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Labour Research May 2025
Unions blast Labour’s welfare reforms Unions and others have been shocked and dismayed that it is a Labour government that is cutting welfare support to sick and disabled people
Union banners: part of the fabric of the movement As International Workers’ Day approaches, Labour Research looks at the rich history of trade union banners
Can the government rebuild the public estate? There is an urgent need to tackle the state of Britain’s crumbling public building workplaces. Is the government up to the task?
News
Four-day week deal gets thumbs up (219 words)
April saw London Underground (LU) drivers from the ASLEF union overwhelmingly vote in favour of a four-day working week. ...
Open access
Workers ‘must not pay the price’ for new tariffs set by Trump (317 words)
The Unite, GMB and Community unions have warned of the impact that America’s new tariffs could have on UK industry and jobs without government ...
Subscribers only
Birmingham refuse collectors reject latest pay offer from council (286 words)
Birmingham’s striking refuse workers have overwhelmingly rejected the council’s latest pay offer, meaning that industrial action is set to ... Subscribers only
Emergency intervention in steel crisis, but future remains uncertain (341 words)
The government last month recalled both houses of Parliament in a bid to secure the future of Scunthorpe steelworks, the last remaining primary ... Subscribers only
Teachers gear up for strike action (170 words)
Members of the National Education union have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action to secure a fully-funded pay award. The union ran the ... Open access
Union launches equal pay claim Community (244 words)
The GMB union has launched an equal pay claim at Barnet Council on behalf of 400 women working as school support staff. It is the first claim of its ... Open access
Inflation at 3.2% (75 words)
RPI inflation was 3.2% in March 2025, down from a recent high of 3.6% in January. Rents rose faster than inflation and are now 7.7% higher than a ... Open access
Labour market indicators (210 words)
Earnings growth over the whole economy in the three months to February 2025 was 5.9%. ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (427 words)
Inflation (RPI) +3.2%, Average earnings (ONS regular) +5.8% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Pharmacists’ union negotiates to build on recognition victory (219 words)
Following the announcement earlier this year of pharmacists and foundation trainee pharmacists employed at Superdrug to recognise the Pharmacists’ ... Open access
Call for MPs to vote against cuts (294 words)
The new leader of the FBU firefighters’ union has called on Labour MPs to vote against the government’s welfare cuts (see pages 9-11). ... Subscribers only
Farage stunt decried by Community (218 words)
The Community union last month criticised a photo stunt in which Nigel Farage, leader of the right wing Reform UK party, was featured as part of a ... Open access
European news
Italy’s largest union grows (80 words)
The latest membership figures from CGIL, Italy’s largest union confederation, show modest growth in 2024. ... Open access
Another general strike in Belgium (84 words)
Belgium’s two main union confederations, CSC/ACV and FGTB/ABVV, called for further strike action last month following extensive support for the ... Open access
Tariff dispute (49 words)
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has called on the EU to protect jobs and stand firm against any backtracking on standards and rights in ... Open access
Five main union confederations retain ranking in private sector (315 words)
The five main French union confederations have retained their relative positions in the private sector in the official indicator of employee support, ... Subscribers only
Government commits on collective bargaining and minimum wage (307 words)
The new German coalition government, formed by the centre-right CDU and the centre-left SPD after the elections in February, last month reached an ... Subscribers only
Features
The unkindest cuts of all? Unions blast welfare reforms (2,211 words)
Unions and disability campaign groups have expressed shock and condemned plans outlined by work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall and chancellor ... Subscribers only
Weaving threads of resistance (1,970 words)
Trade union banners are a visual representation of the unity and collective strength of workers. They represent the collective identity of workers in ... Subscribers only
Can Labour fix Britain’s decaying public estate? (2,197 words)
Education unions have long warned of the poor and even dangerous state of school buildings. Things came to a head in summer 2023 when roofs ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Travel requirement did not create disadvantage (353 words)
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) allowed an employer’s appeal against the decision of an Employment Tribunal (ET) that a female employee was ... Subscribers only
Dismissal was possibly fair (312 words)
An employer’s genuine, but mistaken, belief that the employee had resigned could be a potentially fair reason for dismissal. This was the decision ... Subscribers only
Increase in tribunal compensation limits (132 words)
Increases have been made to the compensation limits for certain employment rights, as the Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2025 came into ... Open access
Skilled care worker visa abuses (86 words)
Quarterly statistics, in the form of the Sponsorship transparency data Q4 2024, released by the government, show the number of licences for ... Open access
Law Queries
Q&A (789 words)
SSP and more than one job ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
Rights of minorities and freedom of speech (904 words)
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) provides for rights to freedom of belief and freedom of expression, and the Equality Act 2010 (EA10) ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Safe Home campaign (133 words)
The Equity performers and creative practitioners’ union has welcomed £10,000 investment from Belfast City Council to support its Safe Home ... Open access
Job quality (102 words)
New research from the University of Warwick shows work-related ill health is costing UK businesses up to £41 billion a year, with 1.77 million ... Open access
Unions demand urgent reform for seafarers (267 words)
Maritime unions have called for urgent reform of seafarers’ working conditions after a global survey found a shocking lack of access to shore leave ... Subscribers only
NHS buildings 'falling apart' (262 words)
A new survey of almost 9,000 health workers by the UNISON public services union paints a worrying picture of a dilapidated NHS estate, with buildings ... Subscribers only
Unsafe air pollution exists in most neighbourhoods (268 words)
A new analysis of air pollution data from the environment, farming and rural affairs department has found that 95% of neighbourhoods in England and ... Subscribers only
Huge benefits accrue from investment in railways (340 words)
The ASLEF train drivers’ union has welcomed a new report showing that investing in Scotland’s railways provides a “strong and substantial ... Subscribers only
Great British Energy (141 words)
Rooftop solar panels on 200 schools and 200 hospitals will be the first project to be undertaken by Great British Energy (GBE), the investment body ... Open access
Luton Airport expansion (91 words)
The Unite general union has welcomed government approval for the expansion of London Luton Airport which, it says, will create 4,200 new jobs. ... Open access
Equality news
Professional LGBTQ+ workers face discrimination (212 words)
Many LGBTQ+ professionals face discrimination in the workplace, from biases in recruitment and promotion to diminished confidence that begins early ... Open access
Childcare expansion presents mixed results (344 words)
There is good news for some working parents in England who struggle with childcare costs, according to the latest Childcare Survey 2025 from the ... Subscribers only
Employers deny one in five flexible working requests (274 words)
While over one in five workers (21%) have successfully requested flexible working, an equal proportion (21%) have had their requests declined, with ... Subscribers only
Workplace Back-up
Employers deny one in five flexible working requests (892 words)
The new rates took effect on 9 April. Most workers without British or Irish citizenship, EU settled or pre-settled status, or indefinite leave to ... Subscribers only