HR News

Thousands of London firefighters are to start voting on whether or not to take industrial action in a row over new contracts. The dispute centres on plans to scrap current working hours and force fire crews to sign new contracts, reports the BBC. The London Fire Brigade Union said it will ballot about 6,000 members in the capital on action short of a strike.
Stressed police officers are being sent on "emotional survival" courses where they are taught deep breathing techniques and told to visualise themselves relaxing on a beach, the Telegraph reports. One force has already made the five-hour course compulsory for its front-line police officers, control room staff and dog handlers.
The Pensions Regulator has been asked to decide on the funding of the main EMI pension scheme because the trustees and the company cannot agree. It will be the first time the regulator has decided how much extra cash should be pumped into a company scheme to clear its deficit, according to the BBC. The shortfall in the EMI fund is estimated at between £115 million and £217 million.

exctracts

http://www.electdaveprentis.com/why_we_back_dave/support_unison_members/

nick venedi

A last chance to keep our promises

A Joint statement by UK civil society organisations ahead of the 2010 UN Millennium Development Goal Review Summithttp://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-18387-f0.cfm


Nick Venedi

TUC Appeal

The TUC is supporting the DEC appeal and would like to invite union members and the general public to contribute generously to it.http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-18382-f0.cfm


Nick Venedi

Free Ebrina Manneh

Nobody knows exactly why journalist Ebrima B. Manneh was arrested by Gambian authorities. What's almost certain, however, is that Manneh was detained for exercising his right to freedom of expression.Free journalist Ebrima B. Manneh. »Gambian authorities claim that they didn't arrest Manneh and don't know where he is, even though there are reports that he was escorted into a hospital by police.The Economic Community of West African States, along with others, isn't buying the government's story. They issued a statement saying that Manneh's right to liberty and fair trial were violated, and asked authorities to release him and restore his human rights. But the government has been silent. Don't let the Gambian government cover up Ebrima B. Manneh's whereabouts after his murky arrest. Tell the Gambian President Dr. A.J.J. Yahya Jammeh to release Manneh immediately. »


Nick Venedi

Defend the link with Labour

http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/page/s/openletter?source=email20100810&utm_source=TULO&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email20100810

Airbus UK ltd vs Webb (2008) IRLR

The Court of Appeal held that there is no rule of law that spent warnings must be ignored for all purposes. On the facts, where a spent warning was not part of the reason for the dismissal, but the basis for the employer's refusal to exercise leniency in respect of later gross misconduct, the dismissal was not necessarily unfair.

Holiday pics, Nick Venedi

Quien Dijo Miedo

SERTUC Film Club presents a screening of Quien Dijo Miedo (Who is Afraid?), which follows René Guillermo Amador Padilla during the Honduran people's resistance against the military coup of June 28, 2009. There will also be a live panel discussion with René Guillermo Amador Padilla.http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-18355-f0.cfm

Bullfighting

Last month, Parliament passed a ban on bullfighting, making Catalonia the first major region of Spain to outlaw the old Spanish tradition. The ban will take effect January 01, 2012. More than 35,000 people signed the petition on Care2, sponsored by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). Read more.

Nick Venedi

Support Sustainable Fishing Policies

Global fish stocks like bluefin tuna are in decline; in Europe over 80 percent are overfished and a third are outside safe limits. For too long, short-term interest has hi-jacked European fisheries management. But now the reform of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy provides the opportunity for a new policy that will stop overfishing, end destructive fishing and deliver fair and equitable use of abundant fish stock.

TUC

Trade unionists in Swaziland, a Commonwealth country in Southern Africa with the world's highest rate of HIV/AIDS and the longest state of emergency in Africa. Poverty and feudalism (the country is run by the King) are sustained by a dictatorship where unions are heavily restricted and activists are harassed, arrested and worse. Now, the Government wants to stop trade unionism from existing in the public services. In response, the TUC and ACTSA are organising activities on Tuesday 7 September as part of Swaziland Democracy Day, which unions around the world will be marking. The aim is to mobilise support for democracy, good governance and respect for human rights in Swaziland, and oppose the Public Services Bill.http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-18348-f0.cfm

Nick Venedi

Seminar

The Yorkshire and the Humber TUC ,Amnesty International Leeds and the Leeds Trade Union Council are working together to hold a half day seminar on Saturday 9th October 2010 on Violence Against Women. This event will include speakers,workshops,actions and a conference pack for campaigners/trade union representatives looking at regional/national and International issues. The seminar is free of charge.http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-18341-f0.cfm

Nick venedis holiday pics

TUC backs Bangladeshi textile workers' wage demands

The TUC has joined trade unionists and campaigners around the world to demand better terms and conditions for 3.5 million Bangladeshi textile workers, who are striking and demonstrating for, among other things, a higher minimum wage of 5,000 taka a month – just £45. The current minimum wage in Bangladesh is 1,662 taka a month – about £15. This leaves textile workers, who are making clothes for sale in the UK, US and around the world, in dire poverty. The USA is the largest single market for Bangladeshi textiles, and the EU as a whole takes a massive 57% of them.
http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-18317-f0.cfm

Nick venedi

Single Equality Act

Last month's announcement by the Government Equalities Office that the first wave of implementation of the Equality Act is to go ahead as planned on 1 October was welcomed by the TUC.

The TUC said it had campaigned for many years for a single Equality Act to simplify discrimination law and make it easier for workers and employers to understand.

Details @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/equality/tuc-18168-f0.cfm

nick venedi

Pension news

An 80 year-old pensioner with an average public sector pension would be more than £650 a year worse off if the budget change to the indexing of pensions had been in force since their retirement, according to TUC calculations released in July.

A little noticed budget announcement changed the figure used to uprate public sector pensions from the RPI inflation measure to CPI. As CPI is normally lower than RPI, public sector pensioners will usually get a smaller increase when their pensions are annually uprated.

Further details @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/publicsector/tuc-18170-f0.cfm

http://www.tuc.org.uk/pensions/tuc-18192-f0.cfm

In defence of public pensions
Meanwhile, TUC evidence to Lord Hutton's pensions review has made it clear that public service pensions are both affordable and sustainable.

Even before the switch to CPI indexing, the National Audit Office and the Office for Budget Responsibility had endorsed Treasury estimates that public sector pension commitments will remain stable as a proportion of GDP for the next 40 years.

Summary information @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/newsroom/tuc-18289-f0.cfm

Read the full submission @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/responsetohutton.pdf

Real pensions scandal
Last month also saw the TUC responding to criticism of public sector pensions by the Institute of Directors, arguing instead that the real national scandal was employers' wholesale retreat from providing staff pensions.

The TUC said that the IoD had 'nothing to say' about top directors' pensions, which have continued to go up during the recession and whose most common retirement age is 60.

In other pensions news last month, the TUC said the consultation on annuities announced by the Government was 'irrelevant for the vast majority of pensioners and pension savers'.

TUC on IoD report @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/pensions/tuc-18175-f0.cfm

TUC on annuities consultation @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/pensions/tuc-18208-f0.cfm

Default move welcomed
Government plans to phase-out the UK's default retirement age by October next year have been welcomed by the TUC, with many people preferring a phased retirement to the 'cliff edge' where they work full-time one day and stop work the next.

But the TUC also struck a note of caution, pointing out that not everyone wants to work longer and may not be fit enough to continue. The new system should be about genuine choice, not an expectation that people work longer in place of decent pensions.

Full TUC reaction @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/law/tuc-18266-f0.cfm

Minister praises unionlearn
The first Conservative minister to address a TUC event since the mid-1990s delivered a resounding endorsement of trade unions' work on learning and skills, describing it as an 'immense success' in his address to the unionlearn annual conference.

John Hayes, the minister of state for further education, skills and lifelong learning, said that unionlearn was a 'powerful tool' in improving the skills vital for economic growth and recovery.

Read more @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/skills/tuc-18195-f0.cfm

Tax simplification, tax cuts for rich?
Plans announced last month by the Chancellor to overhaul the UK tax system through the creation of an Office for Tax Simplification received a cautious response from the TUC.

'If the Office for Tax Simplification closes loopholes and bears down on tax avoidance it will be welcome. But the worry must be that this is simply a softening up exercise for tax cuts for the rich, while ordinary people see services slashed and VAT increased,' said Brendan Barber.

More on this @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-18219-f0.cfm

Minimum wage loophole closed
A loophole that allows payments made into travel and subsistence tax relief schemes counting towards the minimum wage will be closed from 1 January 2011.

The TUC said that an earlier consultation had uncovered abuse of these schemes by unscrupulous employers who have used these arrangements to avoid liability to pay National Insurance contributions.

Further information @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/newsroom/tuc-18260-f0.cfm

Mergers: look at the wider picture
The Government's response to the BIS select committee report into the Kraft-Cadbury takeover was 'disappointing', the TUC said last month.

The TUC said ministers has 'dashed hopes' of a new approach to regulating mergers, and had overlooked the 'wider economics' of mergers and acquisitions.

Details available @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/newsroom/tuc-18253-f0.cfm

Unions must rebuild in private sector
Last month's Stronger Unions conference heard how unions had to focus on the recruitment challenge in the private sector while also fighting against cuts in the public sector.

Attended by hundreds of union activists and reps, the TUC-organised event focused on the key issues facing unions today, including jobs, pay, pensions, vulnerable working and training. Delegates also discussed organising, bargaining and negotiating strategies.

More on the event @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/organisation/tuc-18167-f0.cfm

Climate policy rethink needed
The combined impact of the Government's climate change policies is imposing significant costs on the UK's energy intensive industries, and could result in some firms leaving the UK, a report published by the Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUG) and the TUC has discovered.

Steel making, ceramics, paper, cement and lime manufacture, aluminium, basic inorganic chemicals and other industries currently employ around 225,000 workers producing essential products for the UK's low-carbon economy.

Summary details @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-18252-f0.cfm

Read full report @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/wwastudy.pdf

D Prentis by Nick Venedi

http://lawatwork.blogspot.com/2010/05/dave-prentis_31.html
nick venedi

Employment justice

Employment Justice: Is there a different way to make employment rights a reality?
Employment rights are still only theoretical for too many workers, leading to exploitation, job insecurity and contributing to poverty.
http://www.tuc.org.uk/em_research/tuc-18311-f0.cfm

An EU trade policy for Decent Work

Europe's trade policy needs serious changes to deliver on decent work and development, and to restore the faith of working people badly shaken by an economic crisis they did nothing to cause. The TUC's submission to the European Commission's consultation outlines priority areas for change.
http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-18298-f0.cfm

nick venedi

Minimum wage levels

The age at which workers become eligible for the full national minimum wage (NMW) rate will drop to 21 this year - a move that will cost employers nearly £50 million.

The Government has published the latest NMW Regulations which state that the age from which the principal rate becomes payable falls from 22 to 21 on 1 October 2010. Employees of that age and above will be entitled to a minimum wage of £5.93 per hour - up 2.2% from £5.80.

Rights at work - in Spanish

SPANISH leaflet for people coming to work in the UK from the eight new member countries of the European Union. It gives information about your legal rights while you work here.http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-18272-f0.cfm