News

Convenor loses fight to overturn sacking (141 words)

The dispute at Rolls Royce over the sacking of convenor Jerry Hicks ended last month without his reinstatement. ...

Union ballots civil servants for action on pay and jobs (343 words)

The PCS civil service union is gearing up for action on pay and jobs as the government presses ahead with 'efficiency' cut backs. Two ...

Two-thirds of former Rover employees are still out of work (278 words)

More than six months after the closure of the MG Rover plant in Birmingham, manufacturing union Amicus reports that 60% of the workforce are ...

Congress attacks laws that leave workers "defenceless" (354 words)

Angered at the behaviour of the employers in the Gate Gourmet dispute, this year's TUC Congress called for a change in the law on ...

Prices - up and down! (73 words)

Dearer oil and petrol fuelled a further rise in inflation. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI), which excludes housing costs and is the government's preferred ...

Jobless rate continues slow upward trend (207 words)

Unemployment rose slightly for the seventh consecutive month, according to the Office for National Statistics. ...

Unions warn of anger over public sector pension age (562 words)

Delegates at last month's TUC Congress were urged to go back to their communities and workplaces and "step up the campaign for pensions justice". ...

2005 TUC Congress round-up (224 words)

The resolution on the Women and Work Commission called for mandatory equal pay audits to tackle pay discrimination, along with measures to overcome gender ...

Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (321 words)

July 2004 (r) 3.2% 3.7% 2.9% 3.1% 3.7% 3.0% ...

Union news

Prospective super-union prompts call for review (176 words)

Last month's TUC Congress agreed a motion from actors' union Equity calling for the setting up of a working party to consider the implications ...

New faces on General Council as Crow loses seat (128 words)

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT transport union, has failed to retain his seat on the General Council, the leading committee of the ...

European news

New deal for employees of foreign firms in Sweden (198 words)

Sweden's main union confederation, the LO has signed an agreement with the national employers' association guaranteeing equal treatment for employees working for foreign companies ...

French unions plan day of action over jobs and pay (231 words)

France's five main union confederations - CGT, CFDT, FO, CFTC and CFE-CGC - have agreed to organise a joint day of action on 4 ...

German unions face uncertainty after poll (259 words)

Following the indecisive election results, which saw a startling recovery of the SPD under Gerhard Schröder, German unions face a period of uncertainty on ...

Engineering workers strike in Italy (122 words)

Italy's 1.3 million engineering workers were planning a national strike as Labour Research went to press. ...

Features

Unions want radical follow-up to Warwick (1884 words)

As delegates gather for this year's Labour Party conference, trade unionists may well be reflecting on the instrumental role played by unions in delivering ...

Unions and left parties loosen ties (2243 words)

When German trade unionists went to the polls last month, they had no direct guidance from their unions on who to vote for. ...

UK minimum wage moves up European league table (1621 words)

This month the "adult" rate of the National Minimum Wage (NMW), for workers aged 22 and over, will top £5.00 an hour for the ...

Legal or "illegal" - migrants get union support (2001 words)

Immigration policies have been "shaped by market conditions". And these policies have been used "not only to secure the supply of workers needed by ...

Law Matters

Confidentiality can be relaxed for ex-employees (422 words)

Tribunal claimants in cases of unfair or constructive dismissal are entitled to see documents that relate to their claims, even if those documents would ...

"Comparator" issue settles disability discrimination case (254 words)

A disabled woman who lost her job because of ill health related to her disability was discriminated against, the EAT has said. ...

Multiple reasons for dismissal (253 words)

Warnings given to an employee in relation to his or her conduct can be taken into account if that employee is later dismissed on ...

Law Queries

Rolled-up holiday pay (247 words)

Q: I have been in my new job for four months and took two weeks' holiday, which was approved by my manager - but ...

Agency workers (263 words)

Q: We have an agency worker who has done the same job for the past 14 months. Now our employer is ending his contract, ...

Emergency leave (272 words)

Q: One of our members had to take a day off to look after his sick daughter. He phoned to let his employer know ...

Law Back-up

Know the dangers of refusing to transfer (907 words)

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (TUPE) exist to protect employees whose business is transferred to a new owner, by obliging ...

Health & Safety Matters

Public backing for total smoking ban (82 words)

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of the UK public support a complete workplace smoking ban, according to a survey by anti-smoking campaign ASH. ...

Jobs are linked to brain diseases (80 words)

A wide range of jobs could carry a heightened risk of degenerative brain diseases, a US study has concluded. ...

Give reps the data they need (80 words)

Employers are abusing the Data Protection Act (DPA) to deny safety reps access to important information. ...

Consultation with reps is the key to better safety (398 words)

Safety reps reduce injuries, cut the incidence of ill health and improve workplaces' safety culture, according to an important Health and Safety Commission (HSC) ...

American study supports link between long hours and injury (251 words)

Research in the USA has backed unions' arguments that working long hours greatly increases the risk of injury or illness at work. ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Decrease the decibels to reduce health risks (917 words)

From call centres to schools, orchestra pits to bars, noise can be an issue in a range of working environments. It is a particular ...

Equality news

Ignorance of disability is no excuse (261 words)

An employer's duty to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled employee is not affected by the employee's failure to mention their disability, as long ...

Equality audit shows the extent of union successes (616 words)

A trade union presence in the workplace gives employees a better work/life balance and reduces levels of discrimination, according to a major new TUC ...

Workplace Back-up

TUC offers a solution to the pensions crisis (877 words)

Appointed by the government in 2002, the Pensions Commission published an analysis of the UK pensions system last October and has since been consulting ...

News from LRD

LRD at the TUC (251 words)

This year the Labour Research Department (LRD) again had a stall at the TUC Congress in Brighton. ...

Equality audit (63 words)

One of the main research projects LRD staff worked on over the past year was an equality audit of TUC unions. ...

Reviews

Blairism and the war of persuasion (135 words)

Deborah Lynn Steinberg and Richard Johnson (eds), Lawrence and Wishart, 256 pages, paperback, £17.99 ...

Milton and the modern media (174 words)

John Milton and Granville Williams, B&D, 6-8 Church Street, Church, Lancashire BB5 4LF, 108 pages, paperback, £4.00 ...

Patterns of protest (142 words)

John Crabtree, Latin America Bureau, 118 pages, paperback, £8.99 ...

E-views

e-views (303 words)

Unions may be waking up to the potential of "viral marketing". ...