Fact Service November 2022

Issue 47: Union gets green light for Supreme Court challenge, Coalition calls for sick pay overhaul, Union warns of ‘end of Royal Mail’, TUC finds ‘flagrant’ exploitation continues in Qatar, Minimum wage to rise by 9.7% , Recommendation made on recognising Covid as occupational disease, OECD: UK facing worst downturn in G7. Issue 46: Inflation jumps to 41-year high, Prices outrun record wage rises, strikes soar, Report links ‘rocketing’ anxiety to economic uncertainty, Ethnic minorities advance in employment and education, but gaps continue. Issue 45: Schools planning ‘catastrophic’ staff cuts, NHS winter strikes move nearer, One in five report workplace discrimination TUC: disability pay gap has grown to 17.2%, One in three shop workers abused every week, Night workers suffering aggression. Issue 44: Trouble brewing’ as food prices leap to new highs, Public sector workers increasingly want out, survey finds, Royal Mail workers to strike on Black Friday, Union wins back £138,000 tips, Government drops 91,000 job cuts plan, Majority believe main priority of businesses should be delivering better pay, Night workers ‘need better deal’ Organisations call on PM to uprate benefits.

Issue 47

Union gets green light for Supreme Court challenge (196 words)

UNISON is set to challenge a Court of Appeal decision that legitimises employers disciplining staff who take lawful industrial action. The public ...
Open access

Coalition calls for sick pay overhaul (217 words)

A 32-strong coalition of unions, charities and civil society organisations has sent an open letter to the secretary of state for work and pensions ...
Open access

Union warns of ‘end of Royal Mail’ (133 words)

The CWU union is warning of the “end of Royal Mail as we know it”, as 115,000 employees strike today and tomorrow, Black Friday. ...
Open access

TUC finds ‘flagrant’ exploitation continues in Qatar (623 words)

The TUC has released a research report that finds that workers are still being “flagrantly exploited” in World Cup host country Qatar. ...
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Minimum wage to rise by 9.7% (289 words)

The National Living Wage (NLW) – widely known as the minimum wage – will increase by 9.7% to £10.42 from 1 April next year. The rise was ...
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Recommendation made on recognising Covid as occupational disease (363 words)

The independent Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) – which advises government on which diseases should be classified as work-related – ...
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OECD: UK facing worst downturn in G7 (353 words)

The UK will be the G7 economy worst affected by the global energy crisis, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) has ...
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Issue 46

Inflation jumps to 41-year high (915 words)

Inflation hit a 41-year high of 11.1% CPI/14.2% RPI last month, pushed up by soaring food and energy costs, according to the Office for National ...
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Prices outrun record wage rises, strikes soar (713 words)

Wages are continuing to rise to record levels – although with a marked discrepancy between public and private sectors – but are still outpaced by ...
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Report links ‘rocketing’ anxiety to economic uncertainty (290 words)

Amid “rocketing” rates of diagnosis for anxiety, and with 7.3 million English adults already having received antidepressants by 2017-18, a new ...
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Ethnic minorities advance in employment and education, but gaps continue (289 words)

Education performance by ethnic minorities relative to White pupils has improved “remarkably” in recent decades, but gaps remain in employment ...
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Issue 45

Schools planning ‘catastrophic’ staff cuts (412 words)

A majority of schools in England are planning to make staff redundant in order to reduce their funding crisis, according to what headteachers’ ...
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NHS winter strikes move nearer (599 words)

As unions representing workers in the NHS prepare for, or ballot on, industrial action (see previous issues), the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has ...
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One in five report workplace discrimination (241 words)

One in five (20%) of working-age adults report that they have experienced some form of discrimination at work or when applying for jobs, the ...
Open access

TUC: disability pay gap has grown to 17.2% (314 words)

Disabled workers are earning £3,731 a year less than non-disabled ones, according to the TUC. Its analysis shows that non-disabled workers earn a ...
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One in three shop workers abused every week (498 words)

One in three retail workers are now shouted at, spat on, threatened or hit every week by shoppers stressed about rising prices, empty shelves and ...
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Night workers suffering aggression (174 words)

People working in the night-time economy are facing hight levels of violence and unwanted behaviour, a survey by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust has found. ...
Open access

Issue 44

‘Trouble brewing’ as food prices leap to new highs (255 words)

Food price inflation has leapt again, up from a record 10.6% last month (see Fact Service 39), to 11.6% now, according to the British Retail ...
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Public sector workers increasingly want out, survey finds (310 words)

Nearly two million workers – around a third of key workers in the public sector (32%) – have taken steps to leave their job or are actively ...
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Royal Mail workers to strike on Black Friday (154 words)

The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) has announced the next two strike dates for its members at Royal Mail: 24 and 25 November, which coincides ...
Open access

Union wins back £138,000 in tips (171 words)

The Unite general union reports that it has secured £138,000 in withheld tips for low-paid workers at a luxury Scottish hotel. ...
Open access

Government drops 91,000 job cuts plan (359 words)

Unions representing civil servants have given a guarded welcome to the government’s withdrawal of a plan to cut 91,000 jobs, but want more pay and ...
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Majority believe main priority of businesses should be better pay (355 words)

Research by the High Pay Centre has found that six in 10 people feel the top priority of businesses should be delivering better pay and conditions ...
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Night workers ‘need better deal’ (187 words)

The TUC has called for better pay and conditions for the 3.2 million workers who regularly work nights, after its analysis found that three in 10 (28% ...
Open access

Organisations call on PM to uprate benefits (425 words)

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation and over 100 other organisations, many of them charities, have co-signed a letter to the prime minister calling on him ...
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