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Labour Research August 2022
Cost-of-living crisis feeds strike action A growing wave of industrial action is on the cards as workers strive to cope with soaring inflation and the cost-of-living crisis Social housing goes under the hammer The Tories’ plans to sell off already scarce housing association homes will only exacerbate the housing crisis, say campaigners Pregnancy and maternity discrimination at work Discrimination continues to place huge pressures on the working lives of many pregnant workers and new mothers
News
Thousands more workers set to join wave of industrial action (374 words)
Thousands more workers are set to join the growing wave of industrial action sweeping the UK (see pages 9-11).
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Subscribers only
Call general election now, unions demand of government in chaos (281 words)
Unions have called for a general election following Boris Johnson’s announcement of his resignation as Conservative leader and prime minister.
... Subscribers only
‘Scabs’ charter’ slammed (218 words)
Unions have condemned the government’s “petty decision” to introduce a “scabs’ charter” after it rushed through legislation allowing ...
Open access
UK has become a nation of insecure work, says TUC (331 words)
Five years since the government-commissioned Taylor Review into modern working practices was published, promising “good work for all”, a new TUC ... Subscribers only
Abortion is a trade union issue (244 words)
Trade unionists joined thousands of people last month in a march through central London to protest against the recent overturning of abortion rights ... Open access
Pensions legal victory (243 words)
The FBU firefighters’ union has won permission for a major judicial review into who pays for costs arising from 2015 changes to public sector ... Open access
Another inflation rise (71 words)
Over the year to May, the Retail Prices Index (RPI) increased by 11.8% (up slightly from 11.7%). The government-preferred CPI rose by 9.4% (up from 9. ... Open access
Real pay registers record fall (198 words)
Following recent increases in inflation, real pay is now dropping faster than at any time since records began in 2001, says the Office for National ... Open access
Key economic indicators
Key economic indicators (410 words)
Inflation +8.2%, Average earnings +4.9% ... Subscribers only
Union news
New TUC leader will address attacks on workers’ rights (209 words)
TUC deputy general secretary Paul Nowak has been announced as the next TUC leader and will take over when Frances O’Grady retires at the end of ... Open access
Unions admonish Starmer over stance on strike action (368 words)
The Labour Party leadership’s approach to the recent rail strikes has disappointed some unions beyond the RMT rail union itself, which had called ... Subscribers only
Proportional representation (126 words)
The giant UNISON public services union has become the latest trade union to adopt a policy in favour of proportional representation (PR) for general ... Open access
Social partnership (104 words)
The Welsh government has beefed up the nation’s social partnership model, in which unions and employers have a role in policy decisions.
... Open access
European news
Unions and employers aim for new law on ‘right to disconnect’ (413 words)
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the three main employers’ associations at European level, have agreed a joint workplan for the ... Subscribers only
Long-awaited increase takes effect (273 words)
Around 5.7 million workers in public services in France saw their pay increase by 3.5% last month as the re-elected government of Emmanuel Macron ... Subscribers only
Union progress in elections (134 words)
Preliminary results from the German works council elections show that IG Metall, the country’s largest union, has increased its share of the ... Open access
Miners get one-off payment (118 words)
Unions representing around 36,000 miners in Polish mining group PGG ended their occupation of the company’s headquarters on 16 July after the ... Open access
Features
Workers have had enough! (2,134 words)
Tens of thousands of trade unionists marched through London recently in the biggest TUC demonstration since 2011 to tell the government: “We demand ... Subscribers only
Housing sell-off will worsen homes shortage (2,608 words)
Alongside a long-awaited White Paper on reforming the private-rented housing sector, and proposals to better regulate conditions in social housing, ... Subscribers only
Supporting pregnant workers (2,330 words)
In May 2022, the HSE health and safety regulator revised its guidance for employers on protecting pregnant workers and new mothers after a challenge ... Subscribers only
Law Matters
Tribunal was wrong to dismiss discrimination (333 words)
An Employment Tribunal (ET) was wrong to dismiss a claimant’s disability discrimination and constructive dismissal claims, according to an ... Subscribers only
Collective bargaining rights (339 words)
An employer engaged in collective bargaining cannot simply treat that bargaining as over, after having its “final” offer rejected, in order to ... Subscribers only
Legislation introduces fit note changes (227 words)
From 1 July 2022, new legislation has been introduced allowing a wider range of healthcare professionals to certify and issue “fit notes”.
... Open access
Law Queries
Job references (399 words)
n I think my last employer is giving me bad references. We had some disagreements before I left, so I just took agency work to get out. Now I’m ... Subscribers only
Statutory Sick Pay (382 words)
n A member is having difficulty getting paid Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). The employer disputes that the member is an employee. Can the member just ... Subscribers only
Law Back-up
Protection for employees taking industrial action (903 words)
It is common to talk about “the right to strike”, but in the UK that right is heavily restricted. Unions can only organise primary industrial ... Subscribers only
Health & Safety Matters
TUC: ‘recognise long covid as a disability’ (323 words)
Ministers must urgently recognise long Covid as a disability to make sure all working people with the condition are formally protected by employment ... Subscribers only
Firefighting is a cancer risk (208 words)
A declaration last month that occupational exposure as a firefighter is carcinogenic is “hugely significant”, says the FBU firefighters’ union. ... Open access
Covid measures (125 words)
The Zero Covid campaign last month called on the new health secretary, Steve Barclay, to introduce public health measures to reduce community ... Open access
Deaths at sea (113 words)
The RMT transport union has called for employer action after highlighting research revealing that 18% of deaths at sea could be connected to suicide. ... Open access
Health & Safety Back-up
Recent developments in legislation and advice (916 words)
The government lifted the last remaining Covid restrictions earlier this year. And while the law hasn’t changed, advice from the HSE health and ... Subscribers only
Equality news
Young women experience jobs and money worries (380 words)
Young women are more likely than young men to be struggling with the cost of living, and the financial divide between them is widening.
... Subscribers only
Childcare fees skyrocket (220 words)
Childcare fees for parents with children aged under two have rocketed by 44% since 2010, according to an analysis by the TUC.
... Open access
LGBT staff need more support (246 words)
LGBT staff lack support at work, according to a new TUC poll. The survey of around 1,000 HR managers finds that one in five UK workplaces do not have ... Open access
Workplace Back-up
pay review bodies: the credibility question (833 words)
Pay review bodies (PRBs) advise the government on levels of pay for 2.5 million public sector workers, around 45% of public sector staff.
... Subscribers only