From paid holidays to pregnancy rights, and from safety standards to protections from discrimination. Every right that’s guaranteed by European law is a right that trade unions fought for, to improve the lives of working people. Together they form a vital layer of protection to stop our own…Read more…
Pushed out for being pregnant
Two years ago at Sports Direct’s infamous warehouse in Derbyshire, where working conditions have been described as ‘Victorian’ a woman gave birth in a toilet at work. That this is something that…Read more…
Another report confirms #Brexit would cause massive uncertainty for working people
The House of Lords’ influential European Union Committee has produced another important report ahead of the EU referendum on 23 June. Following their earlier report in March calling for more attention to be paid to the interests of working people, today’s report emphasises the years of…Read more…
Fish firm’s workers face the sack
The row over Grimsby-based Icelandic Seachill, accused of paying for the new ‘national living wage’ by slashing overtime rates, has been taken to the European Commission, as the workforce faces the…Read more…
10 reasons why we really should be worried about Brexit’s impact on workers’ rights
The TUC has been fighting attempts to scrap the workers’ rights we have won from the European Union for nearly a year. First we had to fight off the Prime Minister’s plan to use his renegotiation strategy to reduce worker protections; secure a further UK opt out from them; or…Read more…
Economists who just can’t give up & learn to love workers’ rights
We are gradually winning the argument that workers’ rights (known in the academic literature as Employment Protection Legislation, or EPL) are not only good for the workers concerned, but also beneficial – or at the very least not harmful – to the economy as a whole. See this OECD…Read more…
Forty years of progress on workplace rights at risk for workers if Britain Brexits
The TUC has published today a legal opinion from prominent legal expert Michael Ford QC – Employment Silk of 2015 – which warns of years of chaos as a post-Brexit government re-regulates British employment law. The advice he has given the TUC lists the workplace rights which are most…Read more…
Poll shows workers’ voices aren’t being heard in #EUreferendum debate
The new polling released by the Fabian Society at the weekend has some hard messages for both Remain and Leave campaigners in the EU referendum debate. There’s one over-riding message however, that echoes what the TUC (and a few others) have been saying: The campaigns aren’t currently addressing…Read more…
How much does the Canadian government want a trade deal with the EU?
Before the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the USA comes the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada. It has been ‘agreed’ several times, but it’s not over yet. And it’s still seriously deficient…Read more…
A social pillar to shore up Europe’s cracking foundations
Last week the European Commission suddenly woke up to the needs of working people. After years of almost no initiatives in the social and employment fields, reinforcing the perception of the EU as just a business club, we got something to deal with the pay of workers temporarily sent to work in…Read more…
Women workers & the EU referendum
Frances O’Grady addressed the TUC Women’s Conference in London on Wednesday 9 March. Here is an edited version of the section of her speech that focused on the EU referendum, and the…Read more…
Concerns over workers’ treatment
Unite is raising concerns about the way global logistics giant DHL treats its workers in Latin America after a report found the company guilty of breaking its own – and international – rules. …Read more…
Aerotoxic action call
The revelation that a second flight in as many days was forced to turn back to the UK following an outbreak of sickness among the cabin crew has added further weight to calls for a public inquiry….Read more…
The ugly game
Len McCluskey is spearheading the fight against the exploitation of migrant workers building Qatar’s football World Cup showpiece in 2022. The Unite general secretary has secretly visited the…Read more…
Thai worker rights activist Andy Hall faces prosecution again
Today, British-born workers’ and migrants’ rights activist Andy Hall is back in court facing further charges arising from his work for a Finnish NGO on the abuse of migrant workers in a…Read more…
Lords call for Immigration Bill to give asylum seekers right to work and protect domestic workers
On Monday the Immigration Bill will start to be debated by the House of Lords select committee. As I have blogged previously, the Bill contains a number of threats for workers. It will introduce measures to criminalise undocumented workers that will make it easier for bad bosses to exploit migrants…Read more…
Caught cold
Many parents well know the stresses and strains of having a child too ill to go to school when mum and dad need to be at work. This need not (and should not) be the case – as the TUC is…Read more…
United Nations takes issue with UK government on human rights, says UNISON
Friday 23 October 2015
UNISON media release, with Human Rights Consortium Scotland (HRCS)
The Westminster Government faces a series of awkward human rights questions following action by the United Nations. The UN has directed the Government to address a ‘list of issues’ ranging from welfare cuts and reliance on food banks to blacklisting and the erosion of trade union rights.
Members of theRead more…
European unions back TUC call on EU referendum
Last week in Paris, the four-yearly Comgress of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) adopted unanimously an emergency resolution from the TUC about the British government’s EU…Read more…
Relief for truck drivers?
It can be tough to spend a penny in an era of government cuts which have brought about the closure of so many public toilets. Toilet breaks are no laughing matter; rather they are a basic…Read more…