultation which it conducted last year into ...

Equality news

Government consults over wider discrimination law (335 words)

The TUC and equality organisations have welcomed the government's consultation document on the introduction of wider anti-discrimination legislation. Towards equality and diversity was published ...

Unions develop new ways to tackle workplace racism (249 words)

Unions and the TUC are finding new ways to tackle racism at work. One such measure are the "prompt cards" which help shop stewards ...

Women teachers stuck with temp jobs (65 words)

Eighty-six percent of teachers on temporary contracts in Scottish schools are women, according to a recent survey by the EIS Scottish teachers' union. EIS ...

Reviews

Contracting culture: from CCT to PPS. The private provision of public services and its impact on employment relations (146 words)

* Sanjiv Sachdev, Kingston University for UNISON, 44 pages, A4, paperback ...

Maternity and parental rights (183 words)

* Camilla Palmer and Joanna Wade, 2nd edition, Legal Action Group in association with the Maternity Alliance, 242 Pentonville Road, London N1 9UN, 529 ...

Gender democracy in trade unions (121 words)

Anne McBride, Ashgate Publishing Limited, 202 pages, hardback, £39.95 ...

E-views

E-views (277 words)

Since 1997, the Labourstart website has run an annual online poll to find the labour movement website of the year. This year's winner in ...