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Labour Research May 2020
Can we manage to nurse the world back to health? - the capacity of world healthcare systems to cope with COVID-19 is undermined by a serious global shortage of nurses; Public services hamstrung by decade of devastation - years of swingeing austerity cuts in the UK mean our threadbare public services are struggling to grapple with the current pandemic; Universal Credit: universal failure? - unions have long identified huge problems over Universal Credit which the coronavirus crisis is now throwing into sharp relief
News
Government must do much more for struggling charities (345 words)
Much more needs to be done on the charity sector coronavirus funding bailout, said the Unite general union last month as charities warned they are on ...
Subscribers only
Social care sector remains exposed to ‘unnecessary risk’ (267 words)
As fears grew that the spread of coronavirus in the care sector is likely to have been underestimated, unions demanded action. ... Subscribers only
Domestic Abuse Bill highlighted (235 words)
A briefing released by the UNISON public services union last month highlighted the even more urgent need for the second reading of the Domestic Abuse ...
Open access
Global response required to tackle unemployment crisis (628 words)
The TUC has called for a global response to unemployment during the coronavirus pandemic as the International Labour Organization (ILO) predicts the ... Subscribers only
Protection needed for HE (241 words)
Unions have called on the government to give universities extra protection during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure their financial survival because of ... Open access
Unemployment set for big surge (207 words)
A surge in unemployment is likely, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, but official statistics lag far behind fast-moving events. ... Open access
Inflation edges up (71 words)
The Retail Prices Index (RPI), the preferred inflation measure of union negotiators, edged up to 2.6% from 2.5% in March while the Consumer Prices ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (360 words)
Inflation +2.6%, Average earnings +2.5% ... Subscribers only
Union news
Scotland’s unionised workers feel safer and more secure (337 words)
Workers in Scotland who are in unions are feeling safer and more financially secure than non-unionised workers, according to a survey of over 1,500 ... Subscribers only
NUS stages conference online (311 words)
As the union movement hits the peak of what would normally be its conference season, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant the usual physical meetings have ... Subscribers only
Trade union rules relaxed (237 words)
The certification officer has said she will consider representations from unions who feel that, because of the COVID-19 crisis, they are unable to ... Open access
European news
Proposal to ‘work a little more’ post-virus is rejected by French unions (391 words)
Unions in France have expressed their strong opposition to a suggestion from the head of the employers’ association that workers should “work a ... Subscribers only
Call to improve German state scheme (265 words)
The DGB, the main German union confederation, and the country’s two largest individual unions have called on the government to improve the state ... Subscribers only
Change needed in Italy (73 words)
Italy’s three main union confederations, CGIL, CISL and UIL, have called for a new direction for the country after the coronavirus crisis. ... Open access
Bonus for French health workers (83 words)
The government in France has agreed to make one-off payments to public sector workers involved in the response to the coronavirus crisis. Those ... Open access
COVID-19 in prisons (79 words)
EPSU, the European public services union confederation, has highlighted the impact of COVID-19 on prisons across Europe, with outbreaks of infection ... Open access
Features
Crisis sharpened by global nursing shortage (2,448 words)
In this, the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, the coronavirus crisis has highlighted the importance of union campaigns to end the ... Open access
Cuts intensify pandemic (2,371 words)
Austerity cuts unleashed a decade of devastation and are now hampering the ability of our ravaged public services to respond to the pandemic. ... Open access
Credit where it’s due? (2,417 words)
Many of those trying to access Universal Credit and other benefits during the coronavirus crisis will be shocked at the utter inadequacy of the ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Sick pay rules changed to tackle coronavirus (467 words)
The government has made two temporary changes to the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) rules which became effective from 13 March 2020 under The Statutory ... Subscribers only
Government agrees rethink to policy on ‘no recourse’ (170 words)
The High Court has held that a legal challenge to the government’s No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) policy can proceed and will be heard on 6 and ... Open access
Maternity leave during furlough (124 words)
The government guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (see page 21) states that the “normal rules apply” to employees who are on ... Open access
Vento bands (114 words)
The “Vento bands” used as guidance to award compensation for injury to feelings in discrimination cases have been increased for claims issued on ... Open access
Law Queries
TUPE and collective agreement (170 words)
Q. Our company has just been taken over by another and we’ve been told we will transfer under TUPE. Will our collective agreement transfer? ... Open access
Grievance delays (257 words)
Q. How long can I be expected to wait to have my grievance heard? I submitted my complaint in writing nearly three weeks ago but HR has not yet given ... Subscribers only
Voluntary work (312 words)
Q. While I’ve been off work due to the COVID-19 lockdown, I’ve been doing voluntary work delivering shopping to those in isolation. I’d like to ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
How will the new furlough scheme rules operate? (917 words)
The purpose of the job retention scheme is to reimburse employers for most of their payroll costs so they can retain their workforce when there is no ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
Union relief as PPE ‘tsar’ finally assigned (303 words)
Severe shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers on the frontline of the response to the coronavirus crisis continues. ... Subscribers only
Test workers now, say unions (259 words)
Unions have called on the government to test workers urgently for the coronavirus. Last month, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis described ... Subscribers only
Failures place millions at risk (238 words)
Deadly failures by the UK government have placed millions of workers at unnecessary risk of exposure to the coronavirus, according to an analysis for ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Homeworking during coronavirus outbreak (893 words)
With thousands of businesses and other organisations ordered to close their workplaces in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, millions of ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Young workers hardest hit by current lockdown (437 words)
Young workers, low-paid workers and women workers are expected to be the hardest hit by the current lockdown, according to a briefing by the ... Subscribers only
Coronavirus outbreak deepens race inequalities (209 words)
The coronavirus outbreak will increase inequalities, says race think tank the Runnymede Trust. ... Open access
Needs of women and girls must be recognised (249 words)
A number of organisations addressing violence against women and girls have come together to call for the specific needs of women and girls to be ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
COVID-19: guidance on apprenticeship schemes (816 words)
The government has issued specific guidance for all concerned with apprenticeship schemes in response to the impact of coronavirus. Back-up reports. ... Subscribers only
News from LRD
LRD annual general meeting postponed (180 words)
The annual general meeting of the Labour Research Department (LRD), which was due to be held on 18 May, is being postponed to a later date due to the ... Open access