Labour Research October 2019

Labour Party election candidates and the unions - With an election likely, candidates have been chosen for Labour’s top target seats. What sorts of links do they have with the unions? Labour’s plans for energy democracy - Labour has pledged to take key utilities, including energy, back into public ownership, though there are differing opinions on strategy; ILO celebrates 100th anniversary - The International Labour Organization has been celebrating its centenary this year.Labour Research looks at its aims and achievements

News

Chronic underfunding leads to crisis in firefighter numbers
 (328 words)

Firefighter numbers are in crisis due to chronic underfunding, the FBU firefighters’ union has warned, after a report by the union revealed that ...
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Education spending plans derided
 (319 words)

Education unions have criticised the government’s announcement of billions more in spending for schools in England as not enough to tackle ...
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Pay offer follows indefinite strike
 (136 words)

As Labour Research went to press, the PCS public and commercial services union had been made aware of a pay offer by the Department for Business, ...
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Pilots’ action ‘virtually solid’
 (105 words)

The two-day strike action in early September by BA pilots was a powerful demonstration of their strength of feeling, said the BALPA pilots’ ...
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Unions pledge support for school students’ strike for climate justice
 (284 words)

In a determined debate at this year’s TUC Congress, unions pledged to be at the forefront of tackling climate change and committed to supporting ...
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Health unions warn over No Deal
 (263 words)

Health unions have issued a strongly-worded warning that a No-Deal Brexit could result in fatal medicine shortages.
 ...
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HS2 delay comes under fire (231 words)

The government has been accused by the TSSA transport union of lacking ambition after announcing that the first phase of the HS2 high-speed railway ...
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Unemployment edges lower
 (209 words)

Unemployment has edged lower, latest official figures show. Unemployment in the UK in the three-month period May to July 2019 fell by 11,000 to 1.29 ...
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Earnings have not caught up (66 words)

Weekly earnings are still lower than before the 2008-2009 downturn after taking inflation into account, says the Office for National Statistics (ONS). ...
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Key economic indicators

Key economic indicators (413 words)

Inflation + 2.8%, Average earnings +4.2% ...
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Union news

TUC outlines proposals for stronger voice for workers
 (466 words)

Unions would have the legal right to access workplaces to tell people about the benefits of union membership and collective bargaining under ...
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‘Significant’ agreement secured
 (149 words)

The Unite general union has reached what it calls a “significant” recognition deal on behalf of cleaners at the Peterborough distribution ...
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Mick Cash re-elected to lead rail union
 (120 words)

Mick Cash was last month re-elected as general secretary of the RMT transport union after beating former president Sean Hoyle in a two-horse race. ...
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Young workers’ task force
 (126 words)

The Community union has set up a young workers’ task force, which will look at why young people aren’t joining unions and how that can be ...
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European news

Action demanded to tackle level of temporary work
 (403 words)

Spain’s two main union confederations, CCOO and UGT, have renewed their call for a change in the law to reduce the very high level of temporary ...
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Irish forces union applies to Congress
 (237 words)

The body representing armed forces personnel in Ireland, PDFORRA, has formally asked to affiliate to Ireland’s sole trade union confederation, the ...
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Renewed teachers’ strike possible in Poland
 (150 words)

The main Polish teachers’ union, the ZNP, is set to decide early this month on whether to renew its nationwide strike action which was suspended ...
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IG Metall 
wins meeting
 (108 words)

Google Deutschland, the German subsidiary of the owner of YouTube, has agreed to a meeting with IG Metall, the country’s biggest union. 
 ...
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Features

Labour’s candidates are part of the union
 (2,810 words)

With a general election looking increasingly likely, Labour Research examines the trade union backgrounds of some of those fighting for the Labour ...
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Fuelling energy democracy
 (2,562 words)

Taking energy back into public ownership is a key Labour Party commitment, though unions and others have differing approaches over strategy.
 ...
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Spotlighting international labour rights
 (2,099 words)

The International Labour Organization marks its centenary this year. Labour Research looks at the organisation’s history, some key achievements and ...
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Law Matters

Tribunal to reconsider if claim was out of time
 (354 words)

An employee should not wait to hear the outcome of their appeal against dismissal before bringing an unfair dismissal claim in the employment ...
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When does the law say an impairment is ‘long term’? (304 words)

When deciding whether an individual has a disability for the purpose of the Equality Act 2010 (EA 10), the likelihood of an impairment being “long ...
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Whistleblowing protection clarified (242 words)

In deciding whether an individual is protected by whistleblowing laws, it is enough to show that they reasonably believe the information they ...
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Law Queries

Acting up
 (344 words)

Q. have taken on some of my line manager’s duties since she left six months ago and I don’t want to continue doing them. Can I just stop doing ...
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Disability-related absence
 (457 words)

Q. I have had a lot of time off over the past eight months because of a neck injury resulting from a car accident. My absences have been for a few ...
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Law Back-up

Contract change: can it be imposed without consent?
 (1,014 words)

This month, Back-up examines the options available to workers when an employer imposes new terms and conditions without their consent. 
 ...
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Health & Safety Matters

Unite demands action on driver exhaustion
 (377 words)

The Unite general union has called on Transport for London (TfL) to take decisive action to tackle fatigue in the wake of new research revealing that ...
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Asbestos ban celebrated (178 words)

October sees trade unionists and safety campaigners marking the 20th anniversary of the UK ban on asbestos at an event in Sheffield. 
 ...
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Asbestos cancers
 (64 words)

The Prospect professionals’ union has highlighted new research showing that electricity workers are more likely to develop the asbestos-related ...
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Safe staffing levels
 (103 words)

Rail unions RMT and TSSA have called for safe staffing on trains and stations as new British Transport Police (BTP) figures show another surge in ...
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Fatigue and shiftwork
 (72 words)

The midwives’ RCM union has pledged its support for the Fight Fatigue campaign, which aims to raise awareness about the impact of fatigue and ...
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Health & Safety Back-up

Unions say Brexit will lead to ‘chemical chaos’
 (985 words)

Back-up looks at how Brexit could affect UK laws controlling dangerous or hazardous substances. 
 ...
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Equality news

Third of flexible working requests denied
 (210 words)

One in three flexible working requests are turned down, according to a TUC survey which shows that people in working class jobs are most likely to ...
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Wales sees increase in modern slavery reports
 (331 words)

There has been a 30% increase in reported cases of modern slavery in Wales in the last year, according to National Crime Agency statistics. This ...
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Equality enforcement must be boosted (224 words)

The individual approach to enforcement of equality law is no longer fit for purpose, the House of Commons select committee on Women and Equalities ...
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Workplace Back-up

Addressing the impact of the robotics revolution
 (963 words)

Millions of jobs are threatened by rising automation and the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI). Back-up looks at union involvement in ...
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E-views

e-views (426 words)

What is digital transformation and what does it mean for unions?
 ...
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