News

T&G votes for new NHS pay system (168 words)

Members of the T&G general union working in the health service have given their support to the new Agenda for Change (AfC) pay system ...

NUJ says media ignored Social Forum (231 words)

The leader of the NUJ journalists' union Jeremy Dear, has branded the commercial media's failure to report last month's European Social Forum "a disgrace". ...

Gender pay gap worse than feared (334 words)

Not only is the gender pay gap wider than previously estimated, it is also narrowing more slowly. ...

Bosses turn to migrants to plug professional skills gaps (347 words)

Employers are increasingly turning to migrant workers in a bid to plug skills shortages, says the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). ...

Rail union slates new structure (89 words)

The RMT rail and transport union last month said the government's decision to cut the number of rail franchises from 25 to 19 would ...

Pay settlements buoyant (289 words)

Stable inflation, further falls in unemployment and a pick-up in earnings growth coincided with more buoyant pay settlements during the 2003-04 pay round. ...

Cheaper air fares and cars reduce inflation (54 words)

Inflation eased in September on the back of cheaper air fares and second hand cars. It fell from 3.2% the previous month to 3.1%. ...

Joblessness at 20-year low (208 words)

Unemployment was down on both counts in the three months to August, according to the latest official figures. Under the Labour Force Survey (LFS) ...

Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (315 words)

August 03 (r) 3.5 3.1 3.8 3.0 5.9 3.1 ...

Union news

UK unions opt for international deals (253 words)

Unions are increasingly coming to agreements with their counterparts abroad to raise their influence and clout with employers. Three UK unions have forged deals ...

Two mergers to go ahead (218 words)

Two new union mergers are set to go ahead shortly. The 3,000 members of the National Union of Lock and Metal Workers have voted ...

UNISON to elect leader (59 words)

Britain's largest union has set out the timetable for a leadership election to take place in January-February 2005. ...

Trade unionist for Royal Mail board (96 words)

Communication Workers Union leader Billy Hayes has welcomed the appointment of former senior trade unionist Margaret Prosser to the board of Royal Mail. ...

New TUC head for Midlands (66 words)

The TUC has appointed its former race equality officer Roger McKenzie as regional secretary for the Midlands. He will be the first black regional ...

European news

"European Company" law comes into force (215 words)

Legislation covering "European Companies", which will require certain firms to have employee representation on their boards, came into effect last month. ...

GM workers stop the job on news of EU-wide jobs cull (344 words)

The news emerging that carmaker General Motors plans to cut 12,000 jobs in Europe, including 10,000 in Germany, led to a halt in production ...

French unions welcome plans for reform of their finances (295 words)

French unions have received something of a boost by reforms of union finances proposed by the government. ...

Features

Election crucial for USA unions (2217 words)

The result of the United States presidential election is critical to American trade unionists. ...

Bosses shaken but not stirred (1395 words)

Company directors will be meeting at the annual conference of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) this month in a period in which shareholders ...

Will "standards" work? (1785 words)

The scale of stress at work and the need for employers to tackle it was reinforced by a landmark House of Lords ruling earlier ...

Be organised, be consulted (1720 words)

The importance of the new European directive on information and consultation of employees has not been lost on unions. ...

Law Matters

Tribunals can allow late unfair dismissal claims (468 words)

Many unfair dismissal claims fail because they are not brought to an employment tribunal within three months - but now the Employment Appeal Tribunal ...

Dependants' leave is for limited uses (159 words)

An employee sacked for taking time off work when her mother died was not protected by the statutory right to dependants' leave. ...

Union loses battle to expel BNP member (341 words)

BNP activist Jay Lee has been readmitted into the rail union ASLEF following a decision by an employment tribunal. ...

Law Queries

Incapacity Benefit (178 words)

Q: We have a member who has taken ill-health retirement with early access to his pension, at the age of 62 while still in ...

Illegal contract (234 words)

Q: A worker in a small shop worked for five months without a written contract and received her wages in cash. When she told ...

Unfair redundancy (251 words)

Q: I was made redundant about six months ago when the department that I worked for was closed down, but I have just found ...

Tips on credit cards (101 words)

Q: Is there any law relating to receiving tips on credit cards? I heard that there was a European court ruling on the issue. ...

Law Back-up

Employee disciplined for looking after son (850 words)

For the past five years, working parents have had the legal right to take unpaid leave to look after their young children - but ...

Health & Safety Matters

Research shows need for regulation of safety (355 words)

Employers are most likely to improve their occupational health and safety performance within a regime of legal regulation, while voluntary codes of conduct are ...

UK level of sick leave is below European average, says study (273 words)

UK workers take less sick leave than those in most other European Union (EU) countries, according to a major new study. ...

Workplace bullying is on the increase... (241 words)

A survey by an anti-bullying charity has found that nearly 90% of personnel professionals have witnessed or are aware of bullying in their workplaces, ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Employers are failing pregnant workers (918 words)

Employers have a legal duty to protect pregnant women at work, but evidence suggests that many do not understand their obligations. Back-up investigates how ...

Equality news

Victory over same-sex partners' pension rights (309 words)

Campaigning by trade unions and lobby group Stonewall has resulted in a major concession from the government over pension rights for same-sex partners. ...

"Far-reaching" equal pay case will go to European court (215 words)

A female health and safety inspector has been given leave to take her equal pay claim to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), in ...

Charity sets example on disabled workers (111 words)

Disability charity Scope has set itself a target of a 20% disabled workforce by 2007 - and is to reserve posts for disabled applicants ...

New NHS post to tackle racism (145 words)

The UK's largest health union, UNISON, has welcomed the appointment of the NHS's first director of equality and human rights. ...

Workplace Back-up

Pensions Commission outlines hard choices (890 words)

The Pension Commission, chaired by former CBI boss Adair Turner, was set up by the government as part of its 2002 green paper on ...

News from LRD

Women's health and safety conference (167 words)

The Labour Research Department (LRD) hosted a successful conference on Women's Health and Safety in September. ...

Reviews

Unions in the 21st century (142 words)

An international perspective ...

The battle of Venezuela (131 words)

Michael McCaughan, Latin America Bureau, 166 pages, paperback, £7.99 ...

Marxism and social democracy (147 words)

The revisionist debate 1896-1898 ...

E-views

Eviews (347 words)

Want to know what the European Commission's latest proposals are on the working time directive, whether partnership is working in Ireland, or why there ...