News

Job cuts hit north east and Northern Ireland (376 words)

A move by US multinational Black & Decker to cut 950 jobs at its Spennymoor plant in County Durham and set up a factory ...

Unions extend member services (271 words)

Savings on pet insurance, discounted gym membership and cheaper computer software are just some of the special deals which unions have negotiated for their ...

Farmers' union opposes pay deal (257 words)

The National Farmers Union (NFU) is seeking a judicial review of the 3% pay award agreed by the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) for England ...

Firefighters' union gets massive vote for action (355 words)

The first national strike by firefighters in a quarter of a century was set to begin as Labour Research went to press following an ...

Union sees surge in young members (209 words)

The T&G general union has seen what it describes as "an unprecedented boost in membership amongst young people", having recruited 2,000 under-26-year-olds since July ...

Unions are key to annual hours deals (169 words)

Unions are key to negotiations over annualised hours contracts, according to research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). ...

European news

Spanish unions force government retreat (218 words)

Action by the two main Spanish union confederations, CCOO and UGT, has forced the government to make major concessions on its plans to change ...

German unions seek reassurance (237 words)

Following the unexpected victory of the social-democratic and green coalition in Germany's elections in September, the unions are calling for the re-elected government to ...

General strike hits Italy (122 words)

The main Italian trade union confederation, the CGIL, organised its second general strike this year on 18 October. The strike, which paralysed much of ...

French call for rights under privatisation (207 words)

Around 60,000 French trade unionists took to the streets of Paris last month to demand that their existing rights be maintained in the government's ...

Features

LRD remembers for secretary Roger Simon (721 words)

Roger Simon, who died last month at the age of 88, was the Secretary of the Labour Research Department (LRD) for 12 years between ...

Fines fail to stop danger (2031 words)

Fines on employers for breaking health and safety law are minuscule in comparison to most organisations' resources, even when workers have been killed. No ...

Tough on the jobless (1577 words)

The chancellor is about to take the big stick to unemployed people who don't participate in the New Deal. But the evidence is they ...

Campaigners hail tax credits (2101 words)

While benefit sanctions on the unemployed are the stick, the carrot in the government's strategy to "make work pay" is new tax credits for ...

Sweat on our backs (1658 words)

As the UK textile industry declines, sweatshop conditions are mushrooming both here and in the "third world", where garments are increasingly made. Textile unions ...

Court rules against waiters over tips (225 words)

Restaurant and other service workers who need to boost their low basic pay with tips have been dealt a bitter blow by the courts. ...

Redundancy rights for over-65s (108 words)

An employment tribunal has ruled that men aged over 65 can pursue claims for redundancy and unfair dismissal. Two former clothing workers were dismissed ...

Tribunal chairs not biased (86 words)

The Court of Appeal has ruled that there is no bias in the tribunals system just because there are part-time tribunal chairs who also ...

Sickness procedure (54 words)

Employers will need to re-examine their sickness absence policies in the light of a recent EAT ruling. This held that the employer's failure to ...

Tribunal clarifies indirect discrimination assessment (238 words)

In a recent ruling the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has clarified a couple of key points in how it assesses cases of indirect discrimination. ...

Law queries (207 words)

Under what circumstances can an employer fairly dismiss an employee who is off sick? One of my members has been off sick for nearly ...

Law queries (111 words)

Can you claim a pay increase if pay negotiations are under way when you leave work and are concluded later with a backdated increase? ...

Law queries (194 words)

Do employers still have the right to contact sick employees at their home or does the Human Rights Act 1998 now make this illegal? ...

Law queries (122 words)

Is it true that if you haven't worked for at least a month there is no obligation to give notice if you decide you ...

Law queries (111 words)

My members won a protective award of 60 days' pay because the company failed to consult over impending redundancies. The company is now in ...

Working time is focus for union demonstrations (363 words)

Fatigue kills, so driver hours must be cut - that was the message from T&G transport union members who took part in demonstrations last ...

Hull employer in court over deaths (76 words)

The Health and Safety Executive is prosecuting a property development company and its managing director following the deaths of three workers in Hull. Shaughan ...

Jobcentre Bill Of Rights (57 words)

Jobcentre union PCS and the TUC Unemployed Workers' Combine have launched a Bill of Rights. It sets out what unemployed people and workers in ...

Rail safety statistics (99 words)

Serious safety incidents on the railways were down last year, according to Health and Safety Executive figures published in September. The latest Railway Safety ...

Hundreds of safety week events target stress (238 words)

Unions used last month's European week on safety and health to revitalise campaigning on work-related stress with hundreds of events and activities taking place ...

Unions prepare for safety consultation (759 words)

Major changes to safety reps' rights could follow from a review of the safety rep regulations which starts with a consultation early next year. ...

Law Back-up

Equal pay case allows wider comparisons (785 words)

In September a ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) made it clear that equal pay law can be used to compare the ...

Equality news

Unions join anti-asylum centres coalition (331 words)

Trade unions have joined children's charities, church leaders and refugee groups to condemn the government's proposals for accommodation centres for asylum seekers. ...

TUC wants tougher flexibility regulations (238 words)

The TUC is concerned that the draft regulations on flexible working are stacked against employees and may simply be ignored by bad employers. ...

Older workers often juggle work and caring (275 words)

Many workers in their fifties and sixties are facing increased pressure to juggle their work and caring responsibilities. A survey of local authority employees ...

Workplace Back-up

Employers urged to be fair to ex-offenders (773 words)

New government research shows that ex-offenders continue to face barriers to employment despite targeted help from back-to-work schemes like the New Deal. Back-up looks ...

Reviews

War on Iraq - What Team Bush doesn't want you to know (182 words)

Scott Ritter and William Rivers Pitt, Profile Books, 78 pages, paperback, £4.99 ...

George Lansbury - At the heart of Old Labour (111 words)

John Shepherd; Oxford University Press, 407 pages, hardback, £35.00 ...

Globalisation - Myths and realities 2002 (151 words)

David Coats, TUC, available free either as download from www.tuc.org.uk or from TUC Publications Department, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS ...

E-views

Eviews (316 words)

New technology can be an innovative friend to unions involved in campaigns or disputes, and websites are no exception. ...