So the Modern Slavery Bill has finally become the Modern Slavery Act. Unfortunately however its inadequacies flagged-up in my blog of 25 February were not addressed. On the very same day following a debate in the Lords my colleague Owen Tudor was able to report that the Government was defeated on…Read more…
Here comes the sun – Banister House launches solar co-op
Tonight, residents at Banister House, Hackney are launching the first solar power farm in north London, not in a field but on the sunblest flat rooftops of 14 council blocks on the estate. Backed by Repowering London, Hackney Council and campaigners fr…Read more…
Making self-employed lives liveable
Last week the RSA published a new report looking at the living standards of the self-employed. Why did we undertake this study? Simple: Because the self-employed community is booming but government, business and wider society have yet to catch up. In recent years, we’ve seen plenty of initiatives…Read more…
Health & Fracking: impacts and opportunity costs
An independent report from health professionals Medact, Health and fracking: the impacts and opportunity costs, concludes that fracking generates numerous public health risks. A moratorium should apply until a full public impact assessment is “conducted by a body that is entirely independent of the…Read more…
Saving Our Safety Net Fact of the Week: Unions reduce inequality
I take every opportunity I can to promote The Union Advantage – it’s a TUC pamphlet that sets out the reasons why workers are better off in unions. It sets out all the hard-nosed “what’s in it for me?” stuff like higher pay rises, safer workplaces and fairer treatment. But I’m proud that it…Read more…
When a choice isn’t worth having
Margaret Thatcher’s now notorious Sermon on the Mound gave the notion of “choice” a central place in both public policy and Christian thinking. Nearly 30 years later, Thatcher’s heirs are elevating choice to the paramount principle of pensions policy-making. I have written…Read more…
UK coal mines hanging on a thread
Today, in refusing to back UK Coal’s bid for State Aid, the government has almost shut the door on UK Coal mining. A £10m loan will avoid the inconvenient closure of UK Coal’s Thoresby mine during an election period. As TUC General Secretary, Frances O’Grady, said today, “Immediate help for UK Coal…Read more…
Paying up: who’s been getting pay rises, who hasn’t, and will that change?
Guest post written by Laura Gardiner of LSE and Abigail McKnight of the Resolution Foundation. Britain’s wage squeeze has been well documented. But the public narrative on pay trends has recently suffered from some confusing – and at times highly inaccurate – claims in relation to pay rises for…Read more…
2050 industry roadmaps? We dont have that much time
The industrial, lobby has its work cut out for the next Parliament. The government’s 2050 roadmaps to decarbonise our most energy intensive industries, published today, reveal the enormous scale of investment needed. At a time of intensive international competition, our foundation industries are…Read more…
Benefit sanctions for low-paid workers
In January this year, in a move that received little media coverage at the time, this government introduced secondary legislation that would enable them to extend benefit sanctions to low paid workers who aren’t doing ‘enough’ to earn more money. Sanctions – the withholding of benefits – have been…Read more…
We ignore gender at our peril when creating a working future for young women
Trade unions have been at the forefront of fighting for women and men to be treated fairly and to avoid discrimination in the workplace. As Chief Executive of a charity working with and on behalf of young women as they enter employment for the first time I wouldn’t, of course, argue that this isn’t…Read more…
Mortgage approvals down a fifth, say bankers
The British Bankers Association said today that there were “signs that the mortgage market is recovering”. This view is based on the fact that in February bank mortgage approvals reached a five-month high. whilst any morsel of good news is always welcome,it is certainly not time to…Read more…
Stats watchdog confirms that 4.1% does NOT “typically represent” pay rises
The UK Statistics Authority has now responded to TUC analysis on earnings estimates for those in continuous employment. We argued that newly calculated figures showing annual earnings growth of 2.3% for those in continuous employment (in their March Ec…Read more…
Statistics, lies and Access to Work
Mark Harper, MP, minister for disabled people announced (23 March) a commitment by government to helping disabled people in work or into work who need adjustments or support to enable them to carry out their jobs. The Access to Work (AtW) scheme has be…Read more…
UK inflation at zero and rate has been falling faster than in eurozone
Inflation fell to zero in February 2014; down from 0.3 per cent in January. Once more the figure came in lower than expectations, on this occasion for 0.1 per cent (including the Bank of England in their latest Inflation Report). CPI records only began in 1989, but ONS projections show figures…Read more…
Benefit sanctions are unfair and hurt innocent vulnerable people
Days before the start of the election campaign, a Committee of MPs with a government majority has just published a report worrying that benefit sanctions “do not always” avoid causing severe hardship or hurting vulnerable people. This is an important point. As I’ve pointed out in previous posts,…Read more…
How do you solve a problem like measurement of zero-hours contracts?
We know a fair deal about the detrimental growth of zero-hours contracts in the UK labour market. We know that workers on them cannot depend on how much money they will bring home or what childcare they will need from week to week. We know that typical…Read more…
Sajid Javid on Question Time: yet more labour market spin
Last night’s BBC Question Time (20 minutes into the iPlayer recording) featured Sajid Javid MP, a member of Cameron’s cabinet, defiantly claim that 80% of the jobs created in the past 5 years have been both full time and high-skilled in response to an audience member who was rightly concerned about…Read more…
Some good news on mental health (at last)?
Trade unions are finding ways to prevent mental health problems or, if it’s already happened to get employers to enable them to continue in work.
The post Some good news on mental health (at last)? appeared first on ToUChstone blog.Read more…
Saving Our Safety Net Fact of the Week: even small victories should be celebrated
Last year we began our Saving Our Safety Net campaign by focusing on the “Five Week Wait” for benefits. One of the policies that will force thousands of new claimants to spend weeks with no income is the introduction of seven “waiting days”, which were due to be brought in next month for Universal…Read more…