Issue 4

TUC Aid — Haiti Earthquake Appeal (76 words)

TUC Aid is making an appeal to affiliates, union members and to the general public for funds for emergency relief and long-term rehabilitation of ...

Weekly earnings data are distorted by media (325 words)

The government statistician, the Office for National Statistics, has replaced the monthly average earnings index with money figures for showing average weekly earnings (see ...

Young jobless to get access to ‘work’ (427 words)

Every young person who is unemployed for six months will be guaranteed the offer of a job, training or work experience, supported by up ...

UK has finally come out of recession (244 words)

As widely expected, the UK economy has emerged from recession, official first estimates show. The quarterly rise comes after six successive quarters of falls. ...

Equality reps make a difference at work (383 words)

In workplaces across the UK, a growing army of new union reps is working hard to ensure their workplaces become fairer, more equal places ...

Proposals put forward on ageing workforce (511 words)

A set of proposals for fundamental changes to employment policies to open up more work opportunities for older Britons and address the challenges of ...

Pay freezes hold rise in settlements to 2% (217 words)

The latest figures from Labour Research Department’s Payline database of collective agreements show a median (midpoint) increase in the three months to December 2009 ...

Issue 3

Unemployment is down to 2.46 million (498 words)

Unemployment fell for the first time in 18 months, according to the Office for National Statistics. ...

Inflation gathers pace (349 words)

Inflation rose to its highest level since November 2008 as cuts in mortgage interest payments a year ago fell out of the calculations, latest ...

Gender pay measures are announced (291 words)

Employers that choose to analyse and report publicly their gender pay gaps will receive limited immunity from investigation, the equalities watchdog has announced. ...

Recession hit harder in cities suffering already (404 words)

The recession has widened the gap between UK city economies. Cities that were already suffering before the recession have been hit hardest, according to ...

Earnings growth edges upwards again (326 words)

Earnings growth moved upwards again in November, the latest figures show. ...

Issue 2

Manufacturing is heading for recovery (254 words)

Manufacturing has recovered slightly and output has now been flat since September, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), ...

Being a union member has many advantages (210 words)

Union members get higher wages, better sickness and pension benefits, are much more likely to be able to take advantage of flexible working and ...

Executive pay remains in the stratosphere (425 words)

Thirty directors, who received over £500,000 including 19 of them on £1 million a year or more, provide some strong evidence to suggest that ...

Cameron threatens new union laws (198 words)

Before you put your cross on your election paper, consider the following report from the Conservative party's friend in Fleet Street, the Daily Telegraph ...

Survey shows the bad side of shopping (266 words)

Violence against retail staff continues as an unacceptable threat to the health and well-being of retail’s three million employees. The latest survey from the ...

Scottish court rejects ‘cynical’ challenge (322 words)

Some of the largest insurers in the UK have failed in their attempt to overturn the Scottish government’s law, which reinstates compensation to pleural ...

Plan for more council houses is unveiled (280 words)

Housing minster John Healey has doubled the government money available to English councils for building new homes. ...

New code on time off comes into operation (166 words)

Employment service Acas has now published the revised Code of Practice on time off for trade union duties and activities, which came into effect ...

Issue 1

Trade unionists given New Year honours (64 words)

Mary Turner, president of the GMB general union, has been awarded an MBE in the New Year’s honours list. ...

Final salary pension schemes die out (419 words)

Nine out of 10 defined benefit or final salary pension schemes are closed to new entrants with one in five now also closed to ...

Current account deficit shows little change (349 words)

Britain’s trading deficit with the rest of the world in the third quarter of last year was similar to that for the second quarter ...

Economy shrank less than thought (118 words)

The UK economy contracted at a slower pace than originally estimated in the third quarter of the year, quarterly national accounts show. ...

MPs call for top pay body in public sector (450 words)

A House of Commons select committee has called for a Top Pay Commission to “name and shame” public sector organisations that pay excessive salaries ...

Pay battle lands NHS trust with big legal bill (119 words)

North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust has spent millions of pounds on a legal battle over equal pay, prompting accusations of wasting taxpayers’ money. ...

Companies try to get round 50% tax rate (450 words)

The UK's leading companies are devising pay schemes that enable top executives to escape the new 50p rate of income tax for high earners ...

Weekly earnings data show a divide (93 words)

Average weekly earnings for the whole economy showed a 0.7% increase in October, latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. ...