Crozier leaves the killing fields of the Royal Mail

29/01/10.Having brought a once great public service, The Royal Mail, to it's knees, Addam Crozier leaves with a golden goodbye, and arrives with a golden hello, to ITV. Though what they have done to deserve this fate is open to question.

This fine exponent of slash and burn management techniques has succeeded where Hitler and squadrons of Luftwaffe failed. Under his leadership, around 5,800 post offices have shut and the second post was axed. The price of a first-class stamp has jumped by 12p  -  and will rise again by 2p in April to an all-time record of 41p, and first-class post now arrives by 2pm in cities and 3pm in the countryside.

In a further blow to customers, Mr Crozier will leave Royal Mail with the threat of further strike action due to his arbitrary and dictatorial attitude towards the workforce and their Trade Union representatives. Allegations of bullying by management are rife throughout the sorting office network. A long-running-dispute with union leaders over pay and conditions, which triggered strikes last year, has not been resolved.

One former director of the watchdog Postwatch said of Mr Crozier, who earned nearly £1million last year at Royal Mail: 'He has been paid a lot of money to achieve things, without achieving them. He has not given us a modernised Royal Mail.'

Lindsay Hoyle, a Labour MP who sits on the Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, said: 'He will be judged as the man who took away second post, stopped Sunday collections and closed thousands of post offices. It is a company that has been put through a car crash.'  As chief executive at ITV, Mr Crozier could earn up to £2.8million a year in salary and bonuses, although exact details of his pay package have not been revealed. Golden riches for an abject failure. It would be quite hilarious if it wasn't so tragic.

Bournemouth Council Staff face swingeing pay cuts

28/01/10.One in five workers at Bournemouth Borough Council are facing a 20% pay cut following a pay review. The cuts are part of the Council's Single Status pay and grading review. According to a local council worker, who did not want to be named, hundreds of staff are facing thousands of pounds being wiped off their salaries. The employee added: "My pay will be cut by £7,000 and that is not untypical speaking to other people. "At the time when bankers are continuing to get huge bonuses public sector workers are again suffering.

The deal still has to be approved by trade unions. Dave Higgins, Unison branch secretary for Bournemouth, said: "We are going to have a series of meetings with staff to address concerns. "We will be holding a ballot and we will make a decision if the pay evaluation process is a fair one and one they are willing to accept."

• Bin collectors in Torbay threaten strike

The perfect pay storm? By Heather Wakefield

28/01/10.Over 1.5 million workers employed by councils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland face a pay cut from April 1, after the Tory dominated Local Government Employers informed Unison and the other unions at a meeting last Wednesday that there would be no pay offer this year. Everyone from the cleaner to the chief executive will suffer – though clearly not equally.

In a letter to local authority chief executives, LGE’s managing director Jan Parkinson attributed the wholly sick-making and unjustifiable decision to ‘a perfect storm of falling revenues and increasing demand for services’, adding that ‘up and down the country, councils have already been forced to cut thousands of jobs to balance the books’.

What reward for those Local Government workers who have traipsed miles through snow blizzards to visit the elderly, rowed to rescue the flood-bound, housed the homeless or just got on with being a besieged social worker. This counts for nothing in this hard-nosed world of Cameron’s ultra right Tory councils. Not that the Tories were alone in agreeing to the pay cut for our hard pressed members. There have been no dissenting noises from the Brown, Clegg either.

Sacked Hotel staff occupy building and vow to stay until paid

25/01/10.Staff at a closed Worcestershire hotel have boarded themselves inside the building and are refusing to come out until they are paid. The Foley Arms Hotel in Malvern stopped trading on Monday, but staff said the first they were told of it was in an e-mail telling them to leave. Manager Nigel Thomas said: "I received an e-mail asking us to vacate the building and hand over the keys. "I told him [the owner] until we have been paid I'm going to stay."

'We have supplies'

Staff have had to turn away guests and cancel events, including a funeral. Mr Thomas, 54, said: "At the moment there are creditors who haven't been paid, so how are they going to pay the staff? "There are perhaps 12 to 15 staff here at any one time. "We're here until they come back to us. We have our own supplies. We're here until we get some proper communication." The 19th Century Georgian Coaching Hotel was built when Malvern was becoming a spa town. Mr Thomas said the hotel was now boarded up and locked.

Employee entitled to legal representation at internal discliplinary hearing

24/01/10.The case before the court involved a music assistant employed at a primary school. He was dismissed by a disciplinary committee of the school following a complaint that he had kissed and had sexual contact with a 15 year old boy, who was a work experience student at the school.

Prior to his dismissal, the claimant sought several times to be allowed legal representation at his internal disciplinary hearing. However, the local authority's policy did not provide for this and the school declined to permit him to bring a lawyer

The claimant applied for judicial review of the school's decision not to allow him legal representation on the basis that the refusal constituted a breach of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights . The High Court held that the school should have had regard to Article 6 and given the claimant the right to legal representation at his disciplinary hearings. The Court noted that the consequences of inclusion on a list of individuals forbidden to work with children caused serious and irreversible prejudice to the claimant.

The Court found that the claimant's right to practise his profession will fall to be determined by the ISA under the barred list procedure. It also held that that procedure may be irretrievably prejudiced by the disciplinary proceedings. Consequently, the disciplinary proceedings are "a determinant of the claimant's right to practise his profession" and Article 6 is therefore engaged. Although Article 6 does not necessarily entail a right of legal representation, it may do so and does so in this case. The Court found that the claimant should be afforded the opportunity to arrange for legal representation should he so choose.

Don't let Cameron take away your rights at work

There's nothing that would make David Cameron happier than destroying your rights at work. Just a few days ago, Cameron praised Margaret Thatcher's anti-union laws and said he would be "very happy" to go even further to stop unions protecting their members' rights.

http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/page/s/lettertoCameron

Bullied hospital worker had nervous breakdown

13/01/10.A bullied NHS manager, who suffered a nervous breakdown, has been awarded £150,000 in compensation, after UNISON took up her case.
The union took up Nanette Bowen’s case after she was harassed over a three-year period. The 55-year-old, from Llanelli, who had been employed at the Price Phillip Hospital for 28 years, had worked her way up the ranks from porter to information manager, reporting directly to the chief executive.
In 2000 Eric Lewis became her boss, when Llanelli and Dinefwr Trusts merged to become Camarthenshire NHS. Mr Lewis made sexual innuendos towards her and was regularly aggressive when challenged. Over the next three years her responsibility for hiring staff was removed, she was not allowed to pass on information to staff without his consent and had to fill in a daily form for him to monitor her work.

The harassment caused Mrs Bowen, who was the main breadwinner in the family, stress and panic attacks. She was signed off sick and, on one occasion, she was rushed to hospital with a suspected heart attack. Swansea County Court found Carmarthenshire NHS Trust liable.

Dave Prentis, UNISON’s General Secretary, said: “I am sure that Mrs Bowen would rather have her job and her health. “The compensation will go some way towards her loss of earnings, but it will never make up for years of suffering and the loss of her old life. “Mrs Bowen has been left unable to work and support her family, is too scared to leave the house to socialise and the NHS has lost a skilled and dedicated member of staff. “Workers should be treated with respect, not forced to take time off, or leave their job, because it is making them ill. “Employers need to encourage staff to speak out about bad behaviour, to make sure that bullies are banned from the workplace.” Mrs Bowen said: “I am relieved that the case has finished, but this is not like winning the lottery, as the money can never make up for my life being ruined. “I am still suffering and continue to have counselling to control my panic attacks. “The NHS was my life, so I have had to leave a job I loved and have been able to go out properly only three times in the past six years. “The Trust failed to support me, but hopefully my case will make other workers more likely to speak out.”

Appeal tribunal clarifies who are “affected employees” in TUPE transfers

09/01/10.An Employment Appeal Tribunal has, for the first time, provided clarification on who is an 'affected employee' that must be informed and consulted when there is a TUPE transfer. When there is a TUPE transfer, employers must provide written information to, and usually consult with, representatives of 'affected employees'. A failure to do so results in an award of up to 13 weeks actual pay to each affected employee.

In 2007, Somerset County Council and Taunton Deane Borough Council transferred the majority of the work of their Resources Directorates to a company called South West One Ltd. 846 relevant employees were given the choice of remaining as council employees, seconded to South West One Ltd, or to have their employment transferred under the terms of the TUPE Regulations to South West One Ltd.

Unison argued that council employees in other departments should have been consulted and that they were affected by an outsourcing because their opportunities for promotion and transfer in the future would be less once the service transferred. The Tribunal dismissed Unison's complaint and its appeal has also been dismissed. The EAT rejected their argument that the requirement extends this far, noting the 'dramatic consequences' of doing so.

The EAT's clarification is that 'affected employees' are "those who will be or may be transferred or whose jobs are in jeopardy by reason of the proposed transfer, or who have job applications within the organisation pending at the time of the transfer." It does not extend to the whole workforce or everyone who might apply for a vacancy in the part transferred at some point in the future. A spokesperson for law firm, Mace & Jones, said: “This is reassuring for employers and helpfully limits the obligation (and the number of people who may bring claims). However, it is also a reminder that you must consider not only those actually transferring when informing and consulting prior to a TUPE transfer. You should include those whose jobs are affected or may be at risk of redundancy as a result of the transfer, and those who have applied for jobs in the part being transferred.”

Bullying in the workplace on the rise

06/01/10.The recession, brought on by reckless and greedy Bankers, has led to a large increase in workplace bullying, according to two surveys. One in 10 employees experience workplace bullying and harassment, according to the conciliation service Acas, while a survey by the union Unison reports that more than one-third of workers said they were bullied in the past six months, double the number a decade ago.

"The fact that bullying has doubled in the past decade is shocking," said Dave Prentis, the general secretary of Unison.

Support groups are struggling to cope with the rise in cases, with one helpline recently forced to close. "We have been overwhelmed by a huge rise in complaints over the last two years," said Lyn Witheridge, who ran the Andrea Adams Trust bullying helpline until last year. "We had to close the charity and the helpline because we couldn't cope with the number of calls – they more than doubled to 70 a day. "The recession has become a playground for many bullies who know they can get away with it. Under pressure, budgets have got to be met. Managers are bullying people as a way of forcing them out and getting costs down."

Academics have long warned of the link between economic conditions and bullying, with studies in the 1980s and 1990s predicting that workplace competition and the threat of redundancy were most likely to cause an increase. Diminishing Trade Union membership and lack of collective action is seen as compounding the problem.

Although "bullying" is not a legal term, cases of bullying at work have arisen through employment law, health and safety and protection from harassment legislation. But news of the rise in bullying cases across different jurisdictions, which research suggests contributes to the 13.7m working days lost every year as a result of stress and depression, has prompted criticism that the government has failed to adequately address the problem.

Man Awarded £450,000 After Ladder Fall Left Him Needing Amputated Leg

19/12/09.A man who was left needing a below knee amputation to his left leg, after falling from a 13 foot ladder at work, has been awarded £450,000 to fund his future care and rehabilitation. Law firm Irwin Mitchell secured the settlement for Keith Waring, from Dinnington, after his employer, Rhino in Rotherham, admitted liability for the accident. Irwin Mitchell is now calling for other employers to learn from this case, as Mr Waring’s accident would have been avoided had he been given a safety harness and training.

Mr Waring was working as an electrical engineer when some external cabling he was removing from the side of a house gave way. This caused him to fall backwards off the ladder onto a block paved patio, and although he managed to land on both feet, the impact of the fall left him with serious crash fractures to both ankles. Mr Waring was admitted to hospital where he underwent an operation to put an external fixator to his right ankle, but his left ankle was so badly damaged he needed a below knee amputation to his left leg. David Urpeth, Head of Workplace Injuries at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Employers have a duty of care to their workers and must provide them with suitable training and equipment for the job in hand. “In this case, Mr Waring should have been given scaffolding or a harness to make sure he was safe, and should not have been asked to carry out a dangerous task he had not been given training for. “Falls from heights remain the most common cause of serious injury in the workplace, and employers must take steps to address this.”

Construction blacklisting campaign goes global

19/12/09.Construction unions from around the world have backed proposals to stamp out blacklisting wherever it occurs. The decision was taken last week by the Building and Wood Workers International (BWI), the global federation of construction unions, at its conference in Lille, France. The union delegates supported overwhelmingly an emergency motion proposed by UK site union UCATT. UCATT's motion mandates the leadership of the BWI to 'monitor any developments on blacklisting discovered in BWI affiliate countries' and to 'assist unions in taking action where there are suspicions of a blacklist or where blacklisting practices have been confirmed.' Alan Ritchie, general secretary of UCATT, said: 'I am delighted that the BWI are committed to stamping out blacklisting wherever it exists. Blacklisting is a disgraceful, deceitful practice which ruins the lives of workers.' UCATT says some of the companies involved in the widespread blacklisting of construction trades unionists in the UK, uncovered by the Information Commissioner in February, are multinationals. It has emerged that many of these companies practice exemplary industrial relations policies in some countries, while undertaking entirely unethical practices in others, the union says.

UCATT Calls for Urgent Inquiry Following Death of Worker in Hull

19/12/09.Construction union UCATT has called for an urgent inquiry following the death of a worker in Hull last week. Raymond Jessop 53, died on 8 December after falling from a ladder while painting a council property in the city. He was employed by Kier Building Maintenance which is responsible for the repair and maintenance of 10,000 council properties in the city. A UCATT official who visited the site said there was sufficient room for scaffolding to be erected or for a mobile platform to be used, rather than having to rely on a ladder. The union believes the use of ladders for this project is at odds with the advice provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which states that ladders should only be used 'for low risk, short duration work'. The union adds that an original decision to use scaffolding was abandoned because the company said workers were not trained in using tower scaffolding and 'cost was an issue'.

Derek Johnson, UCATT's Yorkshire regional secretary, said: 'All the evidence indicates that a decision to use ladders was taken on grounds of cost. This decision has had fatal consequences and a worker has died. It is essential that such a tragedy is never allowed to happen again; Kier's, Hull City council and all contractors must change their policies to ensure that ladders are not relied on when undertaking such large scale painting projects.' UCATT said it intended to raise its concern that workers were being pressured to finish the project to avoid possible pay reductions tied into any delay.

War Criminal Blair keeps blood money secret

18/12/09.A little-known loophole in UK company law is being used by Tony Blair to keep his finances secret. Blair would normally have to publish company accounts detailing the millions flowing into his various commercial ventures since he stepped down from office in 2007. But he has set up a complicated artificial structure which avoids the normal rule. In effect, he is getting the benefits of running a British company without the drawbacks of unwelcome publicity. His main vehicle is a so-called limited partnership, christened Windrush Ventures No 3 LP.

The perfectly legal structures Blair has set up to achieve secrecy are so complicated that they have previously baffled analysts. They involve 12 different entities, six in the Windrush structure and another half-dozen in a more recent parallel structure called Firerush. Blair's spokesman told us: "This has been done on the basis of legal and accountancy advice throughout." He called the structures "simply an administrative vehicle established in order to allow Mr Blair's office sensibly to administer his different projects". One name involved is Blair's lawyer Alexandra Harle, of solicitors Bircham Dyson Bell. She specialises in setting up various types of partnership. Observers estimate that fees for keeping up such complex structures exceed £15,000 a year.

Unions attack planned 1% cap on public sector pay rises

10/12/09.Trade Unions have attacked plans for a 1% cap on public sector pay increases from 2011 as "unfair and unjustified". In his pre-Budget report, Chancellor Alistair Darling said the pay ceiling would take effect between 2011 and 2013 as part of plans to cut the deficit. Trade Union leaders said low-paid workers should not have to "pay the price" for a recession they did not cause and warned of "problems" ahead. Unison boss Dave Prentis said he would not "sign up" to the proposal.

Unions are concerned that low-paid workers are bearing the brunt of measures to restore the budget deficit. The Trades Union Congress said the combination of the pay cap and a separate proposal for a further 0.5% rise in National Insurance contributions for those on more than £20,000 a year would really hurt its members. "A centralised pay cap on public sector staff is unfair," said general secretary Brendan Barber.

Public sector workers, many of whom are low paid, should not have to pay the price for a crash caused by reckless and greedy Bankers.

Unison, which has threatened to withdraw financial backing from Labour MPs who do not promote its values at the next election, said its members would react with "fury" to the announcement. "I am not going to sign up to this," said Mr Prentis. "I know how our members feel - they feel angry and betrayed. It is just not on to make nurses, social workers, dinner ladies, cleaners and hospital porters pay the price for the folly of the bankers." The move would have a damaging knock-on effect on the economy, he said, curbing the amount people spend. It is estimated that public sector workers spend 70 pence in every pound on goods and services in the local economy.

• PBR 2009: Reaction Outside Westminster

Single Status: Victory for the Leeds refuse workers

29/11/09.Hundreds of Leeds refuse workers have voted to return to work after a stunning victory over council bosses. Around 600 refuse workers and street cleaners at Leeds City Council started indefinite strike action at the beginning of September, causing a huge back up of refuse in the City as well as severe disruption to street cleansing.

Tory MP: “People cannot be sacked easily enough”

20/10/09.Conservative MP for Monmouth, David Davies, has launched a blistering attack on workplace rights. Speaking in an Opposition Day Commons debate , David Davies said:

“It is a fact of life that some people are not very good at their jobs. Some people are lazy and do not turn up for work on time, some people are inefficient, and some people are dishonest. I had cause to suspend a person for dishonesty in my own office, someone who was stealing money, and do you know what? It was absolutely impossible for me to dismiss that person. I tried everything. I went to see the solicitor and said, ‘This person has been filmed stealing my money,’ and I was still not able to sack her… “The point I am making is that people cannot be sacked easily enough.”

Local Government Pension Scheme finances remain robust- A well funded and sustainable scheme with 15% member contributions

18/10/09.Official statistics released by the Department for Communities and Local Government on the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) in England show that cash flow into the LGPS remains very strong, with income exceeding expenditure by over £4billion for the year, maintaining the pattern of previous years. Employee contributions in particular have gone up by 15% to just under £2billion a year.

Official statistics show that the funds’ stock market value has fallen by nearly 20% in the year to April 2009 – to just under £100 billion. GMB estimate that this loss will have been recovered as the stock markets bounced back this year. Commenting on these figures, GMB National Secretary, Brian Strutton said, “The key point is that the underlying health of the Local Government Pension Scheme remains strong. The very positive cash flow of £3-4billion more in income than expenditure consistently every year means this is a well-funded and sustainable scheme. Employees are to be congratulated for upping their contributions as this is helping their pension fund weather the current storm. It is a positive example of a system that enables workers to save for their own retirement. Read more....

Single Status: Leeds binmen reject latest offer

18/10/09.A strike by Leeds council refuse collectors is set to go into its seventh week after a new offer aimed at ending the deadlock looks set to be rejected. The GMB union said its shop stewards at Leeds City Council were recommending members reject the new package drawn up in an attempt to resolve the pay row. Union members are meeting to discuss the offer next week and are expected to formally vote on Wednesday.

Workers walked out on 7 September in a row over the imposition of savage wage cuts, up to £6,000 per annum in some cases, as part of Leeds City Council's single status pay review. The council has brought in private contractors to collect rubbish during the strike. Though this attempt at breaking the strike seems destined to fail.

The latest offer was made following a series of talks between the council and unions. The GMB and Unison unions met earlier to discuss details of the package with shop stewards and members. Tim Roache, GMB regional secretary for Yorkshire, said: "The offer has been discussed with shop stewards and the shop stewards have serious reservations about it and will be sharing those reservations with members."

Paul Kenny, GMB general secretary, said: "The council will have to realise that cutting the pay of male workers to bring in equal pay is not acceptable. "The shop stewards have rejected the offer and our members are now digging in for a long dispute." A benefit concert is being held in Leeds on Sunday to raise money for the striking workers, headlined by actor and musician Keith Allen.  

It is good to see a national Union finally taking a stand against Single Status pay cuts and the GMB and Paul Kenny seem to be making all the running in this dispute. Note the deathly silence from Dave Prentis and Heather Wakefield, equal pay at any cost, as always, seems to be the position of Unison nationally.

• Rats fear amid bin strike backlog

Single Status: Leeds binmen vow to strike until Christmas

11/10/09.Leeds refuse workers have vowed to carry on with their month-long strike until Christmas.The latest round of talks between unions and council bosses – resumed after a day's break – have again ended in deadlock. Determined workers had voted overwhelmingly to carry on with industrial action if talks failed. And with the announcement that the unions' hardship fund had been swelled by another £50,000, many workers vowed to fight on to Christmas if necessary.

The GMB and Unison have announced they are adding £50,000 to the strike hardship fund as details were also finalised for a benefit gig in Leeds on October 18. GMB general secretary Paul Kenny, who visited the picket line, said: "The two unions between them are adding £50,000 to the hardship fund and planning for a long dispute. "The event on October 18 will raise much-needed support for our members on strike in Leeds who face crippling pay cuts. "Supporting the event is a way for people in Leeds to tell the Lib Dem/Tory administration that the proper way to introduce equal pay is to increase the wage of the women workers up to that of the men. When the equal pay legislation was passed, it was always the intention to level up, not level down."

Taxpayers' Alliance admits director doesn't pay British tax

10/10/09.The Taxpayers' Alliance, a campaign group that calls for tax and spending cuts and claims to represent the interests of taxpayers, has admitted one of its directors does not pay British tax. The Guardian has learned that Alexander Heath, a director of the increasingly influential free market, rightwing lobby group, lives in a farmhouse in the Loire and has not paid British tax for years. The admission, made by Matthew Elliott, the TPA's chief executive and founder, is potentially embarrassing for the Conservative party, which has close links to the group that claims to be "the guardian of taxpayers' money, the voice of taxpayers in the media and their representative at Westminster". At the Conservative party conference in Manchester this week, the TPA's influence was underlined when David Cameron and George Osborne followed its recommendations for freezing public sector pay and capping civil servants' salaries at the level of the prime minister, unless approved by the chancellor.

• Tax Payers' Alliance funding, we're closing in

Leeds refuse workers strike against pay cuts

03/10/09.Six hundred workers employed in refuse collection, street cleansing and waste management in Leeds have been on all-out strike since September 7. They are protesting against the plans of Leeds City Council to cut their wages by up to £6,000 a year on the spurious pretext of an “equality” re-grading scheme. Pickets have been posted at all council cleansing depots and a mass meeting of strikers on September 10 voted unanimously to continue with the strike until the council withdraws the cuts.

At the Cross Green depot one of the pickets told the World Socialist Web Site, “We have had a lot of support from the public. This scenario is like Thatcher’s attack on the miners in 1984-85. If they can beat us they will go through the rest of the council like a dose of salts. Yesterday a worker from St. James Hospital across the road came to the picket and said they were watching what happens to us because if we get beat they will expect the same.”

Another striker said, “The council says we have to take a pay cut so lower paid workers, especially women workers, can get an increase. Women workers have been underpaid for years, and they should have their pay increased, but not at the expense of their fellow workers.”

• GMB And Unison Announce “Refuse To Be Beat” Benefit Gig And Rally In Leeds On Sunday 18th October 2009

Doncaster Unison convenor suspended

03/10/09.Hundreds of protesters have demonstrated in Doncaster town centre after a union announced plans for a strike ballot over the suspension of a senior borough official. Doncaster Council suspended Unison convener Jim Board last week for speaking to TV news crews reporting on the assaults on two boys in Edlington. The two attackers were boys in the authority's care. The union has been further upset after efforts by Mayor Peter Davies to promote the Workers of England Union, which has links with his own English Democrats Party.

Union members from all over the Yorkshire region joined the rally in the town centre on Saturday and warned the council and Mayor Peter Davies they faced a huge fight and a possible mass walkout of council staff. Unison regional organiser Robin Symonds said there was widespread anger among all the unions in the borough and the regional union office had now approved an official requested by the Doncaster branch committee for a strike ballot. He described Mr Board's suspension as a smokescreen ahead of planned budget cuts which the authority expected he would oppose. Placards at the event carried slogans including 'Speak the truth and you get suspended' and 'Jim Board for Mayor'

Workers feeling increasingly pressured to work while sick

03/10/09.Over half of people living in Britain are so scared of losing their job in the current climate that they are risking their health by working through illness. This is according to those surveyed as part of Simplyhealth's Bothered Britain Report, which is released this month. The report investigates how attitudes and behaviour have changed in the past year towards health-related issues, as well as looking at what people are really bothered about at the moment.

With redundancies rife across all industries, people are constantly worrying about their job security, so much so that they are not resting when needed, in case it gets used against them. This is evident from the new research, which reveals that a huge 43% of people living in Britain haven't taken any days off in the last 12 months, an increase of 20% from 2008, when it was just 36%.

Commenting on the findings, Raman Sankaran from Simplyhealth said: 'Today's competitive and pressured working environment means that some people find it difficult to speak up about an illness or take time off. However, employees should not be made to feel that they have to put their health at risk to save their job. A healthy employee is a more productive employee, and it's important that companies do everything they can to help support employees to good health

The other Tax Payers' Alliance on what's wrong with the Tax Payers' Alliance

14/09/09.The TaxPayers' Alliance is a tremendously successful campaign group. Barely a day goes by without Chief Executive Matthew Elliott appearing in the media, representing the views of "ordinary taxpayers". In fact never a day goes by: the Alliance boasts an average hit rate of 13 media appearances a day and puts the links on its website to prove it.

The problem is that it isn't an alliance of ordinary taxpayers at all. It is an alliance of right-wing ideologues. Its academic advisory council is a who's who of the proponents of discredited Thatcherite policies: Eamonn Butler and Marsden Pirie of the Adam Smith Institute, academics Patrick Minford and Kenneth Minogue, Margaret Thatcher's former economic advisor Sir Alan Walters, and others such as ex-Institute of Directors policy head Ruth Lea.

Not everything the TPA says is wrong. Who could disagree with its commitment to "criticise all examples of wasteful and unnecessary spending", or to putting 2012 London Olympic spending under scrutiny? But the Alliance's concern for better public spending is a stepping stone to its desire for less public spending. And far from being a voice for "ordinary" taxpayers, its policies – opposing all tax rises (what, for everyone, in any circumstance?) and backing a flat rather than progressive tax – will increase inequality and shift wealth from poor to rich.

Single Status hell in Leeds-Report by 'Streethawk' Jim Jarrett

09/09/09.So single status hell has finally hit Leeds. Poor Loiners aren’t getting their bins emptied! Shock Horror! When it hit Calderdale it barely registered a media blip! At the start of this year Calderdale had a contented and highly motivated workforce in its  Parks and Streetscene Department. Now as final pay deductions loom in October  people are going on long term sickness with stress, those who can get out to better jobs are doing so, and those that remain are demotivated, demoralized and despondent. Even the directorates senior management structure has collapsed! We have been ‘consulted’ ‘cajoled’ threatened with the sack, divided and in the end forced to accept their despicable pay cuts. The unions failed us utterly and we have no more confidence in them than in the council. When the cuts finally bite they will lose members. Representations were made through MPs to central government whose response was that as Single Status was drawn up in the Major era, it was neither their fault nor their responsibility and we should consult our councillors – those very people advising us to consult them! Read the rest here.

Barmy Barnet adopts budget airline model

01/09/09.A leading Conservative council is using the business model of budget airlines, Ryanair and easyJet, to inspire a radical reform of public service provision which is being seen as a blueprint for Tory government. The practices of the no-frills airlines, who charge customers extra for services which were once considered part of the standard fare, are being emulated by the London borough of Barnet as it embarks on "a relentless drive for efficiency". A spokesman for the council has unofficially dubbed the project "easyCouncil".

All is not well with new sick notes

30/08/09.Plans to abolish the sick note in favour of the 'well note' could force sick and injured people back to work too early, a top employment law firm has warned. Trade union and personal injury specialists Thompsons Solicitors says the government's proposals, contained in a Department for Work and Pensions consultation on reforming the medical statement, would also fail to cut the cost of sick leave to industry or reduce compensation payments. It says unless the new rules oblige employers to make changes to the working conditions of employees who were injured or became sick because of their work - for example, altering their duties or making changes to workstations - then people will either be unable to return to work, or will do so only to go off sick again. Tom Jones, head of policy at Thompsons, said supporting people in getting back to work was a sound principle, 'however many people remain on sick leave because employers fail to make the necessary adjustments to enable them to work again. This voluntary approach is highly unlikely to change that. People often find themselves in a no man's land: not wanting to stay off work, but unable to return.' He explained: 'Under the proposals employers might take someone back before they were ready, and even coerce them to do so and then dismiss them when they cannot cope. This is neither in the employee's or the employer's interest.'

Jail threat vital to deter union blacklists

30/08/09.Employers and consultants who blacklist trade unionists should face the full weight of the criminal law including the ultimate sanction of imprisonment, a top law firm has said. Employment law experts Thompsons Solicitors has told business secretary Peter Mandelson that the civil law sanctions proposed by the government in its consultation on the prohibition of blacklisting are 'wholly inadequate' to deal with such a fundamental attack on human rights and freedoms. Richard Arthur, head of trade union law at the firm, said: 'The Employment Relations Act 1999 which provides the enabling legislation, envisaged that there would be criminal sanctions for blacklisting trade unionists. It sends the wrong message to potential law breakers to now say that only civil law sanctions such as fines will apply.' The government pledged to outlaw blacklisting of trades unionists after an Information Commissioner's Office probe found a construction industry controlled and bankrolled organisation, The Consulting Association, was operating a blacklist containing the names of more than 3,200 construction workers, many listed for their health and safety activities. Arthur said the new regulations proposed by the government will not offer adequate protection, adding 'it will still be difficult to pursue blacklisting discrimination cases.

Average Local Government Pension is £1,600 for a woman, hardly Gold Plated

28/08/09.Commenting on recent proposals to cut Local Government Pension payments Paul Kenny said : “The average Local Government Pension Scheme payment for a retired woman is £1,600 a year. This is equivalent to a lunch bill for many of those passing judgement on public sector pensions. What is more is that local government workers’ pension savings are invested in UK businesses throughout the private sector, there couldn’t be a worse time to talk of taking a hatchet to the LGPS.

It is high time politicians started talking about how workers can fund their retirement not how to cut workplace pensions to the bone. The country needs reliable and secure pension schemes that will give those that contribute to them a reasonable income in old age. The British taxpayer definitely does not want to foot the bill for state benefits that will shoot through the roof if politicians and the pensions industry wipe out every good quality pension scheme in the country.

Far from being gold plated and set in stone, all public sector schemes have been reformed significantly over the past few years. While employer holidays from decades ago have left deficits on past service, for future service the Local Government Pension Scheme costs less that the average private sector defined benefit scheme. For all our futures we need to wise up and have a proper debate about pension saving in the UK, not cut everyone’s pension down to the minimum.”

First corporate manslaughter trial to begin in February

27/08/09.The UK’s first corporate manslaughter case is expected to be tried next February, a crown court was told this week.Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings is charged under the Corporate Manslaughter Act 2007 with the unlawful killing of a young geologist by gross negligence. Director Peter Eaton is also charged with manslaughter under common law.

Mr Eaton was due to enter his pleas at Bristol Crown Court, but the case was adjourned after an application for more time by his legal counsel. A plea hearing will now occur in October, on a date yet to be set.The trial was, however, pencilled in for 23 February. Alexander Wright, 27, was collecting soil samples in a trench in Stroud, Gloucestershire, last September when it collapsed, killing him. Mr Eaton and his company each also face a charge of breaching health and safety regulations in regard to the incident.

Employers urged to take proper precautions to prevent workplace falls

27/08/09.Employers are being warned to take correct precautions when their staff work at height, after a farm employee sustained serious injuries when he fell nearly five metres through a roof he was working on. The HSE this week successfully prosecuted Francis Caley for breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, over the incident in May 2008. Mr Caley pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £1,858 costs at Hull and Holderness Magistrates Court.

The court heard that farm employee Charles Leslie Nendick fell through a roof whilst carrying out repairs on 13 May 2008. He suffered fractures to his spine, pelvis and hip, as well as a gash to his head. Mr Nendick’s employer, Mr Caley failed to take suitable precautions to prevent a fall through the roof, which was not strong enough to support the weight of a person. After the hearing HSE Inspector Alan Sheldon commented: “The hazards and risks of working on roofs are well documented. HSE has produced a lot of guidance over many years specifically for the agriculture industry where approximately 70 fatalities have occurred from falls in the last ten years. More than half of these resulted from falls through fragile surfaces.  “In this case a farm employee fell over 4.5 metres to the ground as he stepped from a ladder onto the roof of a farm building. He suffered serious injuries. The measures in place at the time were not adequate to prevent this happening.”

Victory for workers sacked by e-mail

27/08/09.Over 30 sacked Christian bookshop workers have won what is said to be a “substantial payout” after being sacked by their company’s new owners for refusing to sign new contracts at work. The workers were employed by the long-established SPCK chain of Christian bookshops until they were transferred to a charity called Saint Stephen the Great Charitable Trust (SSG) in November 2006, controlled by two American brothers, Mark and Philip Brewer.

According to Usdaw, the shopworkers’ union, the Brewers tried to force the staff to sign new contracts which gave them longer hours, fewer holidays and poorer pension rights. Between February and June 2008 32 workers were then sacked by the Brewer brothers, with many getting the news by email. Usdaw said SSG broke UK employment laws by trying to force staff to sign new contracts and then sacking them, and the union lodged a complaint with the Employment Tribunal for the 32 workers. The individual payout figures agreed for each member are subject to a three-month confidentiality clause.

Worker awarded £25,000 for unfair dismissal

22/08/09.A factory worker who was sacked after he slept through a fire drill during a night shift has been awarded more than £25,000 for unfair dismissal. David Hart, 59, claimed he had gone to a shower area to splash water on his eyes as he was feeling tired but sat down, dried his face and must have fallen asleep. Mr Hart, who had worked for the company for 37 years and had a clean service record, was dismissed for gross misconduct but complained he was unfairly sacked from his job as a metal shop worker at Waukesha Bearings Ltd’s factory in Polmadie, Glasgow. A Glasgow employment tribunal heard that Mr Hart, who suffers from high blood pressure and osteoarthritis, had been feeling unwell and was taking strong medication, including powerful painkillers, which his doctor confirmed could make him feel sleepy. He slept through a six-minute fire alarm and was subsequently found lying on a bench in the shower area with his head resting on some towels being used as a pillow. Mr Hart denied he had prepared a makeshift sleeping area or that his actions had been deliberate, adding he did not use a sink on the shop floor to splash his face because the hand basin was dirty.

Schools warned over the dangers of lifting

22/08/09.A school caretaker needed surgery after suffering a hernia when lifting a heavy room divider. UNISON member Alan Thomas, from South Kirby, near Pontefract, was off work for two months following corrective surgery in November 2007. The 43-year-old, based at Common Road Infant School, in Kirkby, was moving the divider so he could clean and polish a classroom floor when he was injured. Following the operation, UNISON advised Mr Thomas to pursue a compensation claim which resulted in a £3,471 payout.

The school's local education authority, Wakefield Council, admitted negligence and settled the claim out of court. Mr Thomas said: 'Schools should take into account how difficult it is to lift heavy equipment and put measures in place to stop injuries. I am now back at work, but I will have to be careful with my health for the rest of my life.' Cliff Williams, UNISON's Yorkshire and Humberside regional secretary, said: 'This accident could so easily have been prevented. He should have received help from a colleague with moving the divider and he could have been provided with mechanical work equipment to assist with the manoeuvre. Employers must stop these preventable injuries by carrying out risk assessments and training.' Keely Goldup, from Thompsons Solicitors, who represented Mr Thomas for the union, said: 'It is the responsibility of any employer - in this case Wakefield Council - to make sure there are systems in place so that jobs are performed safely and in this case they failed to do so.

Bundreds ‘n’ Thousands!.....or

21/08/09......rank hypocrisy of the highest order continues unashamedly and unabatedly in the ranks of the Audit Commission. STEVE BUNDRED, chief executive of the Audit Commission (motto: “protecting the public purse”) recently argued for a pay freeze across the entire public sector. But this call for pay restraint came just four weeks after he had waved through a distinctly juicy and lucrative pay deal for himself and 24 colleagues.

Until March this year, Bundred and his co-directors were entitled to up to 10 percent of their salaries as bonuses. For 2008/09 these averaged 6.5 percent. Whilst espousing Spartan living for the masses Bundred trousered £12,000, or 6.1 percent of his £192,000 salary, eight times the median wage, nice work if you can get it!

But from 2009/10, the board agreed in June, bonuses will be stopped and replaced “by a one-off 6 percent consolidation into basic salary” on top of regular pay rises.

In other words, what were once discretionary payments will now be paid for ever more, regardless of performance or financial pressure. Since top public officials (such as Audit Commission fatcats) are expected to come under pressure to relinquish bonuses in the choppy fiscal waters ahead (Whitehall permanent secretaries have already waived theirs for 2008/09), this could prove a lucrative move.

Postal staff defy Royal Mail bullies

20/08/09.Thousands of post workers across London have defied a management offensive and walked out on strike again. Post workers' CWU union accused Royal Mail bosses of mounting an all-out assault on staff, cutting jobs, tearing up workplace agreements and victimising union reps in an attempt to force through their own version of so-called "modernisation" without consulting the union.

Majority of Workers are Oblivious to Forthcoming Pension Age Changes

20/08/09.The majority of people are unaware of two important changes to pensions that come into effect next year.  From next April the minimum pension age is set to rise to 55 but a survey just conducted for the insurance company, Aon Consulting, found that three quarters of the more than 4,000 people they surveyed were unaware of it.  Amongst those most likely to be impacted (45 to 54-year-olds) only 31 per cent knew of the imminent change.

The survey also found that over half (54 per cent) of those surveyed were unaware that the state pension age for women begins to rise from next April and will slowly increase to 65 by 2020.  All women born after 6 April 1950 will be affected. If you are a man born after 6th April 1959 the earliest age you will be able to draw your state pension is 66 and this will rise to 68. Helen Dowsey, principal at Aon Consulting, commented: “These findings have clear implications for Britain’s workforce and their employers. It is disappointing, but not entirely surprising, that so few people are aware of changes to the minimum retirement age and the State pension age. Employees should double-check when they are able to retire, no matter what their age.”

GMB calls on SODEXO to end minimum wage disgrace

19/08/09.Tens of thousands of low paid catering workers at football stadiums, major tourist attractions, racecourses, army bases, hospitals, company and public sector canteens and in schools are being underpaid to the tune of £41.03 per year due to the use of the wrong pay formula on the national minimum wage (NMW). Many of these are members of GMB union.

Sedexo pay monthly paid employees on the NMW an annual salary of £11,918.40. The correct figure is £11,959.43. New starters have for some time been paid monthly. Tens of thousands of low paid workers are being underpaid to the tune of £41.03 per year. This amounts to an underpayment of 2p per hour on the National Minimum wage of £5.73 per hour.

GMB has called on Sedexo, the multinational company with catering contracts across the UK, to use the correct formula to pay the national minimum wage to pay low paid monthly paid catering employees whose pay level is that of the national minimum wage.

Hands off our health service

18/08/09.Unions and health campaigners have come to defence of the NHS in the face of a continuing media offensive by US conservatives against the so-called "socialised health care" in the UK. British trade unions representing health workers have unveiled two initiatives designed to address a barrage of propaganda from US insurance companies and neo-con lobbyists who hope to block US President Barack Obama's plans for public health reform in the US.

Glasgow refuse dispute over after deal struck

15/08/09.A dispute that could have led to rubbish mounting on the streets of Glasgow is off after unions voted to accept a last ditch offer from the city council. The Herald understands there was a normal majority among GMB and Unite membership to accept the deal, which will see them getting 10 weeks during the year when the four days on, four days off rota will not apply. The deal will also see the establishment of a working group to monitor the implementation of the new regime. Although the unions will not receive the offer of stand-by payments as had previously been on the table, their leadership claimed that a work-life balance was more important. It is also understood that while the GMB and Unite unions accepted the offer Unison, which has the smallest number of members in the dispute, rejected it.

'Equal pay claims must be pursued'

15/08/09.A Union leader is urging thousands of Lancashire County Council staff to take out equal pay claims. The exercise, which aims to end years of unequal pay, could affect the salaries of at least 25,000 staff. Unite's Lancashire branch secretary Les Parker said: "If someone wishes to have a go, all they have to do is contact me as the county council has still not paid one single person properly." Carol Lukey, Lancashire County Council's Unison representative, said: "The advice is that they contact our regional office to pursue any action. 

Why you may have just given the government £2,000 for nothing …

15/08/09.Would you be prepared to give the government an extra £2,000 a year, or 11% of your pay, in return for ... absolutely nothing? Or how about donating a chunk of your redundancy cash to its coffers out of the goodness of your heart? While few in their right mind would agree to any of these, it's claimed many of us end up doing exactly this every year because of mistakes in national insurance payments.

The problem stems from the fact this social insurance scheme has become highly complicated since David Lloyd George first started charging it at the rate of 4d a week, 98 years ago. It was designed to work like the state equivalent of an insurance policy – you get the basic state pension, incapacity benefit and other benefits when you need them. It was supposed to pay out an equivalent amount to what you paid in. However, in more recent years, politicians of all parties have fiddled with it, often choosing to increase NI rates rather than income tax. The outcome is a complex system that can easily result in overcharging.

Company fined for inadequate legionella assessments at Welsh care homes

15/08/09.The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning companies responsible for carrying out legionella surveys on water systems of the need to ensure that their work is thorough and accurate. The warning follows the conviction of a Berkshire-based water treatment company for carrying out inadequate and misleading surveys at nursing homes in Blaenau Gwent and Powys. As a result, vulnerable residents at the homes would have been at a heightened risk of contracting legionnaires disease, a potentially fatal form of pneumonia. At Abertillery Magistrates Court on Thursday 6th August 2009, DEBA UK Ltd of Unit 15, The Metro Centre, Toutley Road, Wokingham, pleaded guilty to three charges under Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. They were fined £24,000 and ordered to pay costs of £17,276. During 2007, the company were commissioned to carry out legionella risk assessments at Nursing Homes operated by Craegmoor Healthcare in Tredegar and Llangattock, and rated the risk as low.

Mesothelioma sufferer warns of dangers of asbestos

15/08/09.A self-employed plasterer who has just months to live is warning others of the risks of exposure to asbestos. The 48-year-old from Houghton Le Spring was diagnosed with the asbestos related cancer mesothelioma in October 2008. The plasterer, whose name has not been released, was exposed to asbestos as a 16-year-old apprentice with building company GM Pearson Limited, working on council house renovations across the north-east of England. He was never warned of the dangers of asbestos nor provided with any respiratory protection. 'I loved my work and I knew it involved contact with asbestos,' he said: 'As the years went by I began to understand what a dangerous material it was and when I was self-employed I took the necessary precautions, but by then it was too late. The damage had already been done. I'm concerned that another generation of people are still being unwittingly exposed to asbestos in schools and offices. We are told that asbestos in buildings is safe as long as it's not disturbed but I fear that in 40 years time people will still be developing mesothelioma from asbestos exposure which is still happening in workplaces and schools today.'

UCATT Trade Union calls for tougher blacklist action

15/08/09.A union has called for action against unpunished blacklist users after the Information Commissioner's Office served enforcement notices on just 14 of the subscribers to a covert blacklisting operation. The regulator said it could not take action against other 30 contractors who paid in to The Consulting Association as it did not find enough evidence against them.

Alan Ritchie, general secretary of construction union Ucatt, said: “While I recognise the move to issue enforcement notices on the construction companies listed, I believe straightforward prosecutions would have been a more appropriate response. He added: “It appears some of the worst offenders have been omitted from the ICO action, including a company that made nearly 13,000 individual checks on workers in 2008 alone. We need to remember that a number of these companies had secured hundreds of millions of pounds from publicly-procured contracts while at the same time operating a blacklist on those same sites.

Six of the 14 companies hit by the notices, following breaches of the Data Protection Act, were divisions of the UK’s biggest construction firm, Balfour Beatty. Balfour Beatty’s Civil Engineering, Construction Northern, Construction Scottish & Southern, Engineering Services (HY), Engineering Services and Infrastructure Services divisions were all hit. Both the Engineering Services and Rail divisions of Emcor also received notices, as well as CB&I UK, Kier, NG Bailey, Shepherd Engineering Services, SIAS Building Services and Whessoe Oil & Gas.

JUSTICE for Pleural Plaques

13/08/09.Pleural Plaques are scarring of the lungs caused by heavy and prolonged exposure to asbestos. Until a few years ago, sufferers of the disease were able to claim compensation. Crucially, this meant that companies were liable if they exposed their workers to asbestos. 

But in October 2007, the Law Lords outrageously scrapped this precedent - meaning that thousands of people with Pleural Plaques would not be entitled to a single penny, whilst insurers profited to the tune of £1.4BN.

My petition calls on the Government to do the right thing for victims of Pleural Plaques and restore compensation. The Scottish Parliament and the devolved administration in Northern Ireland have already done this - and with your help we'll get Whitehall to stop dragging their feet and get this sorted in England and Wales too. You can sign the petition here:

Single Status: Dumfries and Galloway staff accept latest offer

07/08/09.The “overwhelming” majority of Dumfries and Galloway local government staff have voted to end a long running single status/job regrading dispute. Voting figures released by the unions showed 75 per cent of the Unison membership turned out with 89.6 accepting the offer. The GMB turnout was 50 per cent with 93 per cent in favour while 61 per cent of the Unite membership voted with 94 per cent in favour.The new pay and grading structure will be backdated to April 1. New council chief executive Gavin Stevenson was delighted with the news. “This is a tremendous vote of confidence in the deal,” he said.

The deal is not good news for the 15% of the staff who will endure swingeing and life altering pay cuts of £1,000's per year due to the flawed job evaluation process. And as a local source informs us "The new chief Executive who has only been in place for a few weeks has hailed it as a big success for his leadership. Considering that the staff had been threatened by dismissal if they did not accept it this would not be difficult."

Workers' Memorial Day consultation begins

01/08/09.The government has launched the promised consultation into officially recognising Workers' Memorial Day. The 28 April global trade union event has now been running for over 25 years with the motto 'remember the dead, and fight for the living'. Last week, the secretary of state for work and pensions, Yvette Cooper, confirmed the consultation would look at how the day could be officially recognised in the UK. She said: 'It is a tragedy that some people go out to work and then never return home to their families. I want to look at what the UK can do to remember the thousands of workers who have lost their lives.' She added: 'I know there are many ideas for consideration, including a lasting memorial. Many countries already recognise Workers Memorial Day, to commemorate those who have been killed, seriously injured or made ill through work.' The consultation runs until 19 October 2009.

Firm fined for deadly Jet Washer Legionella outbreak

01/08/09.A meat processing firm has been fined £25,000 for an outbreak of a potentially deadly disease which left two workers in hospital. Two Polish employees contracted Legionnaires' disease while working at Kepak UK Ltd's plant near Preston, in September 2006. The firm must also pay £20,000 costs after it pleaded guilty to failing to protect employees from contracting Legionnaires' from a domestic water system. The bug was spread into the air via a jet pressure washer used for cleaning at the meat-boning plant, which employed 50 people at the time. The court heard that the first case of Legionnaires' disease was diagnosed on 26 September 2006 in Boguslaw Plociennik, who was employed as a boner, and a second on 3 October 2006 in Zbigniew Rauk, who was employed as a packer.

Prosecuting, Kate Blackwell told Preston Crown Court that a contractor had undertaken a safety assessment at the Walton Summit premises in 2001, but that the assessment had not been reviewed by the time of the legionella outbreak five years later. She said the problem came from a hot water feed into the pressure washer and that water had probably stagnated, multiplying the bug, over a warm weekend when the washer was not in use. Fining Kepak, judge Stuart Baker accepted the firm had not been "cavalier" in its attitude to health and safety to save money, but that it had failed to sufficiently review its risk assessments over five years.

Pupil suffers horrific burns on placement

01/08/09.A schoolboy has undergone a series of skin grafts after suffering horrific burns while on work experience. Jonathan Bonner, aged 15, was on a placement at windows firm Castlefield Works when he suffered 25 to 30 per cent burns. It is believed he suffered the injuries as waste was being burned on the site. Jonathan's father, John Bonner, said: 'He has had five skins grafts to his forearms, stomach and legs.' He added: 'We don't know what happened but he put something onto the fire and it blew back at him, setting him on fire.' An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the circumstances surrounding the incident has now been launched. An HSE spokesperson said: 'A prohibition notice has been served stopping waste matter being burned on the site until a full investigation has been carried out into the incident.' Bury Council is also probing the incident but said policies were in place for the safety of children undertaking work placements.

Multinational failed to learn deaths lesson

01/08/09.A firm has been fined £533,000 following the deaths of two workers five years ago. Richard Clarkson, 29, and Stuart Jordan, 50, who worked at a Bodycote HIP Ltd metal refining plant in Hereford, died in 2004 after an argon gas leak. The multinational firm was also ordered to pay costs of £200,000 after admitting safety breaches. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the case against Bodycote HIP of Macclesfield, Cheshire. It told Worcester Crown Court that Mr Jordan, a works manager, and Mr Clarkson, a maintenance engineer, were found collapsed on the stairs leading to the pit on 14 June 2004. The pit's oxygen alarm system was switched off on the day and the ventilation system, which it said could have saved the men's lives, was not running. There was no evidence Mr Jordan had been given any appropriate safety training, HSE told the court. HSE also said the firm had failed to learn the lessons of a double fatality at one of its US plants, where workers were also asphyxiated by argon gas.

Single Status protests bring city centre to a standstill

31/07/09.Traffic in Brighton and Hove city centre has been brought to a standstill by a blockade by dustcarts, recycling lorries and street cleaning vehicles. GMB union members in 40 vehicles demonstrated outside the city council offices in Grand Avenue, Hove before moving in convoy to Brighton seafront. The union was protesting about the imposition of savage pay cuts which  could see 800 workers lose up to £8,000 a year, a huge and life altering amount.

Tuesday's demonstration took place as talks began between the city council and trade unions about the implementation of job evaluations as part the national single status agreement. The GMB claims its refuse collectors, street cleaners and recycling workers face having to sign new contracts which will cut their pay by amounts ranging from £1,000 to £8,000 a year.

TUC explodes public sector pension myths

30/07/09.The claims by business groups, neo-Thatcherite right wing pressure groups including the so-called Tax Payers Alliance and opposition politicians that public sector pensions are unaffordable, out of control and produce easy immediate public expenditure savings are all myths, according to a new TUC briefing.

The majority of public sector pensioners receive a modest pension of less than £5,000 a year. The average local government pension is just £4,000 a year and half the women on NHS pensions get less than £3,500 a year, hardly gold plated as they are portrayed in the right wing media.. The briefing highlights recent reforms in public service pensions. Almost all new staff will have a normal retirement age of 65, just like many existing public sector staff.

The truth is that public sector pensions now cost around 1.5 per cent of GDP and while this is forecast to slowly rise to 2.0 per cent over the next twenty years it then falls slightly. Public sector pensions cost less than state pensions and long term care, which are also set to increase as the population ages.

Hundreds face 'asbestos timebomb'

30/07/09.Hundreds of workers who helped build Yorkshire's power stations are facing an "asbestos timebomb", experts say. Many of those who built or worked in the plants have developed asbestosis or methothelioma, a type of lung cancer caused by asbestos. Hundreds are now claiming compensation for damage to their health. Claims lawyer Howard Bonnett said the numbers of people diagnosed with asbestos diseases was expected to "spike" over the next decade.

Kim Daniells, of the York Asbestos Support Group, said: "The dangers of asbestos have been known of now for about 100 years or so, and certainly by the 50s and 60s it was known that even lower levels of exposure could be dangerous." The government's Health and Safety Executive estimate that 4,000 people die from asbestos related disease every year. Claims for compensation have been made against several organisations including employers, insurance companies and contractors. Compensation can also be gained from the government's pneumoconiosis benefit scheme which covers all dust-related diseases.

Single Status: Sandwell Council Workers face pay cuts of up to £7,000

24/07/09.Transport workers at Sandwell Council are set to lose thousands of pounds a year. One worker said he will lose more than £7,000 a year. The worker, who did not wish to be named, is based in the signs department and said he will lose out on £7,500 when the new pay scales are brought in on January 1, 2009.  The change will take his annual wages down from £23,000 to £15,500. He said: “My bills alone are going to be more than my wages are going to be. I just don’t know how on earth they expect people to live.”

The Council is seeking to impose savage pay cuts as part of it's Single Status job-evaluation exercise. Binmen and lollipop ladies are already considering strike action after wages were slashed, with some refuse workers claiming their wages will be cut by up to £8,000 a year. Meanwhile, some staff claim they are still waiting for letters that are three weeks overdue, informing them of their new salaries.

Autistic greenkeeper awarded £78,000 in damages after constant bullying from golf club boss

24/07/09.A golf club greenkeeper who was ordered by his boss to wear a bright red helmet because of his autism has been awarded £78,000 in damages for unfair dismissal. Andrew Beck, 44, happily worked at Davyhulme Park Golf Club in Manchester for 13 years until new head greenkeeper Nick Marner was appointed in 1999. He endured constant bullying from his manager up until when he quit the job in 2007, an employment tribunal in Manchester heard.

Mr Beck, of Urmston, who has an autism spectrum disorder, was told he had to wear the builder's-style hat to distinguish himself from the rest of the employees and to point him out to visitors to the club. He was advised it was for his own protection. In other incidents the tribunal was told that Mr Marner kicked him in a fit of temper while he sat in a rest room and violently pushed him over on the course as he knocked a rake out of his hands.

Plumber wins asbestos compensation

24/07/09.A former hospital worker who became ill after exposure to asbestos has been awarded £175,000 in compensation. Alan Ward, who worked as a hospital plumber in Wakefield from 1964 to 1972, has developed cancer of the lung lining after being exposed to the hazardous substance. The 61-year-old from Weston-super-Mare said he had never been warned about the dangers to his health during his time as a plumber. Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, which helped Mr Ward with his compensation bid, said that Mr Ward is one of many workers whose health has been affected by his job. He added that while the cash will help make his remaining months comfortable, it will not compensate for the suffering he has endured. Mr ward, whose illness is progressing slowly, said he was pleased to receive compensation, as it will help cover his living costs.

Builder jailed over boy's death

22/07/09.A builder has been jailed for three years for the manslaughter of a boy who was crushed to death by a falling wall. Adam Gosling, 15, from Latchingdon in Essex, had been left alone to prop up a wall in Hadley Wood, north London, in April 2007. He died from head injuries. Colin Holtom, 64, also from Latchingdon, admitted manslaughter by gross negligence at the Old Bailey. Contractor Darren Fowler, 47, from Upminster in Essex, was jailed for a year over health and safety breaches. He admitted breaking health and safety law and running a company while disqualified from being a director.

Single Status: Edinburgh Refuse workers face £6,000 pay cuts

22/07/09.Unite members working for Edinburgh Refuse Department face swingeing pay cuts as part of the Council's latest Single Status proposals. The Council is seeking to impose the cuts but faces strong opposition from a united and determined workforce. The staff are already working-to-rule in a row over the plans. It is claimed the new system could see bin collectors' wages cut from £18,000 to around £12,000.

Stephen MacGregor, Unite convenor within the Edinburgh City Council, said: "I am disappointed with Steve Cardownie's (the Council's deputy leader) comments because he mentions a proposal which would still result in our members losing thousands of pounds. "We have sought political engagement for a couple of years now but this has fallen on deaf ears. "There is anger and disgust among our members that their employer is proposing to do this to them. "The majority of councils across Scotland have introduced the Single Status Agreement because they have invested in it, so why can't Edinburgh city Council do this?"

Single Status: Leeds Refuse Collectors to hold strike ballot

18/07/09.Refuse collectors in Leeds are to be balloted on whether to strike following the city council's attempt to impose huge and life altering pay cuts. Members of the GMB, Unite and Unison Trade Unions held a meeting in the city on Thursday evening where members voted unanimously to hold a strike ballot. Union officials said workers were facing "totally unacceptable" pay cuts of up to £6,000 - a third of their annual salary.

The unrest comes amid allegations that the Council is softening up the Refuse department for privatisation. GMB organiser Desiree Risebury said: "These proposed pay cuts are designed to package up the Streetscene service - refuse street cleaning and waste management - to sell off to the lowest bidder and saddle Leeds council taxpayers with a third-rate service. "Members' lives are being ruined by council bureaucrats many of whom are on astronomical salaries - from £50,000 to over £200,000 - and never have to risk their health and well-being by keeping our streets clean." Tony Pearson, regional organiser for Unite, described the meeting as "heated and angry" and said the only obvious stand was for members to vote for a strike ballot.

TUC condemns 'totally inadequate' blacklisting fine

17/07/09.The TUC has today condemned as 'totally inadequate' the fine of £5,000 levied on company boss Ian Kerr who has admitted to running an illegal blacklisting service. TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'This fine is totally inadequate and in no way reflects the seriousness of the offence. Thousands of trade unionists have been unable to work as a result of this man's activities, and may struggle to get work in the future. 'It is vital that the Government introduces without delay new regulations outlawing all blacklisting, to prevent the profoundly undemocratic practice of discrimination against those who choose to join unions and to campaign through them to make UK workplaces much safer places to be employed.'

Health and Safety Executive cannot cope with workload

15/07/09.The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not have sufficient resources to investigate its current case-load, a government investigation has reported. The One death too many report into fatal injuries in the construction industry, commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and published last week, revealed that the HSE in London does not have the resources to cope with its workload. Any attempts to investigate more cases of health and safety breaches by the organisation as a whole would also require further funding and investigators, it says.

The construction industry union UCATT said the lack of resources has long been a problem and had hindered moves aimed at preventing workplace injuries and fatalities. The report, by Rita Donaghy, former chair of conciliation service ACAS, said: "There are insufficient resources in London to carry out even the existing workload; this has been a problem for some years. The HSE should take steps to improve this situation.

Hypocrisy, misinformation and misplaced envy fuel calls for a Public Sector pay freeze

15/07/09.The cheek of the bankers, the CBI and their chums in the libertarian neo-Thatcherite Taxpayers’ Alliance demanding a public sector pay freeze is breathtaking. After nonchalantly pocketing a whacking £150bn–£350bn hand-out of public money (depending on who you believe) to rectify their misdeeds, City types now expect Unison and the other Local Government Union members and taxpayers who bailed them out to pay again for their unsolicited generosity through public service cuts and pay freezes. Financial Services Authority chair Adair Turner meanwhile warns of signs of a speedy return to bad habits in the Square Mile.

Those who really understand the subject, like research organisation Income Data Services, point out that private sector pay is far from frozen, with overall increases largely forced down by the fall in City bonus earnings. Two-thirds of companies are increasingly paying between 1% and 4%. Public sector pay restraint has already led to below-inflation rises in recent years and only frontline catering, cleaning and care jobs are paid less in the private sector than in the public. Private sector pay envy is misplaced.

Still waiting for equal pay

14/07/09.There is perhaps no other area to which the phrase "dragging your feet" could be so richly applied as equal pay rights, particularly in Dudley. It is coming up to 13 years since the local government branch first promised that it would bring in single status pay for its staff, following the introduction of a 37-hour working week. After a 10th year passed without any movement, trade unionists at the council finally snapped and started to complain vociferously about how they were being treated. The most recent twist in the tale has seen a Tory-led administration telling the UNISON and GMB unions that an "ever-changing legal position and competing demands on limited staffing" mean discussions on equal pay for women won't happen until March 2010. In response, as of today, the staff are taking to the streets, organising a demonstration and lobbying of the council to challenge its "unacceptable, unjustifiable and unfair" inaction.

UCATT Prepare For Government Pleural Plaques Betrayal

11/07/09.Construction union UCATT have learnt that the Government and the Ministry of Justice are preparing to use a newly published medical report, as an excuse to betray thousands of pleural plaques sufferers .Last week an  Industrial Injuries Advisory Council report was released which rejected paying compensation to pleural plaques victims. Nothing new has been added to the debate about pleural plaques by the (IIAC) report. Alan Ritchie, General Secretary of UCATT, said: “UCATT has learned that the Government is preparing to betray pleural plaques victims and deny them the right to compensation and legal redress. If the Government does announce that plaques victims will no longer be compensated, it must be understood this is a complete betrayal of working class people”. Despite acknowledging (and not for the first time) that plaques are “a marker of future risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma because they are a marker of exposure to asbestos” the IIAC does not consider that they should be compensated.

School caretaker fighting for life after contracting legionnaires disease

03/07/09.A school caretaker is fighting for his life in a Sheffield hospital after contracting  legionnaires' disease. The family of 55-year-old William O'Brien believe he may have contracted the potentially-fatal illness after mopping up flood water at a Sheffield school. His daughter, Rachel, said her stepdad, 58, fell ill two weeks ago, a week after cleaning up at a school in Norfolk Park which was damaged when flash flooding hit Sheffield. Bill was tested for swine flu and admitted to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital. Rachel said: "He was shaking, had a high temperature, vomiting and was delirious. "He was seeing things and imagining things. At first the doctor thought he had a virus and he was swabbed for swine flu." Union representative Rob Padley, from Unison, said Mr O'Brien had not received any training and was not wearing specialist clothing. He said: "We are pursuing this on behalf of Mr O'Brien. We have contacted the council and are waiting for some answers."

Single Status: Massive pay cuts looming in Highlands Council job evaluations

25/06/09.ICT workers with Highland Council are facing huge and life altering pay cuts of up to £14,000 a year as the authority implements its job evaluation process. The scale of the pay cuts has stunned and shocked staff, who claim they are being unfairly targeted because they are not in a frontline service and have little chance of finding alternative work locally.

One employee who has been on a fixed-term contract for four years says the lack of other IT jobs in the Highlands has left himself and his colleagues with little choice but to accept the move. He currently earns £34,000 and is facing a potential cut of £14,000. "It wouldn't hurt that much if we were talking about £1000 to £2000," said the man, who asked not to be identified. "I know another younger colleague, whose wife has just given up work after having a baby is currently on £31,000. He faces a cut to £21,000. There are a lot of people who have got young families who are going to be really hit hard." Unison's John Gibson said the IT staff had been hit with a "double whammy" because the new department had been created at the same time as the job evaluation process. "This has been going on with them stuck in the middle," he said. "The timing has probably been advantageous for the council because people can't just walk out of jobs knowing there is not much else out there. We've had a lot of members contacting us to say their pay is going down and a lot of people are upset."Mr Gibson, Unison's Highland branch treasurer, is himself facing up to a £2000 pay cut after 10 years working in the local authority's finance department and said about 12 per cent of council staff were facing up to reduced wages.

Male workers win equal pay claims

25/06/09.A "landmark" legal decision involving three councils in the north east of England could pave the way for 12,000 men to take forward equal pay claims. Financial settlements had earlier been agreed for women workers paid less than men doing similar work. The Employment Appeal Tribunal has now ruled that 300 other male workers were discriminated against as they then remained on lower pay than the women. The councils involved were Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and South Tyneside. The men, who were working in jobs such as care assistants, caretakers, drivers and leisure attendants, had lodged discrimination claims about bonuses paid to male workers in better paid jobs such as gardeners and refuse collectors. This was at the same time as women in low paid jobs, who were also claiming that the bonuses were discriminatory.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that the 300 men should have been offered the same back pay as the women. These claims are sometimes called piggy back claims as the men "piggy back" on the successful women's claims. Mr Justice Underhill said: "It would be surprising and unsatisfactory if the [Equal Pay] Act offered no remedy to men in a situation like the present. "The case where men and women do the same job but receive different rates of pay is the paradigm of the kind of situation which the Act was intended to prevent, how would it seem if the roles were reversed and the 'piggyback' claimants were not men but women?" Lawyers involved, from the Cloister Chambers, have described it as a landmark ruling which will have a bearing on many other cases, and could cost councils hundreds of millions of pounds. Yvette Genn from Cloisters said: "This ruling is what thousands of male workers who have not received equal pay up and down the country have been waiting for. "There is no doubt that many of the similar 12,000 cases in the system will now proceed and are likely to be successful."

Director on manslaughter charge

18/06/09.A company director who is the first in the UK to be charged under the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter Act has appeared in court in Gloucestershire. Peter Eaton of Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings is accused of gross negligence over the death of geologist Alexander Wright in a mudslide in September 2008. Mr Wright, 27, from Cheltenham, was taking soil samples in Brimscombe, near Stroud, when a pit collapsed.

Tory attack on the minimum wage stopped..... for the time being

19/05/09.The Tories have pulled their laughingly, or sinisterly if you wish, entitled Employment Opportunities Bill, after lobbying by trade unions. This sickening and hypocritical attack on the most vulnerable in society gives us a taste of the good old fashioned nasty Thatcherite Toryism we can expect when Tory boy Cameron gets into power. Christopher Chope's "wage cutters charter" bill was due for its second reading, and would have effectively abolished the national minimum wage by allowing workers to 'choose' whether to allow their employer to cut their wages.

Brian Binley, one of the 11 Tory MPs who supported the Bill – and a man with three jobs himself (all of them paying rather more than the national minimum wage) – was given a rough ride on radio's 5 Live Breakfast on Saturday morning when he he tried to defend it. Scroll through to 1hr 13mins to find the segment, it really gets going at about 1hr 18mins.

One caller asked Mr Binley whether he would work for £5 an hour – to which the MP said, simply: 'No', while a number of listeners highlighted the contrast between the aims of the Bill and the current scandal over MPs' expenses.

Chope the minimum wage chopper claims £136,000 in expenses

17/05/09.Ex-Tory minister Christopher Chope, responsible for the introduction of the Poll Tax, wants to drive low paid workers further into poverty by abolishing the minimum wage. It has emerged that the Chope and a number of other Tory MPs piloting the bill have put their wives on the public payroll, employed as secretaries etc, at rates well above the minimum wage. This breathtaking hypocrisy is compounded by the fact that the so-called "Employment Opportunities Bill", double speak if I have ever heard it, calls for  public sector jobs to be advertised and not dished out to a "magic circle" of friends, family and associates. Rank hypocrisy doesn't come into it.

Commons Criminals

16/05/09.A man from Cornwall forced to live on a campsite when he works in London during the week has said he is "disgusted" by MPs' fiddling their expenses. Philip Hanman camps in Epping Forest, Essex, from Tuesday to Friday, because he said he cannot afford a second home. He said he would "love" a job in Cornwall but there was nothing in his "line of work" available locally. Mr Hanman's MP, Andrew George, has rejected claims his daughter lived in a flat he claimed mortgage interest for. Mr Hanman, a council benefit fraud investigator, said: "I see Mr George (Lib Dem MP for St Ives) has a £300,000 second home in Rotherhithe. "I interview suspected benefits cheats every day of the week and the politicians are coming out with exactly the same excuses that they do." The next time a self serving politician lectures working people on the need to make financial sacrifices and propriety behaviour an angry mob should burn them out of their second home. More.........

Labour MP in exemplary expenses claims shocker!

12/05/09.Kelvin Hopkins shone out as an example of a hard-working Labour MP who claims only minimal expenses on Monday. The Luton North MP's expenses claims were exposed in the rabidly Thatcherite Daily Telegraph - only to show that he has an exemplary record. He claimed just £296 in extra expenses in 2004 to 2005, while the Labour MP in the neighbouring constituency of Luton South Margaret Moran claimed £13,796. Mr Hopkins, a tireless campaigner and socialist economics expert, has claimed just £36.45 for food bills in the entire time since 2005. His total claim for extra allowances last year was just £1,242, including some overnight hotel stays. This compared with £22,343 claimed by Ms Moran, who switched her "second home" allowance to a property in Southampton. Mr Hopkins lives in Luton and commutes daily by train to and from London. Before becoming an MP in 1997, he had worked as a research officer for trade union UNISON and the TUC. At the last election, his majority was 6,487.

Taxpayers fund Tory grandees' lavish lifestyle

12/05/09.The Daily Telegraph's latest set of revelations on the MPs' expenses scandle reveals that Tory grandees have claimed for swimming pools, chandeliers, horse manure and moat cleaning among other things.

* Douglas Hogg, the former agriculture secretary, submitted a claim form including more than £2,000 for the moat around his country estate to be cleared . The taxpayer also helped meet the cost of a full-time housekeeper, including her car. The public finances also helped pay for work to Mr Hogg’s stables and for his piano to be tuned.

* Sir Michael Spicer, the Conservatives’ most senior backbench MP, claimed £5,650 in nine months for his garden to be maintained. In December 2006, he submitted a detailed invoice which included “hedge cutting ... helipad”, although he claimed last night that the “helipad” was a “family joke”. The Conservative grandee successfully claimed for the costs of hanging a chandelier in his main manor house.

* James Arbuthnot, the Conservative chairman of the defence select committee, announced last night that he would be repaying money he had claimed from the taxpayer to clean his swimming pool . This was among a series of payments made to maintain a country residence he rented before buying a £2 million home without a mortgage in 2007.

* David Davis, the former shadow home secretary, spent more than £10,000 of taxpayers’ money on home renovations and furnishings , including a new £5,700 portico at his home in Yorkshire.

* David Heathcoat-Amory claimed for more than £380 of horse manure for his garden.

* Michael Ancram, who is the Marquess of Lothian, claimed more than £14,000 a year in expenses while owning three properties , none of which have a mortgage and are worth an estimated £8 million.

* Sir Alan Haselhurst, the Deputy Speaker, has claimed £142,119 for his country home over the last seven years , despite having no mortgage to pay. He has charged the taxpayer almost £12,000 over five years for gardening bills at his farmhouse in Essex.

* Stewart Jackson, a shadow minister, billed the taxpayer for more than £11,000 in professional fees when buying a new home in Peterborough within a year of being elected to Parliament. He claimed more than £300 for work on a swimming pool and hundreds more for work to a “summer room”. Last night he agreed to repay the money claimed for the swimming pool.

Expenses scandal rocks Tory front bench

11/05/08.The Conservatives have been firmly dragged into the MPs' expenses scandal today, with several high profile figures implicated by questionable claims. The shift in focus towards the oppositions comes as the Daily Telegraph – which has obtained files on MPs' claims – profiles claims made by Alan Duncan, shadow leader of the Commons, and Chris Grayling, shadow home secretary, among others.

Today's revelations include:

• Michael Gove, shadow education secretary, 'flipping' his properties so work and tax on the property can be claimed on public money. He spent £7,000 on a London property before designating a new property in Surrey as the second home and proceeding to claim £13,000 in stamp duty.

• Chris Grayling, shadow home secretary, spending thousands of taxpayers' funds on renovating a flat 17 miles from his family home, despite already owning three London properties outright. He bought the flat with taxpayer-subsidised loans and then claimed on work conducted on the property up a year after it had been conducted, allowing him to tot up more spending than would have been available in one single year.

• Alan Duncan, who oversees the party's expenses policy, receiving an official warning over gardening bills, which added up to £7,000 in two years.

• Francis Maude, shadow Cabinet minister, being denied a mortgage interest payment on a family home in Sussex, and then buying a flat two years later just a minutes walk away from a house he already owned. Mr Maude then rented out the property and began claims on a second flat, with £35,000 in mortgage payments coming from the public purse.

• Andrew Lansley, shadow health secretary, claiming public money to renovate a thatched cottage, before flipping his designation and claiming expenses on a London flat.

• David Willetts, shadow universities secretary, claiming public money to have ligh bulbs replaced at his home.

• Oliver Letwin, leading Conservative and chairman of the party's policy team, claiming £2,000 to repair a leaking pipe under his tennis court.

We're told David Cameron has a clean sheet. He has only 20 pages of expenses, for instance, compared to up to 90 pages for some of his colleagues. True, as far as it goes. But Mr Cameron did decide to charge the public for the clearing of vines from his chimney and the replacing of some exterior lights. He tots up around £20,000 a year on his second home claims.

We're told William Hague, Cameron's deputy and the shadow foreign secretary, has a clean sheet. True, as far as it goes, but Mr Hague earns hundreds of thousands of pounds outside parliament.

We're told George Osborne has a clean sheet. This is half true. The shadow chancellor claimed £440 for a chauffer to take him from Cheshire to London. He also charged the taxpayer £30 to set up his website, imaginatively titled georgeosborne.co.uk. It's a trivial amount, of course, but the principle that public money should not be used for party political reasons is an important one, and Osborne was quick to put his own money into the site once a Commons administration official rebuked him.

TUC demands action on high workplace temperatures

10/05/09.With our summers predicted to get gradually hotter and drier over the coming years, UK factories and offices will become increasingly uncomfortable and potentially hazardous places to work according to the TUC as it calls for the introduction of a new upper limit on workplace temperature. In a new report the TUC says that although employees are not expected to work when the temperature drops below 16^OC (or 13^OC if they are do physically demanding work), there are no similar restrictions for when the workplace becomes too hot. the TUC would like to see the law changed so that employers are forced to act when the temperature inside hits 24^OC, and that staff could be sent home and their employers prosecuted if it soared to 30^OC (or 27^OC for those engaged in physically demanding work). When the temperature goes sky high at work, employees can suffer heat rashes, headaches, dizzy spells, fainting and heat cramps, says the report. Stifling hot working conditions also affect concentration, making workers feel tired and as a result more likely to endanger their own or their colleagues' safety.

Two unions back single status deal

08/05/09.Two of the three main unions representing the Shetland Islands Council's workforce have now voted overwhelmingly in favour of accepting the proposed new pay structure. Following the GMB union’s 92 per cent vote for the single status offer, TGWU-Unite members have followed suit with 91 per cent acceptance. The long-delayed deal will be secured if the biggest union, Unison, also backs it in its ballot. A report should go before coun­cillors later this month to sanction the deal, which will add £4 million to the annual wage bill plus a one-off payment of £5m in backpay.

Tories plan to scrap Minimum Wage is cause for Wage Concern

08/05/09.Usdaw, the shopworkers’ union, is leading a campaign to save the National Minimum Wage from a Tory Bill to scrap it. Usdaw has teamed up with John Prescott’s Go Fourth campaign and other unions, to launch Wage Concern to stop a Tory Private Members Bill that will totally undermine the minimum wage and drive millions of workers back to poverty pay. The Employment Opportunities Bill, tabled by Senior Conservative Christopher Chope, who as a minister helped bring in the Poll Tax, is timetabled for its second reading in Parliament next Friday 15 May. John Hannett, Usdaw General Secretary and member of the Low Pay Commission, said: "The minimum wage provides income protection and security for millions of workers. It stops unscrupulous employers from driving down wages across the board. The new Tory ‘Employment Opportunities Bill’ would allow employers to opt out of their responsibility to their staff to pay a fair days wage for a fair day’s work and effectively bring an end to the National Minimum Wage. "This shows the Tories in their true light and is a little insight into what a Conservative Government would do. They are still fighting the battles of the 1980s and 90s when they abolished the wages councils and left my members and millions of other workers without wage protection. David Cameron talks about an age of austerity, well we now know that he means it for low-paid workers.

06/05/09.Report submitted by Gary Mulcahy. Rob Williams, trade union Convenor of Linamar Swansea, was summarily dismissed by the Linamar management last week, and then temporarily re-instated following militant action by the Linamar workforce. Disgracefully, however, Rob today had his sacking confirmed. Negotiations between Linamar management and Tony Woodley took place all day in London, but Linamar did not shift. Meanwhile at the Swansea plant Linamar revealed their brutality. Massive intimidation of the workforce took place - including foremen going around the shop floor threatening workers with the sack if they dared walk out in support of Rob. The bosses even went to the ludicrous lengths of removing the door from Rob's trade union office. This brutal action by Linamar is an attempt to return to the nineteenth century. What Linamar do not realise, however, is that all hell is going to break loose when workers, both in the Swansea and the wider labour movement, hear how Rob and his members have been treated. The official reason for his sacking was "irretrievable breakdown of trust" - one of the most spurious excuses to behead a trade union organisation ever used in any factory. Rob's record in standing up for his members, both inside and outside the factory, is second to none. However, what is at stake here is not the fate of one individual but the right for workers to be represented by the best militant fighters. This sacking has to be totally opposed. The union has promised rapid action to organise a ballot for an official strike, but the anti-trade union laws mean this could still take up to a month between the ballot and the strike action actually taking place. That time, which must be kept a short as possible, needs to be used to pull out all the stops in support of Rob. Messages of support and donations should flood in. If Linamar are allowed to get away with this, no convenor or shop steward, either in the already weakened car industry or in the wider trade union movement is safe. Allow the employers to inflict a defeat here and no trade unionist, shop steward, let alone a convenor, will be able to put their head above the parapet without the bosses seeking to cut it off. Workers are facing the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. Big business is doing their utmost to make sure that it is the working class that pays for the crisis. Militant, fighting trade unionism - symbolised by Rob Williams and the union organisation in Linamar - must not only be preserved but strengthened in order to prepare the working class for the capitalist offensive that is under way in Britain and worldwide. Continue to phone protests to: Head of Swansea Linamar Brian Wade 01792 656339
Personnel Manager 01792 656238
Messages of protest to
linda.hasenfratz@linamar.com
Messages of support to Rob Williams:
robbo@redwills.freeserve.co.uk
and Socialist Party Wales:
socialistpartywales@btinternet.com

College suspends finance director

05/05/09.A South Yorkshire college which is investigating its financial management has suspended its finance director and scrapped plans to cut nearly 160 jobs. Last month Doncaster College announced plans to axe the jobs as part of a restructuring aimed at making savings. But an investigation was started after the University and College Union (UCU) threatened legal action over the plans. The college's chief accountant has taken over financial responsibilities from director Tony Myers. Its principal Rowland Foote was suspended on Wednesday as the investigation began. The University and College Union (UCU) had threatened the college with legal action, saying it had not offered the required consultation over redundancies. The UCU also said the college was in a financial "crisis". Regional official Russ Escritt said: "I am delighted that the governors at Doncaster College have gone back to the drawing board, and come back with this solution. "Getting rid of staff is never a long term solution."

Coal miners' solicitor struck off

05/05/09.A solicitor who made £13m in a single year has been struck off for his misconduct in handling the compensation claims of sick miners. Warrington lawyer Andrew Nulty, who made £13m in 2006 at law firm Avalon, was fined  £60,000 and has become the third lawyer to be struck off over the government scheme. Fellow lawyer Malcolm Trotter, who was at Avalon until 2004, was also handed a £15,000 fine at a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal  hearing for his misconduct in handling claims. At the conclusion of the three-day hearing, tribunal chairman Edward Richards said Mr Nulty, who was not present, was "a disgrace to the profession". The government, which has the liabilities for British Coal's failing, set up schemes to compensate sick miners and families of those who had died. The schemes stated the government would pay lawyers for their work but did not clarify that solicitors could not charge clients additional amounts, leaving a loophole in the law.

Parliamentary Progress In The Battle For Pleural Plaques Justice

04/05/09.Trade Unions have welcomed the fact that a Private Members Bill, which is seeking justice for pleural plaques sufferers, has cleared its first Commons hurdle. In October 2007 the Law Lords ruled that pleural plaques should no longer be compensatable. Since then unions have been campaigning to get the Law Lords' decision overturned. The Damages (Asbestos-Related Conditions) Bill tabled by the Labour MP Andrew Dismore has today (April 24) passed its second reading. The Bill will now proceed to committee stage. While responding to Mr Dismore's Bill, junior Justice Minister, David Hanson, confirmed that the Government was 'looking at legislative redress' on the matter. Alan Ritchie, General Secretary of construction union UCATT, said: 'It is good news that the Bill will progress through Parliament. It underlines the strength of feeling there is on this issue. However we should not be relying on a Private Members Bill to resolve such a serious situation.'

Newham school cleaners win reinstatement of activist in battle over casualisation and exploitation

30/04/09.United action by teachers and cleaners at Lister school in Newham, east London, has won the reinstatement of Lorraine Mngadi, an activist in the Unison union. The news came 48 hours after she had been dismissed without notice from her cleaning job at the school. Lorraine, who is currently standing for the national executive of Unison, was dismissed from Lister – one of three schools where she works for Newham council each day – on Tuesday of last week. Cleaners are often not given proper contracts and find they are moved about from school to school without notice – sometimes having to travel many extra miles at 5am. In the schools where Lorraine works, cleaners have begun to organise. On Wednesday morning a petition drawn up by Unison members began to circulate in the school.

Health and Safety Executive forced to reveal details of building fatalities

30/04/09.The names of construction workers killed on building sites, the companies they worked for and their causes of death are to be revealed for the first time after the Health and Safety Executive was forced to disclose details of construction-sector fatalities by the Information Commissioner. The disclosure shows more than half the 72 builders who died last year worked at small companies employing fewer than 50 people, with a quarter of affected firms employing fewer than five people. The building workers' union, Ucatt, says the long-requested data highlights the effects of rampant casualisation in the industry, in which big building concerns subcontract major work and the bulk of the industry's 2 million workers are self-employed. The result, says Ucatt, is that small companies compete aggressively on price to win work, meaning safety protocols are often sacrificed.

30/04/09.A thousand letters of appeal have been lodged over the controversial Single Status pay and grading scheme being introduced by Rochdale Council. The appeal process, for Rochdale Council staff facing massive pay cuts of £1,000's brought about by the pay and grading review, ended last week and the council is now sifting through the appeals. Helen Harrison, of the Unison trade union, says the appeals could have been submitted on behalf of individuals or departments. She says it is currently ‘impossible’ to determine how many people are appealing against the cuts to their pay. She said: "If you have got 30 people in a department who wish to appeal they might have put in a collective letter. So it is impossible to know at the moment how many people are involved. Management have got 28 days to respond to these appeals and they will report back to the trade union with which ones they don’t think are eligible."

Gangmaster banned for exploitation

30/04/09.A gangmaster in Fife has had her licence revoked after she was caught paying potato graders less than the minimum wage. Lorna McConaghy, of Glenrothes, was found "not in control of her business" by the Gangmaster Licensing Authority. The workers received £42 per day for a 7hr 45 minute shift equalling £5.41 per hour which is under the national minimum wage of £5.73 per hour. The GMB trade union said it proved exploitation is a reality in Scotland. It is understood Miss McConaghy, who hired out 10 temporary workers to farmers throughout Fife, also was accused of not paying for annual leave as well as providing people who were not who they said they were.

Remember the dead, fight for the living

28/04/09.UNISON has welcomed the announcement that the government is to launch a consultation into whether workers' memorial day – which takes place today – should have official recognition in future years. "Officially recognising workers' memorial day would help put pressure on employers to make sure their workplaces are as safe as they can be. It would be a fitting tribute to the thousands killed or injured at their work," said UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis. The union has been campaigning for some time to get April 28 officially recognised as a day of remembrance for those who have died, been injured, or been made ill by their work.

UNISON NEC Elections, a fighting and democratic union needed

28/04/09.Important elections are taking place for the national executive of Unison, elections that could have a decisive effect on the future of the public sector union. The existing leadership is trying to strengthen its grip on the union through witch-hunts and other bureaucratic means. But the Reclaim the Union campaign, initiated by the Socialist Party, is putting forward a list of left candidates for the national executive. The ballot is now underway and runs until 15 May. Unison members need a fight for a decent pay increase that reflects the real cost of living and a campaign to stop the cuts and privatisation in the health service and local government.

Time to take on the working time myths

26/04/09.As the European Commission and European Parliament get ready for a mediation meeting to resolve their differences on the future of the Working Time Directive (WTD), the TUC has today (Monday) published ten myths about working time that it believes have had too much influence on the debate so far. TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'With unemployment growing across Europe, there cannot be a better time to bear down on very long hours working. Yet employer organisations are still getting away with peddling a series of myths about working time, and the UK Government has fallen for many of these.

Dagenham car plant stitch-up that triggered fight for equal pay

24/04/09.Forty years ago a group of women machinists at the Ford factory in Dagenham walked out when they discovered that they were being paid 15 per cent less than men for doing the same work stitching seats for Cortinas. They had no idea at the time that their action was the starting point of a decades-long campaign for equal pay, with compulsory pay audits the latest legislative attempt to narrow the gap. After a three-week strike in 1968, the women settled for a deal that brought them to within 8 per cent of male pay. Although a victory in itself, it was the presence during the negotiations of Barbara Castle, Labour’s Employment Minister, that was to prove decisive.

Director charged under Corporate Manslaughter Act

24/04/09.A company has become the first in the UK to be charged under the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter Act. Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings is accused over the death of employee Alexander Wright, 27, who was killed when a pit collapsed in September 2008. The junior geologist was taking soil samples at a site near Stroud in Gloucestershire at the time. Company director Peter Eaton is charged with gross negligence manslaughter and could be jailed for life if convicted. The 2007 Corporate Manslaughter Act was brought in to make it easier to bring companies to justice over the death of employees. Kate Leonard, of the CPS Special Crime Division, said that an organisation was guilty of corporate manslaughter if the way in which its activities were managed or organised caused a death, and amounted to a gross breach of a duty of care to the person who died.

Richard Balfe: The Tories secret weapon against the unions

18/04/09.The Tories have appointed a pin-striped Pied Piper to lead us all into the river. Never heard of Richard Balfe, have you? No. He's not a household name, not even at 'ome. But he's the Conservatives' secret weapon, tasked with persuading six million union members to vote for Dave Cameron and reject the government that gave us the National Minimum Wage, recognition rights, better health and safety, laws to curb gangmasters and a whole host of other reforms that the Tories opposed. Balfe, a renegade ex-Labour MEP, whines that union leaders like Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson of Unite don't want to talk to him. I wonder why.

NHS 'whistle blowers' need safe ways to voice concern, says Unite

18/04/09.NHS ‘whistle blowers’ need a safe way to expose bad practice without jeopardising their careers. Unite was commenting on the case of nurse Margaret Haywood struck off for secretly filming neglect of elderly patients in a hospital for BBC’s Panorama programme. Unite’s National Officer for Health, Karen Reay said that the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) ‘appeared to be somewhat heavy handed’ in striking Ms Haywood off the register. She said: ‘There is a balance to be had between privacy and confidentiality of patients, and the wider issue being highlighted.’ ‘We can’t have a culture where ‘whistle blowers’ feel intimated into not legitimately reporting wrong doing and bad practice in the NHS. We need a safe environment for ‘whistle blowers’ who feel that they can complain without losing their livelihood.’ ‘There appears to be a number of extenuating circumstances in the case of Margaret Haywood and the NMC could have imposed a lesser punishment than that of being struck off.’ ‘The NMC exists as a regulatory body to protect patients and clients first and foremost, and not the alleged failings of members of the nursing profession in caring for the elderly.’

20th National Hazards conference 2009

18/04/09.The National Hazards Conference, on the theme 'Making a better world of work possible', will take place in Manchester on 10-12 July 2009. The largest gathering of trade union safety reps in Europe, the conference will include the usual mix of top class speakers, workshops and socialising. Speakers this year including top US union safety official Nancy Lessin, who will look the green jobs agenda and how to make sure it is also a good, safe jobs agenda. Charley Richardson, who has worked with unions in North America and Europe, will look the impact on safety of the economic downturn and company restructuring, and how unions can respond.

The Maquiladora Health and Safety Support Network

18/04/09.The "Maquiladora Health & Safety Support Network" is a volunteer network of 400 occupational health and safety professionals who have placed their names on a resource list to provide information, technical assistance and on-site instruction regarding workplace hazards in the 3,000 "maquiladora" (foreign-owned assembly) plants along the U.S.-Mexico border. Network members, including industrial hygienists, toxicologists, epidemiologists, occupational physicians and nurses, and health educators among others, are donating their time and expertise to create safer and healthier working conditions for the one million maquiladora workers employed by primarily U.S.-owned transnational corporations along Mexico's northern border from Matamoros to Tijuana.

When somebody dies at work they are never the only victim

18/04/09.Do you remember who died at work? Worldwide, two million are killed by their jobs every year. Work-related diseases and injuries kill more than wars, more than road traffic accidents. And when somebody dies at work, they are never the only victim. Work deaths harm whole families, whole communities. On Workers' Memorial Day, 28 April each year, workers worldwide demand employers pay for their safety crimes. And unions commit themselves to organise for safe and healthy work.

Director told staff to rip out asbestos

18/04/09.Staff at a Telford firm were ordered to rip out asbestos with a crowbar and clean up with a vacuum cleaner, a court heard. Now a director of the company has been ordered to pay more than £17,500 after admitting a health and safety offence. Roger Lavender, 37, of Shifnal, was fined £6,666 and ordered to pay £11,039.88 in court costs and a £15 surcharge after admitting an offence under the Health and Safety Work Act. Shrewsbury Crown Court was told Lavender was the director of Secal Laser, Halesfield, Telford, when the employer failed to ensure work with asbestos was undertaken with a licence. Mr James Puzey, prosecuting on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive, said Mr Lavender was involved in the decision-making which led to two employees removing asbestos in the factory on December 14, 2007.

Glasgow council workers’ strike to save pay enters 15th week

16/04/09.The Glasgow community service supervisors’ strike is now in its 15th week and the city-wide Unison union branch ballot is continuing.  Around 10,000 Unison members are being consulted on three days of strike action at the end of April to defend several hundred workmates who will face pay cuts when single status pay protection ends.

Caretaker fractures ankle in fall at school

15/04/09.Unite member Jean Simpson who works as a caretaker at Abbey Primary School in Bloxwich, Walsall has been awarded £6,700 at trial after she fell on a spillage and fractured her ankle. Mrs Simpson, aged 58 at the time, was walking in the dining room at the school on 14 July 2005 when she slipped and fell on a spillage on the floor. The dining room floor was laid with thermo plastic tiles rather than the non slip flooring used in the classrooms. Mrs Simpson sustained a fractured of her right ankle bone. A plaster was applied to her ankle and she undertook a course of physiotherapy treatment when the plaster was removed. She was off work for five months and returned to work in January 2006.

HSE faces haemorrhage of expert staff

15/04/09.Workers are being put at risk because the Health and Safety Executive is haemorrhaging experienced staff, unions have warned. HSE staff unions Prospect and PCS have warned repeatedly that inadequate wages are causing more experienced staff to leave the safety watchdog. HSE acknowledges high staff turnover is a significant problem, with some sectors including its offshore and nuclear inspectorates particularly badly affected. In recent months, large numbers of staff have moved into industry or have switched from HSE to government departments, including health, justice and environment. Chris Hurley, chair of the PCS branch at the HSE's Rose Court offices in London, says this problem is being compounded by the organisation's decision to relocate the HSE head office to Bootle on Merseyside.

Tory Attack On Nurses' Pay A Disgrace

11/04/09.UNISON, the UK's largest public sector union has castigated Shadow Chancellor George Osborne's comments on public sector pay as a disgrace. Karen Jennings, UNISON Head of Health, said: "Nurses, paramedics, occupational therapists, midwives, hospital cleaners and cooks - the whole family of health workers will be outraged at George Osborne's suggestion that they have enjoyed an 'age of excess"'. Health workers do not need to be told by the Tories that "we need an age of restraint and responsibility' it goes with the job.

GMB urges caution over Cumbria equal pay settlement

09/04/09.GMB members are being advised not to accept any offer made to them by the employer directly until they have spoken with GMB local representatives who have been dealing with the matter. Cumbria County Council has issued a Press Release to all staff and the public that they will be making a formal offer to the Trade Unions of a sum approaching £40M to settle long-standing equal pay claims. Ged Caid GMB Regional Officer has advised GMB members as follows “It is correct that there have been recent negotiations with the employer to explore the possibility of the employer putting forward a settlement that we would consider capable of being put before our Members. At this stage, we have not received the “formal offer” referred to in the Press Release yesterday and we think it is too early to make any recommendations to our Members until we have had suitable time and opportunity to discuss any offer with our Members, and what that might mean for them individually, since each and every claim lodged with the Tribunals is an individual legal claim. We will provide advice in conjunction with our lawyers, Thompsons.

• Winning for equal pay

• Court says women are free to pursue claims

Data Ptotection fears over new Gas Safety Register

09/04/09.GMB, the gas workers union, has written to the Information Commissioner asking for an investigation of a new Gas Safe Register on the grounds that it may breach data protection legislation. Published on this register, without permission, are the photographs of GMB gas engineers. GMB members contend that the Gas Safe ID can be easily downloaded and could be a source for forged identity papers. This could lead to gas workers being impersonated and unauthorised personnel gaining entry to properties. This new Register is operated by CAPITA.

More than 20 million employees across UK could benefit from reduced qualifying period for statutory redundancy pay

09/04/09.The TUC has called on the Government to reduce the qualifying period for statutory redundancy pay (SRP) entitlement from two years to 12 months. TUC research reveals that more than 20 million employees across the UK could benefit from this step. Currently, employees aged 16 or over are entitled to SRP after a two year qualifying period working for the same employer, so the youngest age at which an employee can benefit from redundancy pay is 18. TUC analysis of official statistics reveals that if this qualifying period was halved to one year then 20,543,000 employees would gain extra redundancy entitlement. Of these more than three million employees would be entitled to SRP for the first time - nearly one in eight (12.2 per cent) of the workforce. More than 17 million employees would increase their existing entitlement to SRP.

Single Status: Faith Schools in Brighton face severe disruption as support staff are balloted on industrial action

07/04/09.Talks between Unions and Council bosses have broken down over school support staff working for Faith Schools in Brighton and Hove. The staff have been excluded, on a technicality, from receiving same back pay as their equivalents working in non-faith schools under job evaluations. In the past few weeks the council has made “single status” pay-outs to hundreds of workers, including teaching assistants, cleaners and office staff at the city’s non-faith schools. However, no offers have been made to their equivalents at the Catholic and Church of England schools because they are technically employed by their governors – even though the funding comes from the council. Those workers are furious at the situation and regard it as an insult because they have always accepted pay restructuring in line with the other city schools. One Catholic school teaching assistant, who asked not to be named, said: “We will be going on strike, there’s no doubt about it. What they have done is hugely unfair.”

• Unison needs a fighting leadership: Leeds City Council

What you need to know about new disciplinary legislation

07/04/09.On 6 April 2009, the new ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures come into force. The current legislation on dismissal and grievance procedures introduced in 2004 wil be swept aside and replaced by a far simpler, but not legally binding code. The new Code will provide guidance for employers and employees to handle disciplinary and grievance situations that arise in the workplace.

Derisory 0.5% pay offer for Local Government workers

07/04/09.The GMB, Unison and Unite Trade unions who represent 1.3m local government workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have expressed their bitter disappointed at the 0.5% pay offer made by the Local Government Employers for 2009. The unions will be meeting immediately to formulate their response to the Employers. The offer covers all grades of workers in local government in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, amongst them some of the lowest paid workers in the UK including school meals workers, social workers, care workers, administrators, cleaners, refuse workers and street cleaners, teaching assistants, parks and leisure staff and librarians. In March 2009 ACAS awarded an additional 0.3% to the 2008/2009 pay award bringing it to a total of 2.75% on all pay points. An extra £100 had already been agreed for the lowest paid.

TUC backs 'name and shame' tribunals list

02/04/09.The TUC has backed a new register which will name and shame bad employers that do not pay fines awarded against them at employment tribunals. Justice Minister Bridget Prentice said offending individuals or companies who have been taken to court to enforce the award will now be entered onto the Register of Judgments, which can be searched by members of the public and credit reference agencies. The measure has been taken to give weight to future tribunal rulings, helping to cut down the time people have to wait to receive payments they are entitled to, and to help reduce incidences of non-payment. Bridget Prentice said: 'This is good news for people who want to get their awards settled as soon as possible following their tribunal ruling. 'A few unscrupulous individuals are defying or delaying payment after tribunal rulings and we will not hesitate to name and shame them. Delays like this prolong the ordeal and force successful claimants to continue with court action to recover their money. This is particular unacceptable following an Employment Tribunal. 'I want to warn those not paying that they should do so immediately to avoid the penalties that go with non-payment.'

Q&A: Holiday pay and sick absence

02/04/09.The European Court of Justice's ruling about holiday pay during sickness absence is an important decision for employees. Stringer and others v HMRC involves an important ruling on the issue of accrued holiday pay during periods of sickness and has been widely criticised by employers. In the case, which was decided together with a German case, the claimants were former employees of HMRC. One requested annual leave during sickness absence, which HMRC refused. The others were dismissed following long-term sickness absence, and claimed payment in lieu of holiday which they claimed had accrued but was not taken. The claims were made under the working time regulations 1998 (WTR), the UK legislation which implements the European working time directive. The claimants won in the employment tribunal but HMRC appealed and the decision found its way to the House of Lords. In December 2006, the House of Lords referred the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to clarify some points of law.