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Labour Research December 2018
More top executives scoop huge pay packages - The fat cats remain as fat as ever, thanks to their whopping remuneration packages as our latest executive pay survey finds; Unions help mitigate effects of "period poverty" - Some women and girls in the UK are unable to afford menstrual products, leading unions to campaign against "period poverty"; Migration: myths and reality - As the government gets ready to unveil its post-Brexit migration plans, Labour Research examines myths around migration
News
Unions hurl brickbats at May’s Brexit withdrawal agreement (353 words)
Unions have given prime minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal short shrift, demanding that a better deal be sought to protect workers’ jobs and ...
Subscribers only
Lecturers urge government to act quickly on pensions funding (327 words)
The UCU lecturers’ union has urged the government to act quickly so that the further and higher education sectors are not hit by a £300 million ... Subscribers only
Cammell Laird (98 words)
Shipyard workers at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead last month undertook the first of a series of 24-hour strikes after learning that ...
Open access
RMT strike action over safety (172 words)
Members of the RMT rail union took strike action on Saturdays throughout November in a long-running fight for safety on the Arriva Rail North (ARN or ... Open access
‘Shocking’ NHS staffing shortfall presents risks to quality of care (344 words)
News that the NHS staffing shortfall of 100,000 could reach quarter of a million by the end of the next decade has been described by health service ... Subscribers only
Job fears over Bombardier cuts (195 words)
Unions at Bombardier were last month demanding urgent answers after the aerospace manufacturer announced plans to axe 5,000 jobs across its ... Open access
Tories criticised as axe falls on fire service (272 words)
The FBU firefighters’ union has criticised the government for continuing to cut firefighters’ jobs in England. The union said the cuts have led ... Subscribers only
Unemployment edges higher (206 words)
Unemployment edged higher in the latest quarter, official data reveals. The number of unemployed people in the UK increased by 21,000 to 1.38 million ... Open access
Inflation steadies (70 words)
Falls in food and clothing costs were offset by rising utility bills as petrol continued to rise. Nevertheless, under the Retail Prices Index, ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (412 words)
Inflation +3.3%, Average earnings +2.8% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Union agrees substantial organisational changes (444 words)
The CWU communications union has agreed some major organisational changes including moves to strengthen its branches, bring its equality work into ... Subscribers only
Former official withdraws claim (204 words)
Gerard Coyne, formerly the West Midlands regional secretary of the Unite general union, has withdrawn his claim of unfair dismissal against the union. ... Open access
BECTU leader (72 words)
BECTU, the media and entertainment section of the Prospect union, now has its first female leader in Philippa Childs. She replaces Gerry Morrissey ... Open access
Union political fund rules (145 words)
All unions with political funds have amended their fund rules satisfactorily, according to the certification officer (CO), who must approve the ... Open access
UNISON tool (27 words)
The UNISON public services union has developed an online tool, called Easy Joiner, to make it simpler for reps to sign up new members. ... Open access
European news
More progress made on workers’ minimum rights (284 words)
The European Parliament has agreed to back new European legislation which would give workers more information on their own working conditions and a ... Subscribers only
Local works councils continue to have support of German workers (316 words)
German workers continue to value their local works councils, at least as indicated by the level of turnout in the recent works council elections.
... Subscribers only
Polish strikers win reinstatement (107 words)
Following a two-week strike at Polish airline LOT, the company has agreed to reinstate the head of the local union organisation, Monika Zelazik, who ... Open access
Finnish government backs down (142 words)
The Finnish government has withdrawn proposals intended to make it easier to dismiss workers in companies employing 20 or fewer workers.
... Open access
Features
Fat cats lap up the cream (2,420 words)
The annual Labour Research survey of the pay of top executives finds that the highest paid among them continue to scoop up eye-wateringly huge ... Open access
Unions help tackle UK’s period poverty problem (2,206 words)
Being unable to afford menstrual products is no longer a problem confined to women in the developing world. Period poverty is on the rise in the ... Subscribers only
Puncturing migration myths (2,189 words)
As the government prepares to reveal its plans on post-Brexit EU migration, Labour Research examines the reality behind some migration myths.
... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Tribunal considers test for long-term disability (292 words)
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has considered the correct test for deciding whether a condition is “likely” to last for 12 months for the ... Subscribers only
Taxi drivers are ‘workers’ entitled to holiday pay (361 words)
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld an Employment Tribunal decision that three drivers working for Addison Lee Ltd, the London-based ... Subscribers only
Compensation entitlement (254 words)
The former CEO of an oil company, dismissed for making protected disclosures (“whistleblowing”), was entitled to claim compensation from two ... Subscribers only
Law Queries
Redundancy during maternity leave (223 words)
Q. I’m currently on maternity leave and have just received a letter from my employer informing me that my department is being restructured and ... Open access
Unpaid overtime (224 words)
Q. We went through a very busy period at work recently. My supervisor was off sick and I worked a lot of additional hours to cover for her. I was ... Open access
Unfair redundancy (335 words)
Q. I’m about to be made redundant from my existing job after 10 years and have been offered another position at a lower salary and in a different ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
Part-time workers are entitled to parity of pay (920 words)
Two recent cases expose employers’ difficulties in getting to grips with proportionate pay for part-time workers, and show how workers can ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Price of bullying and harassment is high (290 words)
Bullying and harassment is costing the NHS an eye-watering £2.3 billion a year, according to a new study providing evidence of a “crucial ... Subscribers only
Bill aims to close justice gap (229 words)
The Scottish Hazards campaign group is calling on unions to get behind Labour MSP Claire Baker’s Culpable Homicide (Scotland) Bill launched at the ... Open access
Tackling slavery (115 words)
New Scottish government guidance, Slavery and human trafficking: guidance for business in Scotland, recognises the vital role unions can play in ... Open access
Just transition (124 words)
Unions must be at the forefront of the emission reduction strategies needed to avoid catastrophic climate change if there is to be a “just ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Work-related violence: more needs to be done (910 words)
Unions campaigned for, and welcomed, new laws that came into effect last month increasing the penalties for assaulting emergency workers. But recent ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Women face hurdles to reaching parliament (323 words)
Women face obstacles at every stage on the way to Parliament, particularly from “gatekeepers” within the political parties, concludes a report by ... Subscribers only
Equality watchdog asks: how fair is life in Britain? (316 words)
Britain’s most at-risk groups are in danger of being left behind, according to a report commissioned by the Equality and Human Rights Commission ... Subscribers only
Complacency over age is criticised (244 words)
Parliament’s Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) said responses from the government and the EHRC equality watchdog to its report on older people ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
Avoiding the pitfalls of workplace parties (860 words)
A recent legal ruling provides a timely reminder that employers have legal responsibilities to protect staff at workplace Christmas functions. ... Subscribers only
E-views
e-views (478 words)
Towards the end of each year, I compile metrics to see which unions are the most influential on Twitter.
... Subscribers only