News

Inflation stays below target (202 words)

The headline rate of inflation fell to 2.9% in December compared to 3.1% in November - the lowest rate since March 2000. The main ...

Jobless total hits new low (68 words)

Unemployment fell to a new low in December as the number of jobless claimants fell by 2,600 to 1,041,700 or 3.6% of the population. ...

NHS pay rises (128 words)

Most nurses, midwives and professions allied to medicine are to receive pay rises of 3.7% as recommended by their pay review body just before ...

Scrooge in Boots (103 words)

Boots has joined the list of "Scrooge employers" identified by Labour Research (December 2000) by scrapping some of its perks for retired staff, such ...

Firms face discontent (348 words)

The fight is on to save jobs in Luton where General Motors is planning to end car production at the Vauxhall plant with the ...

Manufacturing job losses accelerate (283 words)

Over 5,615 manufacturing jobs were lost in December, according to the GMB general union's monthly Job Watch figures. And the New Year started off ...

Left out of the jobs boom: page 12 (395 words)

Scottish teachers offered 23% ...

Schools crisis "is under-estimated" (305 words)

Teacher unions say teachers "are reaching breaking point" because of teacher shortages and that the government has underestimated the severity of the teacher-supply crisis. ...

Features

KEY ECONOMIC INDICATORS (324 words)

FULL-TIME AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS ...

LAW Q&A (741 words)

* Each year we receive a discretionary performance-related bonus and last September the workforce was told the amount we would be paid for the ...

Report claims that flexibility boosts managers' performance (220 words)

Job sharing and flexible working by senior managers boosts their performance, according to recent research which counteracts the commonly-held view that these forms of ...

International Womens' Day (44 words)

Labour Research wants to hear about activities being organised to celebrate International Women's Day. Please send details by 6 February to Ali Brown, FREEPOST, ...

Employers fail to tackle pay equality (252 words)

Only around one third of employers have checked to see whether their pay systems discriminate against women, although the vast majority (93%) believe their ...

Racism persists in labour market (234 words)

The latest government figures on the participation of different ethnic groups in the labour market show that ethnic minority groups continue to be nearly ...

Safety in the sky up for grabs (1867 words)

As the government confirms it is to abandon control of the traffic in the skies, unions and others are mystified as to why it ...

Left out of the employment boom (1488 words)

Labour will be going into the election campaign with unemployment at a 25-year low. But there remain areas of the UK with stubborn high ...

Two cheers for pensions top up (1571 words)

Stakeholder pensions, soon to come into effect, are an improvement on the personal pensions which many have been forced to rely on. But unions ...

Rail shareholders profit from danger (1495 words)

Last year the Labour government announced a massive boost to public spending on rail. But, if rail companies carry on as they do now, ...

EU reaches deal on workers involvement (299 words)

The employment and social policy council of ministers has reached political agreement on the involvement of employees in "European companies". The agreement, reached at ...

French in clash on pensions at 60 (231 words)

Unions and the major employers' association in France seem set on a collision course on the issue of pensions at 60 and how pensions ...

German low pay deals pose risks (175 words)

The dangers of Germany's low pay increases have been highlighted by one of the country's main independent research institutes, the DIW. Its forecast for ...

Information rights on agenda (101 words)

The draft directive giving workers information and consultation rights at national level is on the agenda of the employment and social policy council meeting ...

Partnerships "give unions control" (293 words)

Partnership can give unions more influence over employer behaviour and workers greater control over their working environment, according to a new report from the ...

Lower subs (112 words)

Around 2,000 members of the professionals and specialists union IPMS are now benefiting from lower subscription rates. Last year the union's conference agreed to ...

Stonemasons seek recognition (99 words)

Construction union UCATT is fighting for recognition for the stonemasons who were hired in India to come and build a new Hindu temple in ...

TUC website (16 words)

The TUC has relaunched its website with a brighter and easier to use format. www.tuc.org.uk ...

Recognition deals raised (216 words)

Unions are winning record numbers of new recognition deals, according to the first survey published since the new legislation on union recognition came into ...

February (253 words)

* Wednesday 14: Strengthening Co-operation Between Trade Unions and Universities. Seminar, London. Organised by the University of North London as part of its "Trade ...

Law Matters

Poll shows support for workplace consultation (245 words)

A recent poll has shown that eight out of 10 people (82%) believe that companies should be legally required to discuss their closure plans ...

Equal pay reforms (134 words)

The government has announced that it will simplify procedures at tribunals in equal pay cases. This will mean employers having to respond to questionnaires ...

ACAS appointment (290 words)

The first full-time chief executive of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), has been named as John Taylor. He is currently chief executive ...

Refugees cannot be deported (130 words)

The Geneva Convention, to which the UK is a signatory, says that asylum seekers should not be deported to countries where their safety cannot ...

Law Back-up

Recognition process begins to deliver (823 words)

As the GPMU print union becomes the second union to win recognition through the statutory procedure, Back-up takes a look at some cases being ...

Health & Safety Matters

Teachers and nurses report most stress (323 words)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published a report showing that teachers, nurses, managers and professionals are among the occupations reporting the highest ...

Security attacks (95 words)

One security guard working with cash in transit is injured every three days during a robbery or attempted robbery, according to the GMB general ...

Cycle helmets for postal workers (163 words)

The Communication Workers' Union is launching a campaign among postal workers to encourage the use of cycle helmets, following the deaths of six of ...

Prosecution in Simon Jones case (168 words)

The family of Simon Jones and safety campaigners won a significant victory when the Director of Public Prosecutions announced last December that dock owner ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Injuries at work are under-reported (820 words)

More than a million workers suffered a work-related injury in 1998-99, according to recent statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Back-up explains ...

Workplace Back-up

Study uncovers wide range of homeworkers (839 words)

A recent report revealed considerable variations in the types of workers who work from home in terms of hours of work at home, occupations, ...

News from LRD

Building for the Movement (106 words)

Work began late last month on repairing and redecorating the LRD's premises in south London and will last until Easter. During this period, and ...

Teleworking examined (82 words)

Despite a large rise in the number of teleworkers, they still make up a very small proportion of those in work. The government wants ...