News

Opera and newspaper staff in dispute as fire strike put on hold (487 words)

Delegates to the FBU firefighters' recall conference on 19 March overwhelmingly rejected the latest pay offer from the local government employers. ...

Last stop for London bus conductors (151 words)

The jobs of 900 London bus conductors are set to disappear with the phasing out of Routemaster vehicles and the introduction of 'pay before ...

Defence and oil jobs face axe (228 words)

UK defence giant BAE SYSTEMS is set to cut 1,005 jobs by the end of the year. ...

Minimum wage rates to rise by 7% in October (205 words)

National Minimum Wage rates for adults and younger workers are to go up by over 7% in October, taking the main rate to £4.50 ...

UNISON issues stark warning over foundation hospitals (318 words)

Dave Prentis, general secretary of public services union UNISON warned last month that: "Foundation hospitals will sound the death knell for the NHS." ...

Magazine targets union reps (108 words)

The first issue of the Labour Research Department's (LRD) Workplace Report magazine was published last month. ...

LRD Closing the Gap appeal (478 words)

Thank you! For sending us well on the way to our target ...

Union news

UNIFI (65 words)

The March issue of Labour Research carried a story on UNIFI's merger talks with Amicus which contained the phrase "UNIFI, which has financial difficulties". ...

European news

European unions condemn war (229 words)

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has condemned the war in Iraq as illegitimate and has called on its national unions to respond to ...

Italian civil servants get pay increase at last (151 words)

Around 210,000 employees in Italian ministries are finally to get a pay increase for the two years 2002 and 2003, more than a year ...

French government delays salary discussions (102 words)

In the French public sector the government has announced that it does not intend to discuss salary increases until the autumn. The most recent ...

Features

Union calls for scrapping of law on political funds (237 words)

Communications union Connect is pushing for reform of the law on union political fund ballots despite achieving an overwhelming vote in favour of retaining ...

Recognition trends (41 words)

More than 300 recognition deals were struck last year, almost twice the number signed in the year 2000, according to the TUC's annual Focus ...

German government faces union opposition (304 words)

The German government has given up trying to agree a joint strategy with employers and unions for tackling unemployment and is now pushing forward ...

Facing up to racist clients (1982 words)

The law is clear that job agencies should not do the dirty work for racist employers who want to bar ethnic minority job applicants. ...

Holding firms to account for death at work (1917 words)

The theme of Workers' Memorial Day later this month is "corporate accountability" - the campaign to change the law to allow companies and directors ...

And dad was there, too (1741 words)

From this month, many dads and partners will have the right to paid paternity leave. While the rights are excellent news for those with ...

Why we want to go back to central pay (1354 words)

For certain sectors of the economy, the break-up of national bargaining has led to pay gaps, disputes and tribunal cases. Unions are calling for ...

Law queries (135 words)

Can you give us some guidance on union rights to time off during working hours? We need time off to deal with branch administration ...

Law queries (190 words)

We understand that employees now have a new right to request to change to more flexible working arrangements. What are the circumstances where an ...

Law queries (147 words)

One of our members got into an argument with a colleague leaving her upset. As a result she stayed out at lunch for an ...

Law queries (121 words)

We have a member who suffers from clinical depression brought about through alcohol abuse. His employer says that there is no obligation to make ...

Law queries (122 words)

I have found out that I am being paid less than a female employee who is doing the same job as I am. I ...

Law Matters

Government plans TUPE improvements (229 words)

The government has announced plans for changes to the TUPE transfer regulations which should improve the rights of employees affected by takeovers and outsourcing. ...

Union blacklist law put on hold (262 words)

The government has said that a law to protect trade unionists against blacklisting will not come into force until it has evidence to show ...

Minimum pay law to change...on back pay (65 words)

The government is to amend National Minimum Wage (NMW) legislation so that the Inland Revenue can force employers to give backpay to former employees ...

... and for homeworkers (74 words)

The government is proposing changes to the National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 so that they deal better with the question of the rate of ...

Recognition gain (48 words)

The NUJ journalists' union has won an important ruling at the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) in a claim for recognition. The CAC has accepted ...

Legal changes (52 words)

The timing of changes arising from the Employment Act 2002 have been announced. Equal pay questionnaires and new rights for union learning reps should ...

Law Back-up

Recognition law review disappoints unions (779 words)

The government's review of the working of the Employment Relations Act 1999 and, in particular, its provisions on recognition, looks set to recommend few, ...

Health & Safety Matters

Train guards vote to strike over safety (271 words)

Train guards across Britain are to take industrial action in a dispute over safety. ...

Union seeks prosecution after BT engineer's death (285 words)

Last month an inquest into the death of a BT engineer returned a verdict of accidental death although the jury at the inquest had ...

Safety breaks (80 words)

Regular breaks cut the risk of incidents at work, new research shows. Based on a study at a car plant in the UK, researchers ...

Construction deaths (94 words)

The T&G general union has produced a dossier of deaths on construction sites during 2000-01. One year on covers the worst year for deaths ...

Compensation for fall (81 words)

A schoolteacher who slipped on a chip has been awarded £44,650 damages by the High Court. NASUWT member Carol Harper slipped and fell down ...

Health & Safety Back-up

Employers should act now on asbestos regs (838 words)

New regulations on managing asbestos came into force in November. Back-up looks at the new duties for employers and safety reps' rights to information ...

Equality news

Report reveals long-term gender pay gap (385 words)

A report presented to the TUC women's conference last month highlighted the widespread problem of women's poverty. ...

Equal pay claim (92 words)

Public services union UNISON has lodged an equal pay claim on behalf of nearly 1,000 teaching assistants employed by Lancashire County Council. It claims ...

Menopause help (86 words)

he TUC has published a report calling for unions and employers to do more to help women going through the menopause. According to Working ...

Childcare credits (89 words)

Childcare charity Daycare Trust has called for more help with the cost of childcare for working parents through the new tax credits, introduced this ...

London mayor launches draft childcare strategy (190 words)

At a conference to mark International Women's Day last month, London mayor Ken Livingstone launched a draft childcare strategy for the capital. ...

Workplace Back-up

How unions can tackle workplace drink issues (744 words)

The TUC has recently published its response to a government consultation document on a national strategy to reduce harm from alcohol. Back-up looks at ...

Reviews

When smoke ran like water (175 words)

Tales of environmental deception and the battle against pollution ...

British trade unions since 1933 (163 words)

Chris Wrigley, Cambridge University Press, paperback, 106 pages, £9.95 ...

Railtracks in the sky (133 words)

Peter Reed, Spokesman Books, 132 pages, £9.99 ...

E-views

Eviews (290 words)

With the long-awaited guidance on the use of electronic monitoring of employees due out imminently from the government's Information Commissioner, workplace surveillance is very ...