News

College staff make progress on London weighting and pay (415 words)

Last month saw the second strike over London weighting at the capital's universities. ...

3,000 job losses announced on one day (225 words)

Nearly 3,000 job losses were announced in just one day in early February. ...

Jury still out over health service pay (253 words)

The jury is still out on the far-reaching "Agenda for Change" pay proposals, which were announced in December. A number of unions in the ...

Unions welcome two- tier workforce code (329 words)

After 18 months of talks, the government and trade unions have agreed a statutory code to protect the terms and conditions of staff newly ...

Firefighters lobby parliament over cuts (110 words)

At the end of last month the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) continued its campaign against cuts in the fire service with a lobby of ...

Pay review disappoints teaching unions (131 words)

School teachers in England and Wales are expected to receive increases of 2.9% from April following the publication of the School Teachers' Pay Review ...

Features

Correction (94 words)

The February 2003 issue of Labour Research included an article on executive pensions (page 9-11), which unfortunately contained an error. ...

TUC rules out strikes against war (416 words)

The TUC last month said it will not call a special congress to consider strikes in the event of the outbreak of war in ...

European unions oppose attack (442 words)

Union centres elsewhere in Europe, while condemning the regime of Saddam Hussein, are overwhelmingly opposed to war with Iraq. ...

Spanish unions win concessions (174 words)

Major concessions by the Spanish government on its plans to cut support to rural workers led the two main trade union confederations, the CCOO ...

Pension plans provoke protest in Paris (287 words)

At least 350,000 people, including 50,000 in Paris, took to the streets of France's main cities last month, in defence of their existing pension ...

Progress falters on German jobs plan (220 words)

Efforts to tackle Germany's severe unemployment problems are in trouble after the employers published plans for changes to employment law and industrial relations. ...

French unions help US workers (90 words)

Pressure from French unions has helped workers in the United States to gain union recognition. ...

TUC appoints first woman number two (244 words)

Delegates at this month's TUC Women's Conference will have something to celebrate - the appointment of women to two of the TUC's top three ...

Top union elections get underway (170 words)

This month will see the start of a ballot for a new general secretary of the GMB general union to replace John Edmonds, who ...

Web-based union (70 words)

An internet-based trade union for online workers is being launched, and run, by Norwegian print union the NGF. ...

Electronic voting (45 words)

The Department of Trade and Industry conceded that electronic voting should be permitted for statutory union ballots, after over 40 union general secretaries lobbied ...

Jobs site (31 words)

Finance union UNIFI has set up a jobs website exclusive to its members. The site, unifi4jobs.com, will showcase vacancies in the finance industry and ...

Union cash to Labour (78 words)

Nineteen trade unions gave a total of £819,696 in donations and affiliation fees to the Labour Party in the fourth quarter of 2002, according ...

Unifi in talks with Amicus (83 words)

Finance union UNIFI, which has 159,000 members, has confirmed it is in exclusive merger talks with general union Amicus. ...

Women: your country needs you (1649 words)

Delegates to this month's Women's TUC in Liverpool will be invited to attend an informal session encouraging them to get involved in public life. ...

Two cheers for flexibility right (1786 words)

The new right of working parents to request more flexible working is welcome but has serious limitations. ...

How women lose out (1440 words)

Whether it is in their working life or in retirement, women get the thin end of the financial wedge, according to a raft of ...

Europe squeezes public sector pay (1996 words)

Public sector workers across the European Union are paying the price for their governments' generosity to the rich. ...

Survey finds few aware of flexible-work rule (331 words)

More than four in 10 UK workers are unaware of the new law giving parents the right to ask employers for flexible working. The ...

Charity reveals soaring childcare costs (220 words)

Childcare bills have soared to record levels, leaving working parents struggling to pay their childcare costs, says a new survey by childcare charity the ...

Commission queries if disability law covers work placements (332 words)

The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) is to look into whether work placement schemes are covered by anti-discrimination legislation, after a major high street retailer ...

Law Matters

Career breaks can cut employment rights (259 words)

Workers taking time out of work on career breaks to care for their families risk losing valuable employment rights as the result of a ...

Tribunal rules on dependency leave (237 words)

In what may be the first case to examine the legal right to dependency leave the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has set down a ...

Union attacks offshore firms (239 words)

Transport and general union T&G has launched a campaign against the practice of employers moving offshore. Employees lose key employment rights, including the right ...

Law Queries

Law Queries (262 words)

One of my members, who works for a contract caterer in my workplace, has been dismissed for gross misconduct. She has been told that ...

Law Queries (262 words)

A member who has recently retired has approached me. He used to work for the NHS but was transferred under the protection of the ...

Law Queries (80 words)

Could you please give me some information on the legal minimum time allowed for break times during a normal eight-hour daytime shift? ...

Law Queries (156 words)

A colleague was suspended pending an investigation into charges, eventually found to be without foundation. This led him to suffer from a psychiatric illness. ...

Law Back-up

Women workers get new maternity rights (848 words)

From 6 April parents will benefit from a number of key new rights. Backup looks at the changes to maternity leave and pay. ...

Health & Safety Matters

Ireland set to ban workplace smoking (327 words)

Irish workplaces will be smoke free from the beginning of next year, the Irish government announced last month. ...

Firms fail to halt rise in stress cases (58 words)

More than 40% of employers have reported an increase in stress claims over the past 12 months, according to new research by Personnel Today ...

UNISON wins £33m for members (41 words)

Public services union UNISON won over £33 million in personal injury compensation for members last year in 4,700 cases. Pay outs under the scheme ...

Asbestos victims demand justice (90 words)

As a High Court case got underway asbestos campaigners have told insurers and asbestos giant Turner and Newall (T&N) to stop wrangling and start ...

Rail Action Day (30 words)

This year's Railway Workers' International Action Day will take place on Friday 14 March. Rail unions ASLEF and RMT are holding rallies across the ...

Tougher corporate safety bill could be law by autumn (237 words)

A new law punishing corporate lawbreakers will get its second reading in March, and is expected to become law by the autumn. ...

International Workers' Memorial Day (55 words)

The theme for this year's International Workers' Memorial Day on 28 April is corporate accountability. The TUC has a background briefing and programme of ...

Health & Safety Back-up

How employers should help pregnant women (713 words)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published new guidance to help employers ensure pregnant women have a safe and healthy working environment. Back-up ...

Workplace Back-up

Employers are failing to deliver on training (710 words)

A new report reveals that the major factor in the growth of skills gaps across the economy is the continuing reluctance of employers to ...

News from LRD

Bob Dalziel (204 words)

The Labour Research Department (LRD) is sad to report the death, aged 88, of the honorary president of its executive committee, Bob Dalziel. ...

Reviews

Social and labour rights in a global context - International and comparative perspectives (109 words)

Edited by Bob Hepple, Cambridge University Press, 273 pages, hardback, £45.00 ...

Down the tube - The battle for London's Underground (215 words)

Christian Wolmar, Aurum Press, 246 pages, paperback, £9.99 ...

Politics transformed - Lula and the Workers' Party in Brazil (150 words)

Sue Branford and Bernardo Kucinski, Latin America Bureau, 136 pages, paperback, £6.99 ...

E-views

Eviews (315 words)

Want to know something about French trade unions? The web can be a good place to start, though it can prove difficult for non ...