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Labour Research July 2025
Unions slam Labour’s immigration plans The immigration White Paper has been given short shrift by unions who warn that its proposals will increase labour shortages and exploitation Can youth services be rescued? Years of Tory rule have seen youth services cut to the bone. Will Labour’s proposals to renew them meet union demands? The dangers of working the night shift Workers’ health and social lives can be adversely impacted by working nights, new research finds
News
Freedom of Information Bill could open outsourcing to scrutiny (227 words)
A proposed reform to Scotland’s freedom of information (FoI) laws, tabled in June, could give trade unions a vital new tool for accessing data ...
Open access
Big pledges from Spending Review (374 words)
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first Spending Review, announced in June, set out plans to invest in infrastructure, housing and key public services. ...
Subscribers only
TUC calls for safer, cooler work (212 words)
The TUC issued urgent guidance to employers as the UK experienced its first major heatwave of the summer, with temperatures soaring past 30°C in ... Open access
Union membership sees sharp rise in Reform-led local authorities (316 words)
Last month, trade unions reported a sharp rise in membership in local authorities now controlled by Reform UK, following the party’s gains in the ... Subscribers only
MPs decriminalise abortion (229 words)
MPs have voted 379–137 to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales, marking the most significant change to abortion laws since the 1967 Abortion ... Open access
University staff take strike action (238 words)
University staff at Newcastle, Durham, and Edinburgh are taking strike action against mounting financial pressures and threats of job cuts. ... Open access
Inflation stays high (74 words)
RPI inflation, the preferred inflation measure for union negotiators, remained elevated at 4.3% in May 2025, down from a revised estimate of 4.4% the ... Open access
Labour market indicators (211 words)
Earnings growth over the economy in February to April 2025 was 5.2%, down from 5.5% in the previous period. ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (425 words)
Inflation (RPI) +4.3%, Average earnings (ONS regular) +5.2% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Share of employee union members falls to lowest recorded level (352 words)
Despite recent short-term recoveries, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal the lowest union density — the share ... Subscribers only
US union official assaulted, arrested and detained in immigration protest (257 words)
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has condemned last month’s “violent assault and detention” of David Huerta, California ... Subscribers only
Members urged to join campaign (233 words)
Members of the UNISON public services union are being urged to “join the fight to hold business and the public sector to account for human rights ... Open access
European news
Employment rights referendums fall short of required turnout (333 words)
The attempt by Italy’s largest trade union confederation, CGIL, to use referendums to improve employment rights failed last month after it fell ... Subscribers only
Move to strengthen European Works Councils takes step forward (249 words)
More effective future control over the actions of multinational companies has become more likely following decisions in key EU institutions recently. ... Open access
Court intervenes (127 words)
The Dutch Enterprise Court, which deals with internal disputes, has intervened in an ongoing conflict within the country’s largest union body, the ... Open access
Pensions deal in doubt (126 words)
Some of France’s unions look set to reach a limited agreement with employers on pension arrangements following five months of meetings which began ... Open access
Features
Immigration plans: ‘hostile environment on steroids’ (1,997 words)
When the government published its new immigration White Paper in May, Restoring control over immigration, it promised a fairer, more balanced system. ... Subscribers only
Youth services in severe crisis (2,351 words)
The widely acclaimed Netflix TV series Adolescence, showing how young boys can be drawn into harmful ideologies through social media and peer ... Subscribers only
Unions outline ‘stark’ impact of working the night shift (2,228 words)
Working night shifts has considerable adverse impacts on workers’ health and on their family and social life, according to new research. ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
No entitlement to pay for additional hours (333 words)
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decided that a lorry driver wasn’t entitled to be paid for additional hours worked above the intended weekly ... Subscribers only
Order for employer to pay claimant’s costs upheld (315 words)
An attempt by respondent companies to get businesses struck off the Companies House register to avoid an award of costs against them amounted to ... Subscribers only
Court says there was no discrimination against part-time worker (243 words)
The Court of Appeal (CA) has upheld the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT), which found no discrimination against a part-time taxi ... Open access
Law Queries
Q&A (418 words)
Pensions auto-enrolment ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
Dismissal: what is ‘some other substantial reason’? (905 words)
Section 98 ERA96 says a dismissal for “some other substantial reason of a kind such as to justify the dismissal” can be fair, even though the ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Creative workers face harassment and abuse (304 words)
Research from the Scottish TUC finds that 53% of arts workers have experienced or witnessed bullying, sexual harassment or abuse. ... Subscribers only
Scottish teachers ballot over excessive workload (204 words)
The EIS Scottish education union has launched a consultative industrial action ballot after its survey of more than 11,000 teachers found that almost ... Open access
Journalists highlight climate of fear (225 words)
A new report by the Amnesty International human rights organisation has described Northern Ireland as the “most dangerous place in the UK” for ... Open access
Unions demand debate over climate legislation (266 words)
Twenty-four unions and representatives from the Zero Hour campaign for the Climate and Nature (CAN) Bill have signed a joint letter to prime minister ... Subscribers only
Reform UK’s policies could cost thousands of jobs (342 words)
Reform UK’s anti-environmental policies, including its attack on renewables, could cost the country £92 billion in lost revenue — almost 3% of ... Subscribers only
Clean-up is too slow (103 words)
The retrieval of waste from ageing buildings at the UK’s most hazardous nuclear site is not happening quickly enough, according to a report on ... Open access
Thames Water fined (134 words)
The Ofwat water industry regulator has fined Thames Water nearly £123 million following investigations into breaches of the rules relating to its ... Open access
Equality news
Surveillance: Black workers at higher risk (333 words)
Black workers’ likely disproportionate exposure to workplace surveillance could worsen existing labour market inequalities, according to a new ... Subscribers only
More training on deaf awareness needed in NHS (253 words)
Less than a quarter (24%) of NHS staff say they can always meet the information and communication needs of patients who are deaf or have hearing ... Subscribers only
Rights for kinship carers must improve (239 words)
Becoming a kinship carer often results in permanent labour market withdrawal, says Making work pay for kinship carers, a new study by the Kinship ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
Rights for kinship carers must improve (886 words)
Workplace harassment continues to impact workers, and new legislation is set to raise the bar for employers’ responsibilities to tackle it. ... Subscribers only