Issue 30

Settlements creep up to 3% in second quarter (188 words)

Average pay settlements crept up from a midpoint of 2.7% to 3.0% in the three months to June, according to Workplace Report, the monthly ...

The union effect in health and safety (378 words)

Trade unions are the most effective tool in ensuring good health and safety at work because organised workplaces are safer workplaces. That is one ...

Discrimination against disabled needs tackling (314 words)

More than seven million disabled people in the UK are being prevented from getting jobs or reaching their full potential by employers and recruiters ...

Poorer households lose out to richer ones (674 words)

Households with lower than average earnings have seen a sharp decline in their gains from growth in the economy over the past 30 years, ...

UK economy shows slower growth (373 words)

Initial estimates show that growth in the UK economy slowed in the second quarter of the year. ...

Government links with News International (295 words)

The extent of the government’s association with the Rupert Murdoch’s companies has been laid bare in official figures showing that 20 Cabinet ministers met ...

Do as I say not as I do (163 words)

Rail union RMT has revealed that Sir Roy McNulty was paid nearly £250,000 by the government for his “rail review” that urges staff cuts ...

Issue 29

Public sector workers taking tribunal cases (262 words)

Almost four in 10 employment tribunal appeals are made by public sector staff, far more than would be expected from its proportional size in ...

Full-time jobs shortage leads to part-time work (196 words)

The number of people working part-time because they cannot find full-time employment has hit its highest ever recorded figure of 1.25 million, the latest ...

Employers ignorant over screen protection (217 words)

Nearly a third of organisations are unaware of their legal obligations to staff using display screen equipment (DSE) according to research commissioned by PMI ...

Jobcentre closures 'irresponsible’ (189 words)

The planned closure of 20 Jobcentres by the Department for Work and Pensions is “unthinkable and irresponsible” at a time of high unemployment, the ...

Cut-price union dues (296 words)

Britain’s largest trade union, Unite, is launching cut-price memberships for students and the unemployed as it attempts to boost its ranks and counter David ...

Co-operative Group to close pension schemes (345 words)

The Co-operative Group has announced proposals to close final salary pension schemes they inherited in takeovers by the end of September in order to ...

Boardroom quotas — for and against (358 words)

Nearly two-thirds of UK firms are opposed to the idea of quotas to boost the number of women on boards, despite female board appointments ...

Changing complexion of labour market (348 words)

The last 20 years have seen a significant increase in the proportion of over-50s and people over retirement age in employment, says a TUC ...

Issue 28

Earnings growth stalls as living standards hit (448 words)

The brief recovery in average earnings growth ended in May, latest official figures show. In any event, the rises are still well below the ...

Questions raised over TV licence freeze (200 words)

The BBC licence fee deal must be re-examined in the light of revelations surrounding the disturbing influence of Rupert Murdoch and his News International ...

Manufacturing shrinks (91 words)

Manufacturing output fell by 0.2% in the three months to May compared with the previous three months, according to the Office for National Statistics ...

Inflation slows on lower housing costs (381 words)

Inflation slowed on both the main measures last month, according to the Office for National Statistics. The rate of inflation under the Retail Prices ...

Pay-offs as top BBC executives depart (267 words)

Pay-offs to two departing directors pushed the total pay bill for the directors of the BBC up by £969,000, according to the broadcaster’s latest ...

Unemployment falls, claimants rise (474 words)

Unemployment fell but the number of jobless benefit claimants rose, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. ...

Issue 27

Apprentices' pay (379 words)

Salary levels range considerably by apprenticeship, subject area and year/stage of apprenticeship, according to a new survey of apprenticeship pay, retention and training. ...

Families need more to make ends meet (356 words)

Many families now need to earn over 20% more than they did last year to achieve a minimum acceptable standard of living, according to ...

Age-related tribunal cases on the rise (353 words)

The number of age discrimination tribunal cases has now overtaken the number of cases involving race discrimination, latest statistics have shown. ...

Will EU legislate on union blacklisting? (260 words)

Anti-blacklisting campaigners have hailed a successful meeting with a senior European Union official to discuss new legislation which would outlaw the practice. ...

Lack of prosecutions over minimum wage (171 words)

Despite nearly three and a half thousand poorly paid workers in Wales getting less than the minimum wage since 2002, not one single prosecution ...

Conservative council sacks workforce (247 words)

A Conservative-controlled council has sent letters of dismissal to its entire workforce, telling them they will be re-hired the next day only if they ...

On-site service unions sign agreement (244 words)

On-site service solutions provider Sodexo has become the first in the industry to sign a National Framework Agreement with three of the UK’s leading ...