News

Pension fears grow at T&N (259 words)

Fears are growing that 40,000 former and current workers of car parts firm Turner and Newall (T&N) could lose part of their pension. ...

Labour soothes unions with policy promises (334 words)

Despite recent tensions between unions and the government, commitments given at the Labour Party National Policy Forum in July were enthusiastically welcomed by the ...

Poor hygiene blamed on privatisation (205 words)

The GMB general union is calling for a public enquiry over deaths related to the infection MRSA and standards of cleanliness at Derriford Hospital ...

FBU in last-minute talks to avert fire strike (431 words)

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) was engaged in last-minute efforts to avoid a strike over the implementation of the 2003 pay deal as Labour ...

Dock workers face national strike (158 words)

The first national dock strike for 14 years looked likely after members of the T&G transport union rejected a 2.9% pay offer by a ...

Textile jobs at risk (194 words)

UK textile jobs are at risk following a Ministry of Defence (MoD) decision to award a £50 million contract for uniforms to a company, ...

Inflation steady (61 words)

Dearer mortgages, offset by cheaper food items, kept inflation steady in July. The annual rate of inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index ...

Unemployment rises again (207 words)

Unemployment rose in July for the second month in a row, according to official figures. ...

Key economic indicators

Full-time average weekly earnings by occupation (79 words)

All workers 500.50 ...

Earnings and pay (166 words)

June 3.2 3.1 3.3 2.7 5.4 3.2 ...

Retail prices (59 words)

June 181.3 2.9 1.1 ...

Union news

GPMU votes to join growing union (200 words)

Members of the GPMU print union have voted to merge with the manufacturing and services union Amicus, becoming the second major union to join ...

Small decline in TUC numbers (278 words)

Following eight years of broadly stable membership, the latest figures from the TUC show a fall. However, this may represent administrative changes rather than ...

Union income struggles to keep up (235 words)

Unions are finding it increasingly difficult to balance their books as income struggles to keep up with growing expenditure. ...

European news

Volkswagen may follow Daimler deal (381 words)

Volkswagen, Germany's largest car maker, may follow the example of DaimlerChrysler in pressing for cost reductions and longer working time when negotiations on its ...

Dutch government steps up attack on unions (167 words)

The government in the Netherlands has taken another step in its confrontation with the unions (see Labour Research August 2004, page 8). Last month ...

"Eventful autumn" for Italy (226 words)

Italian unions expect that the next few months will see increasing conflict with the government on a number of fronts. ...

Features

Low marks for private financing (1829 words)

Plans for refurbishing secondary schools rely on funding through the controversial private finance initiative. But so far it has received poor school reports. ...

Unions need black workers (2047 words)

Recruiting black workers is vital both for improving their conditions at work and for union growth. Labour Research finds examples of organising successes at ...

Time for the government to buy British (1306 words)

Unions and the government may disagree over the state of UK manufacturing, but they agree that more needs to be done to ensure that ...

Works councils bring closer union links (1970 words)

European works councils (EWCs) have certainly brought trade unionists together across Europe over the past decade. But while some EWCs have improved consultation rights ...

Law Matters

Investigation procedures "should not be ignored" (259 words)

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that an employee's dismissal may be unfair, because the employer failed to follow its own procedure for ...

Tribunal gives workers right to respond to allegations (195 words)

Employees must be given the opportunity to respond to complaints made against them before being dismissed, an employment tribunal has ruled. ...

Labour Party found guilty of race discrimination (109 words)

The Labour Party's failure to select a Pakistani Muslim as a candidate for election to Birmingham City Council in 1998 was discrimination on racial ...

Restructuring and redundancy (136 words)

A company re-organisation does not necessarily lead to redundancy, according to an EAT ruling. ...

A casual worker is not an employee (132 words)

A sessional worker at a care centre has lost his claim for unfair dismissal. ...

Law Queries

Jury service (151 words)

Q. Does an employer have to pay a worker for time off for jury service? ...

Bank holiday pay (95 words)

Q. Does an employer have to pay a worker for bank holidays, and can bank holidays form part of the annual holiday entitlement? ...

Agency workers' grievances (254 words)

Q. We have a number of agency workers in our workplace who have been working here for over a year. Our employer is refusing ...

Fixed-term to permanent (157 words)

Q. We have members who have been working at the same site on a series of fixed-term contracts for over four years. Are they ...

TUPE and existing employees (92 words)

Q. Some new employees are transferring into our company under TUPE, and the management wants to reduce our holiday entitlement so that it is ...

Law Back-up

Motivation matters for whistleblowers (715 words)

When workers blow the whistle on employers, it is not enough for them to believe that what they are saying is true - if ...

Health & Safety Matters

More carnage at work as death rate increases (338 words)

Unions have reacted with frustration to new figures showing that the number of work-related fatalities rose by 4% over the past year. ...

European directive puts UK safety standards at risk (230 words)

A new European plan could stop national enforcement agencies enforcing safety laws for some foreign companies in the UK. ...

Radiation is deadlier than thought (71 words)

A government scientific committee has found that the risk of cancer from radiation could be 10 times higher than previously thought, according to a ...

Government's fire complacency (84 words)

An increase in the number of fires in the UK shows that the government is "astonishingly complacent", and that fire service cuts under the ...

Vibration payouts (91 words)

More workers harmed by vibration exposure are to be eligible for government compensation. ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Will nanotechnology be the new asbestos? (851 words)

Nanotechnology is a 21st-century gold-rush industry, attracting huge media interest and billions in research and development. Back-up looks at the risks. ...

Equality news

CRE pulls out of proposed anti-discrimination merger (370 words)

Government plans for a single equalities commission have received a setback with the decision by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) to pull out ...

Low pay for women - two new investigations announced (274 words)

A new Women and Work Commission, which will look at the continuing gender pay gap, is to be headed by Baroness Margaret Prosser, former ...

Women on rise in local councils (183 words)

Women are slowly progressing into the top positions in local authorities, according to figures released by the GMB general union. ...

Workplace Back-up

TUC success in skills strategy's first year (869 words)

The first year of the national Skills Strategy has seen some significant achievements, the TUC says, "not least laying the foundations of a new ...

News from LRD

Learning at work guide (193 words)

This month's booklet from the Labour Research Department is a guide to learning at work, covering developments over the last three years since the ...

Reviews

In the cause of labour (163 words)

History of British trade unionism ...

A critical guide to corporate codes of conduct (147 words)

Asia Monitor Resource Centre, www.amrc.org.hk, 118 pages, £8.00 (including postage from Hong Kong) ...

Reclaiming development (126 words)

An alternative economic policy manual ...

E-views

e-views (377 words)

These days, when you want to communicate, you have a real choice. It used to be that you'd either phone or send a letter. ...