News

Anti-ID card campaign (102 words)

The No2ID organisation, which is opposed to government plans for an identity card scheme, has launched a pledge and defence campaign for people who ...

Unions back MPs on council housing (132 words)

A report by MPs published last month called for a level playing field for council housing. Support for the 'fourth option' for council housing ...

Unions warn of computer ''tagging'' risks for workers (314 words)

The GMB general union and CSP physiotherapists' union have issued warnings of the potential dangers of employees having to use "wearable computers". ...

MP calls for broader employment protection for migrant workers (286 words)

The new Gangmasters Licensing Act needs to be extended to ensure it protects migrant workers. This was Labour MP Jim Sheridan's message last month ...

Journalists awarded recognition at AOL (237 words)

Last month the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) won a recognition claim at Internet service provider AOL(UK). ...

Teachers back strike at flagship city academy (174 words)

Relations between teaching staff and management worsened last month at one of the government's flagship city academies. ...

Unions challenge gambling firms (98 words)

The T&G and GMB general unions are taking on William Hill and Stanley Leisure over consultation rights and pay. ...

Lecturers reverse boycott decision (131 words)

A special council meeting of the AUT university lecturers' union at the end of May voted to reverse a decision to boycott two Israeli ...

Parliamentary cleaners consider strike (52 words)

Cleaners working at the Houses of Parliament were balloted for strike action last month by the T&G general union. The workers are claiming a ...

Inflation drops to 2.9% (60 words)

Cheaper motoring costs including oil and petrol prices meant that inflation fell in May. The annual rise in the Retail Prices Index (RPI) was ...

Manufacturing sector suffers again (190 words)

The constant decline in manufacturing jobs continues with 79,000 jobs lost in the three months to April compared to the same period a year ...

Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (317 words)

April 2004 (r) 4.5 4.8 4.4 4.6 4.1 3.0 ...

Union news

GMB agrees ballot delay (120 words)

Paul Kenny will stay on as acting general secretary of the GMB general union until the investigation into allegations against former general secretary Kevin ...

Recognition case numbers stabilise (284 words)

The impact of the legal right to union recognition, which came into force in June 2000, is still strong but has stabilised, according to ...

Latest on lecturers' unions merger (66 words)

The NATFHE and AUT lecturers' unions plan to ballot their members on merger in October or November this year. This follows the near unanimous ...

Funds for union modernisation (91 words)

The government has set out the rules for its Union Modernisation Fund, which will make between £5 million and £10 million available for unions ...

Rail union ballot goes to round two (87 words)

Train drivers' union ASLEF will be running a further election for the post of general secretary this month after the first round proved inconclusive. ...

American union federation faces challenge from largest affiliates (202 words)

The AFL-CIO US union confederation looks set to split at its next congress later this month. ...

European news

ETUC reaffirms support for European constitution (299 words)

Following a lengthy debate, last month's meeting of the European Trade Union Confederation's (ETUC) Executive Committee expressed continued support for a European Constitution. ...

Working time changes blocked (119 words)

National officials are having to look again at revisions to the Working Time Directive. This follows the failure of last month's meeting of the ...

Metalworkers strike in Italy (77 words)

Key Italian engineering plants came to a standstill on 10 June as the result of a four-hour stoppage called by the metalworkers' unions. The ...

Woman president for Dutch confederation (40 words)

The FNV, the largest trade union confederation in the Netherlands, has elected a woman president for the first time. Former vice-president Agnes Jongerius, takes ...

German unions prepare for change of government (288 words)

The German trade union confederation, the DGB, appears to be working to improve its relations with the conservative opposition in the light of a ...

Features

Millions wait for new holiday rights (1302 words)

Nearly a fifth of employees (17.3%) in Great Britain - that's 3.4 million workers - are waiting for the government to implement a key ...

Unions need to address religious discrimination (2238 words)

Unions are finding they increasingly need to deal with issues of religious discrimination in the workplace. ...

Facing up to the Wal-Mart giant (1977 words)

The US retailer Wal-Mart has grown from a one-store operation to be the world's largest retailer. ...

Nuclear debate re-opens (1782 words)

Climate change will be one of the two major issues debated at this month's G8 Summit, as evidence emerges that the leading industrial nations ...

Law Matters

Tribunals told not to be too rigid over new rules (357 words)

The new rules on tribunals should not be too strictly applied if this could prevent a claimant from pursuing a claim, the Employment Appeal ...

Victory for trainee midwives in NHS maternity pay appeal (313 words)

Three student midwives have won the right to maternity pay in a case that will benefit thousands of women working in the NHS. ...

Duty to consult on redundancies is unaffected by redeployment (263 words)

The EAT has ruled that an employer still has a duty to consult over collective redundancies, even if it plans to redeploy staff. ...

Law Queries

Redundancy (291 words)

Q: Following the merger of two businesses, we have a member who has been left in a potential redundancy situation. Although a similar job ...

Enforcing rights (205 words)

Q: One of our members has been dismissed after making a complaint that he had not received holiday pay that he was entitled to ...

Business transfers (234 words)

Q: I can find nothing in the TUPE rules to say how long an employee's terms and conditions are protected following a transfer. ...

Law Back-up

What is a "substantial reason" for dismissal? (900 words)

Under the Employment Rights Act 1986, there are five potentially fair grounds on which an employer can dismiss an employee: ...

Health & Safety Matters

Pesticide link to Parkinson's disease (63 words)

Pesticide exposure increases the risk of developing Parkinson's disease, a study reported in New Scientist magazine has revealed. ...

Legal protection for emergency workers (89 words)

Measures have come into force to protect Scottish emergency workers from the threat of assault. ...

NHS launches stress campaign for staff (74 words)

NHS employers have begun a national campaign to combat stress in the workplace. ...

Working long hours puts health and safety at risk (269 words)

There is now "abundant evidence" that working long hours is detrimental to health, according to a report published last month by the TUC. ...

Unions seek improvements to corporate manslaughter bill (247 words)

The government must put the long-awaited corporate manslaughter bill on the statute book as soon as possible, and make individual directors accountable for deaths ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Three simple steps to halt the rise of RSI (825 words)

Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is the common term for a range of musculoskeletal disorders affecting mainly the upper limbs and neck, and known officially ...

Equality news

Guidance on avoiding age discrimination (160 words)

A national "Be Ready!" campaign has been launched to help employers prepare for new age discrimination legislation in October 2006. ...

Disabled people still miss out on workplace equality (505 words)

Although the law now protects disabled workers against discrimination by employers, it can still be difficult for disabled people to find work in the ...

Council settles over employee's actions (261 words)

An inspector from the Care Commission has secured an out-of-court cash settlement after suing Dundee City Council over the behaviour of a care-home employee. ...

Workplace Back-up

Coalition aims to end poverty-line pensions (782 words)

The People's Pensions Coalition (PPC) was formed last month by the TUC, the charities Help the Aged and Age Concern and the consumer organisation ...

News from LRD

Current surveys (232 words)

Labour Research Department (LRD) publications wouldn't be the same without the workplace-based information supplied by the LRD's many local affiliates and contacts. ...

Reviews

Arguments against G8 (149 words)

Hubbard and Miller, Pluto, 264 pages, paperback, £11.99 ...

G8: globalisation and sweatshops (156 words)

No Sweat, 24 pages, paperback, £1.50 from No Sweat, PO Box 36707, London SW9 8YA - www.nosweat.org.uk ...

Neoliberalism: a critical reader (129 words)

Alfredo Saad-Filho and Deborah Johnston (eds), Pluto, 271 pages, paperback, £15.99 ...

E-views

e-views (314 words)

At the end of last month, the Association of University Teachers convened an special council meeting to review an earlier decision to boycott two ...