News

Union anxious over BT closures (218 words)

The CWU communication workers union is deeply concerned at BT Retail's plans to shut 61 call centres over the next two to four years ...

Jobcentre strike is over, as others set to begin (337 words)

The long-running dispute over safety in jobcentres is finally over with 65,000 members of the PCS union overwhelmingly accepting a deal which ended the ...

Teacher unions slam performance pay deal (179 words)

The threat of industrial action by head teachers in England and Wales over funding of teachers' performance pay ended last month, but the row ...

Builders' pay deal will give stability (80 words)

Last month 60,000 engineering construction workers received the first instalment of a two-year deal that will see basic rates rise by up to 33%. ...

Thomas Cook ignores protest (338 words)

Angry staff at travel company Thomas Cook were snubbed by management last month when their union, the TSSA, tried in vain to protest against ...

TUC demands fat cat restraint (180 words)

The huge pay gap between directors and their employees has continued to rise despite opposition from the public, says the TUC. ...

"Miserly" rise in minimum wage slammed (222 words)

Public service union UNISON has criticised as "miserly" the 10 pence an hour rise in the minimum wage announced last month. ...

Jobless upward slope reversed (204 words)

Unemployment - based on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition - fell by 14,000 to 1.52 million in the three months to February or ...

Fuel price rise pushes up RPI (56 words)

Inflation edged up to 1.3% in March from the figure of 1% a month earlier. Much of the increase was due to higher petrol ...

Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (311 words)

FULL-TIME AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS ...

Union news

Top Labour official angers union leaders (359 words)

Relations between unions and the Labour Party remained tense last month after the Party's general secretary said unions must not be allowed to "buy" ...

Sally Hunt at top of AUT (43 words)

Sally Hunt has been elected to lead the 44,000-strong Association of University Teachers. She beat off two male challengers to become one of just ...

Amicus election (50 words)

The election for general secretary of the Amicus AEEU section will be held in June, soon after the union's annual conference, which runs from ...

Teaching merger (108 words)

The potential merger of the three main teaching unions suffered a setback last month when members of the second largest, the NASUWT, supported an ...

Vertex recognition (57 words)

An important recognition deal has been struck between outsourcing specialists Vertex and the CWU communications union. The "collective bargaining recognition and partnership agreement" was ...

Monks likely to quit TUC job (148 words)

TUC general secretary John Monks is likely to quit his post in summer 2003 after announcing his plan to stand for the position of ...

European news

German unions meet at critical point (415 words)

The German union confederation, the DGB, holds its four-yearly congress at the end of this month at a critical time for the trade unions ...

Unions challenge Berlusconi as general strike stops Italy (265 words)

Italy came to an almost complete standstill last month as 13 million stopped work to protest against government policies, particularly plans to make it ...

Features

Unions give Party more than cash (1877 words)

Labour's recent suggestion that unions are trying to "buy policies" ignores the huge campaigning and organisational work unions do at elections. Steve Ludlam of ...

The kids the World Cup relies on (1942 words)

The issue of child labour and sweatshop conditions for workers worldwide will be put in focus when the 2002 World Cup kicks off later ...

Cutting the capital's congestion (2334 words)

Most trade unions support London's congestion charge, which comes into force next February. But some are calling for exemptions for certain groups of workers. ...

Gene discrimination (1578 words)

As "the science of genetics explodes, and technology becomes more accessible, the issue of how society protects its workers against the misuse of genetic ...

Self-employed need real safety rights, says TUC (341 words)

The TUC is urging the European Commission (EC) to give self-employed workers real health and safety rights. An EC proposal, announced last month, is ...

Train drivers launch hours campaign (272 words)

Train drivers' union ASLEF launched its campaign on excessive driving hours to coincide with the third International Railway Workers Day of Action on 26 ...

Push for greater asthma awareness (223 words)

World Asthma Day is being held this year on 7 May. It is sponsored by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) Programme which includes ...

Childcare is still main hurdle for mums who want to work (286 words)

Mothers still face considerable difficulties in undertaking paid work, according to a new report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). ...

Workers reluctant to reveal mental health problems (226 words)

Only a third of people who have experienced mental health problems feel secure about revealing this on job application forms, according to a recent ...

Most women see work and society as discriminatory (356 words)

Two-thirds of women questioned by She magazine and the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) believe that race can limit career choice and career progression. ...

Law Matters

Government to extend part timers' rights (223 words)

The government has announced that it will change the rules which determine how part timers claim equal rights to full-time workers. ...

Holiday rights for long-term sick (90 words)

Workers on long-term sickness absence or taking unpaid leave have the right to at least four weeks' paid holidays a year, according to the ...

Breach of contract claims (118 words)

Claims involving alleged breaches of contract can usually only be taken through the normal civil courts - the county or high courts. The one ...

Positive measures (123 words)

The European Court of Justice has held that a scheme which is aimed at improving the participation of women in the labour market, through ...

Employment Bill is "anti-employee" (199 words)

An all-party parliamentary committee on human rights has attacked the current Employment Bill as "anti-employee". ...

Law Queries

Law Queries (199 words)

* Our employers have told one of our members that he is to be disciplined and could be dismissed. They say that they have ...

Law Queries (183 words)

* My daughter is a hairdresser. She has been working for a salon for six months and has not been very happy there. She ...

Law Queries (224 words)

* I work for a large supermarket that has recently been taken over. Existing staff have been allowed to retain their terms and conditions ...

Law Queries (156 words)

* Our employers have said that they intend to get rid of all the temps and make them work through an agency. Our temps, ...

Law Back-up

How to ensure you get a fair job reference (753 words)

Getting a good reference from an old employer is often the best guarantee of future job offers. But what happens if your ex-employer refuses ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Working alone can pose significant risks (709 words)

The hazards of working alone are of increasing concern. The last TUC survey of safety reps (2000) found a third reporting it as one ...

Workplace Back-up

Porters and professors get single pay spine (723 words)

This summer the higher education sector will be transformed, with a single negotiating framework taking the place of 10 separate bargaining groups. Back-up looks ...

Reviews

Reviews (348 words)

Fast food nation ...

Reviews (216 words)

Muck, silk and socialism ...

Reviews (102 words)

The hate debate ...