Fact Service January 2022

Issue 4 (27/012022) - Lower borrowing windfall 'could be used to tackle energy costs'; Only game-changing pay rise will halt NHS exodus, unions say; Two speed recovery as UK growth slows; Unions want climate change better reflected in curriculum; Less than a third of top jobs are held by women; University strikes approach; Most vulnerable face 56% faster energy bill rises; Pilots petition PM for recovery plan

Issue 3 (20/01/2022) - Earnings fall as pay rises lag behind cost of living; Inflation soars to near 30 year high; TUC: quarter million self-isolating without pay; UK GDP passed pre-Covid levels before Omicron; Highway Code changes this month; ILO: no global jobs recovery this year; Victory for 'designed-out' bus driver

Issue 2 (13/01/2022) - Top bosses pass average wage after four day's work; Major change predicted for jobs market; Wealth inequalities highlighted in latest figures; Jack Dromey RIP; Call for action follows closure news; Unions question redeployment advice; Workers’ pension funds now own just 6% of shares

Issue 1 (06/01/2022) - Britain needs pay rise to avert storm, says TUC; ITUC calls for 2022 to be year of peace; Schools measures 'not enough'; Little change on inequality seen last year; 2022 'could see national rail strike'; Report predicts this will be the year of the squeeze; BMA: staff absences making NHS unsustainable

Issue 4

Lower borrowing windfall ‘could be used to tackle energy costs’ (201 words)

The UK government borrowed £16.8 billion last month, the fourth highest December figure since 1993, but less than expected and £7.6 billion down on ...
Open access

Only game-changing pay rise will halt NHS exodus, unions say (299 words)

Long waiting times and staff shortages in the NHS will become permanent unless the government brings in a “game-changing retention package, with an ...
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Two speed recovery as UK growth slows (259 words)

The effect of the Omicron variant on the hospitality, leisure and travel industries slowed UK business growth to an 11 month low in January, creating ...
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Unions want climate change better reflected in curriculum (154 words)

Six education unions – the NEU, NASUWT, NAHT, UCU, UNISON and GMB, along with the NUS, charity SOS-UK, think tank The Edge, and the ThoughtBox ...
Open access

Less than a third of top jobs are held by women (276 words)

The latest report from equality charity The Fawcett Society has found that progress towards equal representation for women in UK top jobs is ...
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University strikes approach (416 words)

The UCU universities and colleges union has warned employers that university campuses will see further strike action in February unless its demands ...
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Most vulnerable face 56% faster energy bill rises (277 words)

The people who will be hardest hit by rising energy bills are likely to be single parents, pensioners, and families with one or more disabled member, ...
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Pilots petition PM for recovery plan (175 words)

BALPA reports that over 4,613 pilots have written to the prime minister urging him to boost the UK aviation industry’s recovery after a two-year ...
Open access

Issue 3

Earnings fall as pay rises lag behind cost of living (1,118 words)

Average weekly earnings when compared to the cost of living fell in November for the first time since July 2020, according to the Office for National ...
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Inflation soars to near 30 year high (219 words)

Inflation rose at its fastest rate for nearly 30 years in the 12 months to December, reaching 5.4% CPI (consumer prices index), up from 5.1% the ...
Open access

TUC: quarter million self-isolating without pay (179 words)

The TUC has estimated that around a quarter of a million private sector workers (267,800) were self-isolating without decent sick pay or any sick pay ...
Open access

UK GDP passed pre-Covid levels before Omicron (412 words)

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that UK GDP passed pre-Covid levels for the first time in November, unexpectedly rising by 0.9%. ...
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Highway Code changes this month (147 words)

Communications workers’ union the CWU has issued a timely reminder to its members that is relevant to all road users: UK traffic rules will change ...
Open access

ILO: no global jobs recovery this year (143 words)

UN labour agency the ILO has downgraded its forecast for a global recovery in jobs this year. Instead it is projecting a deficit in hours worked ...
Open access

Victory for ‘designed-out’ bus driver (130 words)

A campaign by the Unite union has forced bus operator Go Ahead to reinstate five foot tall bus driver Tracey Scholes, who had been “designed out” ...
Open access

Issue 2

Top bosses pass average wage after four day’s work (366 words)

Top bosses took just four days to earn above the UK annual salary, the High Pay Centre has said. It set High Pay Day for 2022 – the day when FTSE ...
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Major change predicted for jobs market (438 words)

The next decade will see renewed “job churn”, after decades of declining change in the UK labour market that has reduced the risk of damaging job ...
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Wealth inequalities highlighted in latest figures (513 words)

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures on household total wealth in Great Britain from April 2018 to March 2020 show wealth inequality remains ...
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Jack Dromey RIP (316 words)

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has spoken in memory of Jack Dromey, MP and former official of Unite and its predecessor the T&GWU, who has ...
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Call for action follows closure news (125 words)

General union GMB has called for action on retail leases and rents after the announcement that homeware chain Wilko is to close 16 stores across the ...
Open access

Unions question redeployment advice (230 words)

Public service union UNISON has spoken out against Department for Education guidance encouraging schools to use support staff “more flexibly”. ...
Open access

Workers’ pension funds now own just 6% of shares (358 words)

A joint report by the TUC and the Common Wealth and High Pay Centre think tanks shows that UK workers are getting comparatively little benefit from ...
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Issue 1

Britain needs pay rise to avert storm, says TUC (320 words)

The TUC is challenging the government to “give Britain a pay rise” to deflect what it warns is a cost of living crisis this year. ...
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ITUC calls for 2022 to be year of peace (121 words)

In its New Year message the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) asked for threats to peace to be given the same attention as Covid-19 and ...
Open access

Schools measures ‘not enough’ (530 words)

Education unions have registered their dissatisfaction with the latest government anti-Covid advice and promises to England’s schools. ...
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Little change on inequality seen last year (340 words)

The High Pay Centre has reviewed 2021 and concluded that “what appears most notable are the striking similarities between now and this time last ...
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2022 ‘could see national rail strike’ (345 words)

The general secretary of the TSSA rail union has warned of a possible national railway strike this year as jobs are cut and workers see the cost of ...
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Report predicts this will be the year of the squeeze (346 words)

The Resolution Foundation is predicting that 2022 will be “the year of the squeeze”, with real wages set to be no higher next Christmas than they ...
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BMA: staff absences making NHS unsustainable (450 words)

As the number of workers off sick rises across multiple sectors and rail services are cut as a result, doctors’ union the BMA has warned that the ...
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