News

Pay central to wave of workers' discontent (427 words)

Pay is at the centre of wide ranging industrial disputes this spring. ...

"Thousands" of lecturers needed (168 words)

In February the government announced that an extra 400,000 students will be needed to reach its 50% target by 2010. This will mean recruiting ...

Police pay in conciliation (233 words)

Conciliation got underway last month after members of the Police Federation voted heavily against a proposed "reform" package that would have cut premium payments ...

Action demanded on final salary pensions (363 words)

Trade unions have been joined by personnel and pensions bodies in their call for action to defend final salary pension schemes. ...

More engineering jobs to go (221 words)

Specialist engineering group Smiths has announced a further 1,450 jobs losses - 1,200 of them in the UK - on top of 1,600 job ...

Anger grows over London costs (134 words)

In the first large-scale strike action over London Weighting for around 30 years, thousands of members of the NUT teaching union took strike action ...

Key economic indicators

Inflation back below target (211 words)

The headline rate of inflation fell back to 1.0% in February from 1.3% the previous month. ...

ILO jobless rate creeps up (56 words)

There were 947,200 people out of work and claiming benefit in February, a decrease of 5,000 claimants on the previous month. ...

Key economic indicators (307 words)

Full-time average weekly earnings ...

Union news

Trade unionists call for political fund democracy (323 words)

Debate over trade union links with the Labour Party is hotting up as the union conference season gets under way and over 1,000 trade ...

Teaching union may shift on merger (216 words)

Behind the scenes at the current annual conferences of the three main teaching unions is a radical development that could change the course of ...

Woman heads TUC region (36 words)

Valerie Broom has become the first women to be elected as chair of the TUC Midlands Region. She said she was "particularly keen to ...

Union density stable (161 words)

The latest official figures on trade union membership show that 29% of employees are union members - a similar figure to that recorded a ...

European news

Summit reaches compromise (259 words)

Last month's Barcelona summit produced a series of compromises between the UK and other states, like Italy and Spain, pushing for more liberalisation of ...

EU presses ahead with workers' rights (219 words)

The information and consultation directive has now been finally adopted. However, its publication in the EU Official Journal, the date which marks the start ...

Berlusconi sparks general strike (228 words)

Italy is facing a general strike this month for the first time since 1994. After a period when it seemed that only CGIL, the ...

German employers propose two percent (99 words)

German metal industry employers have come forward with a concrete offer for the first time in the current round of negotiations between employers and ...

Features

Scottish hurtle down PFI road (2100 words)

As Scottish TUC delegates meet in Perth later this month, they will be asking what happened to "partnership government" where public services is concerned. ...

Manufacturing jobs in free fall (1260 words)

Scotland has lost over 18,000 manufacturing jobs over the last 14 months, finds a Labour Research survey. And unions are calling for help. ...

Claims of race bias fall by the wayside (1681 words)

An investigation carried out by Labour Research reveals that existing legislation on race discrimination has not delivered the equality it promised for ethnic minority ...

The rate for the job (1582 words)

Employers are increasingly investigating the "market rate" for the job to ensure they are offering competitive wages. This can lead to higher pay but ...

Messages are mixed on transfer rights (251 words)

A leaked Cabinet Office memo suggests that the government may not deliver on promises of greater protection for public sector workers transfered to the ...

More protection for union activists (169 words)

Trade union activists should have greater protection at work as a result of a recent ruling by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). In a ...

Discrimination claims (77 words)

The Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled that it is good practice for a tribunal to order an employer to interview employees who have been ...

European court to rule on maternity pay case (328 words)

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been referred an important case on maternity pay. The case concerns the treatment of a pay rise ...

Law queries (165 words)

* We have recently won recognition through the statutory scheme. Our employers say that while they accept that they have to recognise the union ...

Law queries (157 words)

* Ten years ago some of the ancillary workers in our hospital transferred to a private company. Their rates of pay and enhancements are ...

Law queries (128 words)

* We understand that, under the new rights to parental leave, parents of children up to the child's fifth birthday have the right to ...

Law queries (129 words)

* Are employers obliged to pay regular wage increases? We have not had our pay increased for two years now and our employers say ...

Law queries (131 words)

* Under what circumstances can a receiver plead special circumstances thereby absolving them or the Secretary of State from paying compensation for lack of ...

Tribunal applicants face new hurdles (848 words)

The Employment Bill is likely to become law in the very near future. Back-up looks at some of its key changes as they affect ...

Report calls for action on older women's health (319 words)

The health and safety of 12 million women is being ignored according to a new report by the TUC and the Pennell Initiative for ...

Employment agencies campaign (123 words)

The Simon Jones Memorial Campaign is calling a national day of action against employment agencies on Wednesday 24th April 2002, the fourth anniversary of ...

Unions warn on gas safety (103 words)

The GMB general union and public services union Unison have warned that the 2,400 job cuts proposed by Transco, the major maintainer and installer ...

Inspection blitz stops work on 20 construction sites (162 words)

A two-day blitz on building sites in Dorset by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors led to work being stopped on 20 sites due ...

Risk filter can help identify RSI dangers (839 words)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published new guidance on how to tackle RSI at work on the last day of February - International ...

Few employers back equal pay reviews (446 words)

Only one employer in a hundred is willing to carry out an equal pay review, according to a survey by Amicus (the merged AEEU ...

Mental health at work (66 words)

The Mental Health Foundation is launching a web-based quiz for employees to measure their stress levels and learn how to look after their mental ...

Promoting race equality code (83 words)

A draft code and guidance on the duty to promote race equality has been produced by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE). The amended ...

Help for migrant workers (79 words)

A guide to the rights of migrant workers has been published by the TUC with the assistance of the Joint Council for the Welfare ...

Report reveals extent and costs of age discrimination (183 words)

One in four people believes that employers are not interested in employing people once they reach 40, according to a report by Help the ...

Unions want end to the two-tier workforce (728 words)

One impact of privatisation has been the creation of a two-tier workforce with many public service workers employed by the private sector working on ...

Reviews

Where Now For Labour? (118 words)

Anthony Giddens, Fabian Society publication, Polity, 84 pages, paperback ...

Small step or giant leap? Towards gender equality at work (161 words)

Sam Hardy, The Industrial Society, 34 pages, A4 size, £10.00 ...

Professionalism, the third logic (70 words)

Eliot Freidson, Polity, 250 pages, paperback £15.99, hardback £55.00 ...

Getting attached - New routes to full employment (75 words)

Max Nathan, Fabian Society, 11 Dartmouth Street, London SW1H 9BN, 36 pages, £6.95 ...

E-views

e-views (334 words)

Later this year will see the launch of a new website from the TUC. Called workSMART, it aims to provide a gateway to trade ...