Labour Research August 2000

Internet use and abuse; Education for profit; The water dividend drought; Can the HSE deliver? A union voice on training.

Features

Union membership joy could be short lived (344 words)

More mixed messages about the state of union membership have emerged after publication of a crop of information on the subject.Last year's government Labour ...

Collective bargaining covers 35 per cent (135 words)

Almost 8.5 million people - 35% of employees - have their pay determined by collective bargaining, according to an analysis of the Labour Force ...

Type of job (95 words)

The proportion of managers and administrators who were union members rose from 19% to 20% in 1999, according to the Labour Force Survey. For ...

Type of industry (92 words)

Agriculture was the industrial sector suffering the steepest percentage fall in union density in 1999 -dropping from 12% to 9%. But a more significant ...

More unionisation in services than factories (148 words)

The broad figure for union density - the proportion of employees in unions or staff associations - stabilised for both men and women last ...

Public pays £9 million for three royals (597 words)

The royal family's finances have been under the microscope recently with prime minister Tony Blair announcing a freeze on civil list payments - the ...

Sumito adds 400 to factory job loss toll (301 words)

Japanese firm Sumitomo has said it plans to close its electronics plant in Sunderland, Tyne & Wear, next year with the loss of around ...

French bosses target union full timers (387 words)

French employers are attempting to cut unions' role in industrial relations. Their main association, Medef, has written to the head of the social security ...

Employment practices (130 words)

The European Commission has started consulting with unions and employers at European level on ways to "modernise and improve employment relations". ...

Italian call for flexibility (146 words)

Sergio D'Antoni, the general secretary of CSIL, Italy's second largest union confederation, has called for greater flexibility in "taxation, pay and labour". Speaking after ...

Germans have good opinion of unions (275 words)

A survey carried out on behalf of the main German union confederation, the DGB, shows that more Germans see unions in a positive than ...

TUC hotline reveals extensive race abuse (186 words)

The TUC's Root out racism hotline, which ran for a week in June, has revealed an appalling catalogue of verbal abuse and complaints about ...

Scottish unions cheer end to Section 28 (335 words)

The repeal of Section 28 in Scotland has been welcomed by Scottish trade unions and lesbian and gay equality campaigners. Teaching union the EIS ...

Unions given voice on work-life policies (345 words)

Unions will be consulted about ways to help workers balance work and family commitments as part of the government's review of policy on the ...

Simmering summer disputes boil over (550 words)

The dispute between public services union UNISON and Ealing Council in west London, over the planned imposition of new contracts, is to continue with ...

Campaign launched to recruit child carers (223 words)

The government has launched a campaign aimed at recruiting 83,000 new childcare workers by 2003. The campaign includes TV advertising and a national telephone ...

Higher education unions slam elitism (229 words)

A report recommending an increase in students' tuition fees and allowing higher education institutions to charge market rates for degree courses has been condemned ...

Forthcoming events (82 words)

From next month the new-look Labour Research will feature a regular diary of future events of use to its trade union readership. These will ...

UNIONS PART OF SKILLS SOLUTION (1503 words)

Having argued the case for years for a proper programme for enhancing workers' skills and education, trade unionists are now being given their due ...

SHAREHOLDERS' RESERVOIR DRIES UP (1207 words)

The regulator gets tough on water company charging, so directors and shareholders don't want to play any more. They want the public to buy ...

NEGOTIATING ON CYBERSPACE (1617 words)

Employers and staff are concerned about e-mail and internet use in the workplace and policies on the subject are popping up all over the ...

CAN THE SAFETY WATCHDOG DELIVER? (1565 words)

The government is introducing tough new rules to deal with companies who neglect safety standards. But will the Health and Safety Executive's current lack ...

SCHOOLS; PROFITS FOR THE TAKING (3026 words)

Nothing is sacred, it seems, from the greedy hands of the private sector. Now it is our children's education that is up for grabs ...

EU charter of fundamental rights (795 words)

Discussions are currently underway on drawing up a European Union (EU) charter of fundamental rights. But there is argument over what it should contain ...

Taking time off to deal with a bereavement (920 words)

Employees recently gained a new statutory right to unpaid leave for urgent family reasons. This can include time off in the event of the ...

THE ECONOMY THIS MONTH (1042 words)

KEY INDICATORS ...

Law Matters

Case clarifies equal treatment law (280 words)

Advocate general Jacobs, the legal adviser to the European Court of Justice, has recently issued his opinion in a case concerning equal treatment law ...

Bus form's deduction from pay "unlawful" (242 words)

The T&G transport union has won an important victory against a Bournemouth bus company, Yellow Buses, whose contract terms required its bus drivers to ...

Youth sentencing speeded up (51 words)

The average time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders has fallen slightly, according to figures released recently by the government. However, at ...

Enforcing directives (86 words)

The Court of Appeal has ruled that public service workers can only directly enforce a European Union directive that has not been incorporated into ...

Denying solicitor makes trial unfair (316 words)

It is a fundamental breach of the right to a fair trial to deny a suspect, who is being interrogated, the right of access ...

Law Back-up

Ballot laws set to change (1010 words)

Changes to the law on the conduct of industrial action ballots and requirements covering notice to employers come into force next month. Back-up explains ...