Fact Service July 2022

Issue 27: Union reports employers to HSE; ‘Over two million households’ default on bills in struggle to cope; One in five workplaces lacks LGBT+ policy; Health workers’ Covid leave measures end; Strike action approaching at Post Office and beyond; Stagnation leaves families ‘brutally exposed’ to prices crisis. Issue 28: Issue28: Workers and employers warned of imminent heatwave danger; Strike-breaker plan is passed by parliament; New gen sec for TUC; GDP in unexpected rise; Covid rise ‘should set alarm bells ringing’; Employers predict ‘unstable’ labour relations. Issue 29: ‘Kick in the teeth’ pay awards threaten to usher in wave of strikes; Inflation is up again; Real pay plummets in face of inflation; Pressure grows for maximum temperature law. Issue 30: Unions defy; Truss over right-to-strike threats; NHS has worst workforce crisis in its history, MPs find; UK ‘will have slowest growth in G7’; Unions issue joint responses on pay; Above-inflation win for airport drivers; Three out of four mothers and nine out of 10 fathers at work.

Issue 30

Unions defy Truss over right-to-strike threats
 (251 words)

Unions have pledged to defy any new attacks on the right to strike, after Tory leadership candidate Liz Truss boasted of plans to introduce further ...
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NHS has worst workforce crisis in its history, MPs find
 (618 words)

The NHS and social care face the “greatest workforce crisis in their history”, the cross-party Health and Social Care Committee of MPs has ...
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UK ‘will have slowest growth in G7’ (169 words)

The UK is likely to experience the slowest growth of the G7 richest economies next year, according to the International Monetary Fund’s latest ...
Open access

Unions issue joint responses on pay
 (382 words)

GMB, UNISON and Unite, who represent council and school staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, have joined to issue a first response to the £1 ...
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Above-inflation win for airport drivers
 (454 words)

Bus drivers employed by ABM at Gatwick Airport have achieved an inflation-beating 21.5% increase, Unite reports. 
 ...
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Three out of four mothers and nine out of 10 fathers at work
 (227 words)

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures on families and the labour market show that, in April to June 2021, three out of four mothers (75.6%) ...
Open access

Issue 29

‘Kick in the teeth’ pay awards threaten to usher in wave of strikes (1,049 words)

Unions representing millions of public sector workers have overwhelmingly rejected the pay rises announced by the government this week, and warned ...
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Inflation is up again
 (170 words)

Inflation is continuing to rise, hitting 9.4% CPI/11.8% RPI in June, up from 9.1%/11.7% the month before, according to the Office for National ...
Open access

Real pay plummets in face of inflation
 (552 words)

Real pay is falling at its fastest rate since records began in 2001 once soaring inflation is factored in, figures from the ONS show.
 ...
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Pressure grows for maximum temperature law
 (305 words)

With UK temperatures reaching their highest ever level this week, general unions GMB and Unite have added their voices to calls for a statutory ...
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Issue 28

Workers and employers warned of imminent heatwave danger
 (370 words)

With UK temperatures reaching record levels and a rare level three heat health warning being issued by the Met Office and UK Health Security Agency, ...
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Strike-breaker plan is passed by parliament (230 words)

MPs have approved plans to allow firms to use agency workers to replace striking staff in public services such as transport, healthcare and ...
Open access

New gen sec for TUC
 (204 words)

Paul Nowak, who is currently the TUC deputy general secretary, will take over from Frances O’Grady as general secretary in January 2023.
 ...
Open access

GDP in unexpected rise
 (289 words)

The UK economy unexpectedly returned to growth in May after two months’ decline, despite the rampaging inflation that is fuelling the cost of ...
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Covid rise ‘should set alarm bells ringing’
 (357 words)

Public services union UNISON has called for action to be taken now to counter rising Covid rates and prepare for a dangerous winter increase.
 ...
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Employers predict ‘unstable’ labour relations
 (624 words)

HR institute the CIPD is urging employers to engage with employee representatives and trade unions after its research predicted that a tight labour ...
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Issue 27

Union reports employers to HSE
 (283 words)

The FBU firefighters’ union has formally reported two fire and rescue services to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
 ...
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‘Over two million households’ default on bills in struggle to cope (619 words)

More than two million households defaulted on at least one bill payment last month in response to the cost of living crisis, according to research ...
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One in five workplaces lacks LGBT+ policy
 (229 words)

One in five (21%) workplaces still has no policy in place to support their LGBT workers, according to an online poll of 1,000 HR managers carried out ...
Open access

Health workers’ Covid leave measures end
 (194 words)

Special paid leave for Covid-19 sickness and self-isolation for health workers brought in during the pandemic is being withdrawn in England this ...
Open access

Strike action approaching at Post Office and beyond
 (591 words)

The Unite general union has announced that 2,400 managers will work to rule on 15-19 July, followed by strike action on 20-22 July, over a plan by ...
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Stagnation leaves families ‘brutally exposed’ to prices crisis
 (335 words)

Economic stagnation, under which real typical household disposable income growth for working age families fell to 0.7% a year in the 15 years leading ...
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