Fact Service December 2022

Issue 50 Strikes reach 11-year high; Inflation finally slows; Shops union calls for proper Xmas break for workers; 2022 ‘was worst year for pay’ Latest legal challenge on agency regs receives green light Two in five families ‘will be unable to afford essentials’

Issue 49 Mental health problems cutting swathe through workforce Long Covid pushing people into inactivity Cost of living is spreading depression and raising suicide risk Cost of Xmas dinner outpaces inflation and wages Day-one flexible working right agreed Young ‘are being turned off work’ Three million disabled workers earn less than £15 an hour

Issue 48 Christmas strikes gather pace Food prices jump to new record high Employers up their pay offers Apprentices quitting in their thousands P&O Ferries CEO ‘wins’ world’s worst boss title

Issue 50

Strikes reach 11-year high (365 words)

As union members strike or prepare for strike action, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has confirmed that the number of working days lost to ...
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Inflation finally slows (655 words)

Inflation eased to 10.7% CPI/12% RPI, in October, down from the 41-year high of 11.1%/14.2%, but continues to outstrip wages growth, according to the ...
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Shops union calls for proper Xmas break for workers (283 words)

Retail workers’ union Usdaw has called again for supermarkets to stay closed on Boxing Day, as a poll of 1,763 UK adults showed that almost eight ...
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2022 ‘was worst year for pay’ (263 words)

This year has been the worst for real wage growth in nearly half a century, the TUC has said, after its analysis of official statistics showed that ...
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Latest legal challenge on agency regs receives green light (409 words)

The TUC reports that the High Court has granted the go-ahead to a legal challenge to protect the right to strike it is bringing with 11 unions. ...
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Two in five families ‘will be unable to afford essentials’ (198 words)

Two in five families will be unable to afford a decent standard of living by the next general election, the New Economics Foundation (NEF) has said. ...
Open access

Issue 49

Mental health problems cutting swathe through workforce (383 words)

Poor health is undermining the UK economy, the IPPR has announced, with mental health problems now the most common condition among working age people ...
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Long Covid pushing people into inactivity (228 words)

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirm a link between having Long Covid and being economically inactive (not working and ...
Open access

Cost of living is spreading depression and raising suicide risk (418 words)

People struggling with the cost of living are reporting rising rates of depression, the ONS has reported. ...
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Cost of Xmas dinner outpaces inflation and wages (298 words)

The cost of Christmas dinner has risen three times faster than wages this year, according to the TUC. ...
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Day-one flexible working right agreed (174 words)

The government has said it will proceed with plans to give employees the right to request flexible working from the first day of their job – but no ...
Open access

Young ‘are being turned off work’ (330 words)

Almost a quarter of UK youth are being “turned off work for life” according to research by City & Guilds, and nearly one in 10 (9%) young ...
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Three million disabled workers earn less than £15 an hour (351 words)

Almost three in four (72%) disabled workers are earning less than the median wage of £15 an hour, compared to 54% of non-disabled workers, the TUC ...
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Issue 48

Christmas strikes gather pace (1,049 words)

Industrial action continues to dominate national headlines, receiving increasing attention as Christmas approaches and the effects of the cost of ...
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Food prices jump to new record high (275 words)

Food prices have once again risen sharply in the year to November, hitting 12.4%, up from 11.6% in October. This is the highest inflation rate in the ...
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Employers up their pay offers (400 words)

The CWU has announced that it has reached a final agreement in its dispute with BT (see previous issues) and is preparing a consultative ballot. ...
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Apprentices quitting in their thousands (244 words)

“Staggering” numbers of people are dropping out of unsatisfactory apprenticeships in England due to the poor quality of training they receive, ...
Open access

P&O Ferries CEO ‘wins’ world’s worst boss title (150 words)

Peter Hebblethwaite, the CEO of P&O Ferries who illegally sacked 786 seafarers in March by Zoom call (see previous issues), has been awarded the ...
Open access