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Labour Research January 2025
Labour’s plans on rail re-nationalisation Labour says it will fix the disastrous state of Britain’s railways. So what do trade unions think of Labour’s plans?
The ongoing adult social care crisis What is the nature and extent of the crisis in adult social care? And what can be done to overcome it?
Dealing with violence in the workplace Violence at work is an increasing issue for many workers. And existing legislation is not enough to deal with the problem, say unions
News
Investment needed to ‘Get Britain Working’ (221 words)
Responding to the government’s Get Britain Working White Paper (see page 22), TUC general secretary Paul Novak said it was right to focus on ...
Open access
Workplace day of action calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza (289 words)
The TUC and unions united to support a workplace day of action calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in response to an urgent appeal from ...
Subscribers only
Report reveals extent of UK strikes (364 words)
StrikeMap’s first annual report shows that 170,000 individual workplaces took strike action during 2023, the peak of the recent strike wave. The ... Subscribers only
Health unions demand scrapping of ‘outdated’ Pay Review Body process (245 words)
Three of the largest health unions, UNISON, the RCN and Unite, have called on health secretary Wes Streeting to “ditch the current time-consuming ... Open access
One in 10 in precarious work (208 words)
New research reveals that around one in 10 UK workers are now in precarious work. ... Open access
Halt plant closure, says Unite (142 words)
The Unite general union has demanded the Stellantis automotive company halt the planned closure of its electric van plant in Luton following CEO ... Open access
Decarbonisation funds for steel (84 words)
Steel unions Community, GMB and Unite called on the UK government to step up and be ready to commit money earmarked to enable British Steel to ... Open access
Inflation rate 2025 (72 words)
Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation could average 3.5% in 2025, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. RPI is the better measure of the ... Open access
Labour market indicators (198 words)
A new report by the job postings website, Indeed, finds strong growth in advertised wage rates of 6.7% in the year in October. ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (423 words)
Inflation (RPI) +3.4%, Average earnings +4.8% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Union triumphs in lengthy battle over check-off subscriptions (427 words)
The PCS public services union has won a decade-long battle with the UK government over its attempt to financially cripple the union by removing the ... Subscribers only
Pharmacists’ prescription for growth (258 words)
The 37,000-strong PDAU pharmacists’ union will expand further this month as it takes in members of the Boots Pharmacists Association (BPA) — a ... Subscribers only
Prospect members and Labour (151 words)
Two-thirds of members of the Prospect professionals’ union polled just after last July’s general election felt the new Labour government would ... Open access
Correction: general secretary (77 words)
In Union News in the December 2024 issue of Labour Research, we incorrectly stated that Andy Gilchrist had been re-elected as general secretary of ... Open access
European news
New laws on bullying and harassment (67 words)
The Polish government is planning to introduce new legislation on bullying and harassment. ... Open access
Labour shortages (98 words)
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has pointed to the link between labour shortages and low pay. ... Open access
Warning on bargaining rights (63 words)
The two main union confederations in Luxembourg, OGBL and LCCB, have sounded the alarm about the way the European directive on adequate minimum wages ... Open access
Conflict in balance at Volkswagen as 100,000 take strike action (378 words)
Volkswagen, Germany’s largest car company, and IG Metall, the country’s largest union, again failed to reach an agreement on a pay deal in ... Subscribers only
Figures show membership strength (285 words)
New figures on the relative strength of Italian unions in the private sector confirm that CGIL, generally seen as the most militant of Italy’s ... Subscribers only
Features
Is Labour on the right track over rail re-nationalisation? (2,165 words)
A Bill on public ownership of the railways was one of the first pieces of legislation Labour introduced into Parliament after taking office. The Bill ... Subscribers only
Adult social care in crisis (2,476 words)
Reports reveal an adult social care sector stretched to breaking point — with a 2024 TUC Congress motion acknowledging the severity of the ... Subscribers only
Tackling the rise of workplace violence (2,152 words)
Trade unions report that violence at work remains an ongoing and increasing issue for many of their members. ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
PCS entitled to enforce check-off agreement (328 words)
The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the right of a union, as a “third party” to enforce a check-off agreement with various government departments. ... Subscribers only
Redundancy Consultation (311 words)
The Court of Appeal (CA) has agreed with the decision of an Employment Tribunal (ET), rejecting a suggestion that there is a requirement for ... Subscribers only
Increased minimum wage rates (135 words)
The government has announced the new National Living Wage (NLW) rates that will apply from April 2025, accepting the recommendations of the Low Pay ... Open access
New case management agenda (104 words)
The employment tribunals have published an updated template for the case management agenda which must be completed by the parties in many tribunal ... Open access
Law Queries
Q&A (785 words)
Redundancy and fixed-term contracts ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
Flexible working changes: how does the law work? (882 words)
The law is in the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA96) Sections 80F to 80I and the Flexible Working Regulations 2014 (FWR14). It applies to employees ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Matt Hancock faces criticism from unions (228 words)
The UNISON public services union called on former Tory health and social care secretary Matt Hancock to take responsibility for “the chaos caused ... Open access
Labour must recognise occupational health (340 words)
The Labour government’s recently launched Get Britain Working White Paper, fails to recognise the role of occupational health in preventing ... Subscribers only
Safety officer wins award (184 words)
Unite general union national health and safety officer Rob Miguel has won this year’s Safety and Health Practitioner “Most Influential” award, ... Open access
Statutory duty demanded on response to flooding (439 words)
Following devastating floods caused by Storm Bert in the UK in late November, the FBU firefighters’ union has written to ministers demanding the ... Subscribers only
COP agreement inadequate (177 words)
The agreement reached at the conclusion of the latest COP29 international climate negotiations (see Labour Research, December 2024 page 23), is ... Open access
Scottish oil and gas workers rally over plant closure (239 words)
Workers from the Grangemouth oil refinery and other Scottish oil and gas workplaces marched and rallied in late November 2024 at the Scottish ... Open access
Equality news
Union finds BBC approach ‘deeply troubling’ (210 words)
The Bectu media and entertainment section of the Prospect specialists’ union has commented on the way the BBC has handled allegations of ... Open access
Black women suffer racialised harassment (351 words)
A TUC report reveals high levels of racialised sexual harassment against Black women in the workplace. ... Subscribers only
Disabled musicians hit (267 words)
New research released by the Musicians’ Union (MU) and the charity, Help Musicians, reveals that disabled musicians face systemic attitudinal, ... Subscribers only
Workplace Back-up
Action over pay by sixth form college teachers (917 words)
As Labour Research went to press, over 2,000 sixth form college teachers, members of the NEU education union, are set to strike on 7, 8 and 9 January ... Subscribers only