News

Broadcast unions vow to resist huge BBC job cuts (377 words)

The three unions at the BBC - BECTU, the NUJ and Amicus - have reacted fiercely to the threat of 3,000 job losses and ...

Teaching assistants flex muscles (276 words)

Teaching assistants in Brighton and Hove struck for a third time last month over the council's attempts to cut terms and conditions of service. ...

Lecturers demoralised over new contracts (227 words)

A long-running dispute over management attempts to impose a new contract at the former Guildhall section of the London Metropolitan University (London Met) has ...

Public sector revolt on pensions deepens (304 words)

Co-ordinated action by public sector unions could be considered if the government presses ahead with its plan to raise the pension age for the ...

Unions to challenge Ford (132 words)

Jaguar trade unions have vowed to continue their challenge to their employer, Ford, over breach of agreements, despite the 55% to 45% vote against ...

Employers given final pensions warning (270 words)

The TUC's call for compulsory occupational pensions seems to be gathering support among employers, despite opposition from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). ...

November sees rise in inflation (74 words)

Higher utility bills and petrol and oil costs all helped push up inflation in November. The Retail Prices Index rose by 3.4% compared with ...

Joblessness resumes its decline (216 words)

Unemployment has fallen on both official counts. ...

Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (305 words)

October 2003 3.6 3.2 3.7 3.3 4.7 3.2 ...

Union news

RMT improves on "yes" vote to keep political fund (241 words)

The RMT transport union, which was expelled from the Labour Party last year, has recorded an enormous vote in favour of retaining its political ...

World union bodies to merge by 2006 (223 words)

Two major international trade union bodies, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL), have agreed to ...

Bosses get say in union grants (91 words)

Business people have won a battle to be involved in deciding how money provided by the government for union modernisation will be spent. ...

European news

French 35-hour week weakened (301 words)

The French prime minister last month announced a series of measures which reduce the impact of the 35-hour week, provoking a hostile union response. ...

Italy's public service unions protest (244 words)

Italian public sector unions stepped up the pressure last month against the economic policies of the government led by Silvio Berlusconi, following the general ...

GM workers reach initial deal (97 words)

Workers in the German plants of Opel, the subsidiary of the car-maker General Motors, have reached initial agreement on planned job losses (see Labour ...

Verdi condemns Lidl (94 words)

The German services union Verdi has launched an attack on working practices at the discount retail chain Lidl, which has 30,000 employees in Germany. ...

Maltese union threatens action (40 words)

The General Workers' Union, the largest in Malta, has threatened the government with "industrial strife" if it presses ahead with its plans to remove ...

European works councils go missing (137 words)

Only a third of the companies which could be required to set up a European works council (EWC) have done so, according to the ...

Features

Has Warwick saved the link? (2361 words)

Five years of increasing tension between unions and Labour Party seem to have come to an abrupt end. Labour Research examines why. ...

Which way will Labour jump? (1792 words)

The national minimum wage - one of Labour's most popular initiatives with unions - is at a crossroads, with unions and employers returning to ...

Unions set public service agenda (1682 words)

The Labour government has focused on privatisation as the way to improve public services. But unions want a different route involving democratic accountability and ...

German unions face onslaught (1592 words)

Europe's largest union movement, in Germany, is being forced into longer hours and pay cuts. Labour Research investigates whether the rest of Europe's unions ...

Law Matters

Pornography downloads found to be discriminatory (192 words)

Downloading pornographic images at work constitutes sex discrimination, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has concluded. ...

Statutory limits to rise (144 words)

The statutory limits on awards for dismissal or redundancy are to change from 1 February 2005. ...

Missing tribunal members should be identified (347 words)

The parties in an employment tribunal case now have the right to information about lay members of the tribunal who have to drop out ...

Homeworkers fail test for employment (261 words)

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has decided that a group of homeworkers were not employees for the purposes of the Employment Rights Act 1996 ...

Law Queries

Sick pay (187 words)

Q. I have only been employed for a week and I am on sick leave. I work 11 hours a week. Can I claim ...

Pregnancy dismissal (246 words)

Q. A pregnant member has just been told that she has to attend a formal meeting to discuss her absences. She has just been ...

Redundancy (219 words)

Q. Our company is going to make compulsory redundancies. I know it has to consult the union if there are to be 20 redundancies ...

Disciplinary action (125 words)

Q. A member has been asked to attend an investigatory meeting regarding some complaints that have been made against him, but the employer is ...

Law Back-up

Employers pay for lack of consultation (854 words)

Recent tribunal cases have highlighted the value of protective awards, which punish employers who make large numbers of workers redundant without adequate consultation. Back-up ...

Health & Safety Matters

HSE report shows steep decline in enforcement (315 words)

The level of health and safety enforcement action fell dramatically last year, despite strong evidence that it helps secure improvements. ...

Corporate manslaughter law may never happen, unions fear (282 words)

Unions have welcomed the announcement of a new corporate manslaughter law, but are disappointed about the timetable for its implementation. ...

Unions want duties on directors (80 words)

The T&G general union and UCATT construction workers' union have pressed MPs for a new law holding individual directors to account for workplace casualties. ...

"Light" inspection scheme proposed (77 words)

Companies with a good health and safety record should face fewer inspections than those with a history of flouting the law, a government review ...

Hazards Charter (74 words)

The Hazards campaign has produced a short version of the new Hazards Charter to help safety reps focus their campaigning for the new year. ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Homeworkers need greater protection (848 words)

Homeworkers' health and safety is often neglected by their employers. Back-up looks at new research and recommendations to improve the situation. ...

Equality news

Childcare strategy wins unions' broad approval (307 words)

Unions and the TUC have welcomed the government's 10-year childcare strategy, announced alongside chancellor Gordon Brown's pre-budget statement last month. ...

Government task force exposes scale of ethnic minority pay gap (334 words)

Two reports published at the end of last year have starkly demonstrated the continued disadvantage faced by black and ethnic minority workers over pay. ...

New rights for same-sex couples (245 words)

Pensions equality is on the horizon for lesbian and gay workers now that the Civil Partnership Act 2004 has become law. ...

Workplace Back-up

Training soars thanks to government pilots (723 words)

The TUC has issued a new guide to help union learning reps negotiate paid time off to learn in the workplace. But it also ...

News from LRD

Guide to case law (161 words)

For the first time the Labour Research Department (LRD) has published a detailed guide to legal cases. It aims to assist reps who are ...

LRD executive nominations (56 words)

Labour Research Department affiliates are invited to nominate candidates for its executive committee for the coming year. Nominations close on Friday 28 January. ...

Reviews

The cost and the corruption of war on Iraq (148 words)

TUCND, 6-8 Church St, Church, Lancashire BB5 4LF, £2.00 ...

Labour law review 2004 (158 words)

Jennifer Eady and Rebecca Tuck, Institute of Employment Rights, 44 pages, paperback, £5.00 ...

The new value controversy and the foundations of economics (149 words)

Alan Freeman et al, Edward Elgar, 352 pages, hardback, £60.00 ...

E-views

E-views (333 words)

It's that time of year again - voting has begun for the Labour Website of the Year. This annual competition, which began in 1997, ...