TUC conference yesterday unanimously passed a motion to support the school student Global Climate Strike on 20th September and has called on TUC affiliate Unions to organise a 30 minute work day campaign action to coincide with the school students strike on 20th September. Continue reading TUC backs Global Climate Strike on 20th September
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The TUC has called for new legal measures to tackle class discrimination in the workplace.
The call comes as a new TUC report reveals that graduates from wealthier backgrounds are more than twice as likely to be on a £30,000 starting salary than those from working-class backgrounds.
The TUC wants the government to:
The TUC says that without new anti-discrimination laws people from working-class backgrounds will continue to face unfair barriers at work and in society.
These include direct forms of discrimination, such as employer bias during job applications and interviews. And there are indirect forms of discrimination, such as the use of unpaid internships as a gateway into jobs.
As well as class discrimination, the report looks at other forms of disadvantage experienced by working-class people, such as low pay and the greater impact of austerity on working-class households.
The TUC says that stronger workplace rights are needed to counter the class privilege that remains in Britain today. Every worker must have the freedom to meet with a union at their workplace. And there must be stronger rights for workers to speak up on pay and conditions through trade unions.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “If you’re from a working-class family, the odds are still stacked against you.
“Everyone knows that getting that dream job is too often a case of who you know, not what you know.
“I want to issue a challenge to politicians. It’s high time we banned discrimination against working class people.
“This country is wasting some of our best skills and the talent. And if we don’t get change fast, it’s not just workers who will lose out – Britain will.
“Let’s have a new duty on employers to stamp out class prejudice once and for all.”
Low pay, insecure work and austerity are feeding a growing debt crisis, the TUC has warned.
New TUC analysis published today shows that:
The TUC believes that persistent low pay is the key driver of household debt. Real wages are still lower than they were before the 2008 crisis and working families are struggling to make ends meet without going into the red.
The latest analysis also shows that of those households with unsecured debt:
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Our broken economy is forcing working families deep into debt.
“Low pay, insecure work and austerity have pushed millions of households to the financial cliff edge. Big corporations are raking in huge profits at working people’s expense. And successive governments have done nothing to avert the crisis.
“It’s time to reset the balance of power in our workplaces and our economy. Government must make more employers negotiate pay and conditions with unions. That will lift wages for everyone and stop working families having to rely on credit cards and overdrafts to get through the month.”
The TUC has published new proposals to ensure that workers get the chance to negotiate better pay and conditions through trade unions. These include:
– unions having access to workplaces to tell workers about the benefits of trade union membership, following the model in New Zealand
– new rights to make it easier for unions to gain the right to negotiate at workplace level
– new rights for unions to negotiate right across sectors, starting with hospitality and social care
The TUC is also calling for:
Continue reading Millions of lower paid workers have suffered pay cuts since 2010, TUC reveals
The government has announced that the National Minimum Wage will increase by 3% to a new rate of £6.70 per hour, effective from October – the largest real-terms increase in the National Minimum Wage since 2008. Over 1.4 million of Britain’s lowest-paid workers are set to benefit but critics say the increase doesn’t go far enough.
The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister have also announced that the National Minimum Wage for apprentices will increase by 57p an hour to £3.30. This is the largest ever increase in the National Minimum Wage for apprentices and will halve the gap with the National Minimum Wage rate for 16 to 17 year olds, which will be £3.87 an hour from October 2015. The government will also launch a consultation with businesses on the future of the National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices.
The government is also putting employers in control of the funding for apprenticeships by introducing a new digital apprenticeship voucher.
Apprenticeship vouchers will further simplify things for employers and give them the purchasing power over the government contribution to apprenticeship funding. The employer would register their details on a system being developed by the Skills Funding Agency including their type of business, the details of the apprentice and the apprenticeship standard being signed up to.
The discounted rate, which could be up to 100% for 16 to 18 year olds, at which employers can purchase training would be calculated and the employer would be able to pass on the voucher code to the provider that is delivering the training for their apprentice. The provider would then reclaim the value of the voucher from the Skills Funding Agency.
Prime Minister David Cameron said: “At the heart of our long-term economic plan for Britain is a simple idea – that those who put in, should get out; that hard work is really rewarded; that the benefits of recovery are truly national.
“That’s what today’s announcement is all about – saying to hardworking taxpayers: this is a government that is on your side. It will mean more financial security for Britain’s families; and a better future for our country.”
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: This is just one of the many ways in which we’ve created a fairer society whilst building a stronger economy. If you work hard, this government is behind you all the way. Whether you’re on low pay or starting your dream career through an apprenticeship, you will get more support to help you go further and faster.”
However some feel the help to Britain’s lowest paid doesn’t go far enough.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said minimum wage workers will be hit by the Chancellor’s cuts. “For the low paid to get a fair share of the recovery, this was a year in which we could have had a much bolder increase in the minimum wage,” he said.
“With one in five workers getting less than a living wage, this is nowhere near enough to end in-work poverty. Britain’s minimum wage workers should be very fearful of the billions of pounds of cuts to government help for the low paid that the Chancellor is planning if re-elected.
“Apprentices will welcome the increase to their minimum wage, which will reduce the shortfall in their minimum pay relative to 16 and 17 year-old employees. But there really shouldn’t be a gap at all. The TUC will continue to call on the Low Pay Commission to recommend a future increase that will match the apprentice rate to that for 16 and 17 year-olds.”
Labour’s shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said: “This 20p rise falls far short of the £7 minimum wage which George Osborne promised over a year ago. Ministers have misled working families who have been left worse off. Under David Cameron we’ve seen the value of the minimum wage eroded – we need a recovery for working people.”
Labour has promised the minimum wage would rise rise to £8 an hour over the course of the next parliament if it wins in May.
This latest announcement – coming on the back of positive news about pension annuities yesterday and before a likely rise in personal tax allowances is announced tomorrow – makes one thing pretty clear: the economy will be the government’s chosen battleground in May’s general election.
The Chancellor’s statement this week may not quite be a giveaway budget – but it certainly won’t be a takeaway one either. And if the economy really is the number one priority when voters go to the polls in May, the government is giving itself a fighting chance of re-election. ‘Not a political budget?’ – we’ll see!
The National Minimum Wage rates from 1 October 2015, as recommended by the Low Pay Commission. (LPC) will be:
TRIBUNAL FEES: JOHNSTONE SECURES SUPPORT FOR CAMPAIGN
Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian and a member of Holyrood’s economy committee, today secured a pledge from Scottish ministers that they will put pressure on the UK Government to protest at employment tribunal fees.
The Coalition introduced fees of between £160 and £1,200 a year ago. Since then there has been an 80 per cent drop in the number of cases going before tribunals.
Alison Johnstone raised the issue with Cabinet Secretary Angela Constance during Youth and Women’s Employment Questions at Holyrood today.
The Green MSP said: “Access to justice and employment rights is incredibly important. The TUC have said women have been among the biggest losers of the introduction of employment tribunal fees.
“A year down the line we see equal pay claims have dropped and sex discrimination cases are down. I don’t believe there should be any fees, and I am pleased that Scottish ministers will make representations to the UK Government.
“I support the Law Society of Scotland’s call for a review of these patently unfair charges.”
Employment tribunal fees have been a huge victory for Britain’s worst bosses, according to a new TUC report published last week to mark the one year anniversary of the new charges.
The report – What Price Justice?– shows how since the introduction of fees in July 2013 there has been a 79 per cent fall in overall claims taken to employment tribunals, with women and low-paid workers the worst affected. What Price Justice? analyses the latest Ministry of Justice statistics and reveals the following key findings:
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Employment tribunal fees have been a huge victory for Britain’s worst bosses. By charging up-front fees for harassment and abuse claims the government has made it easier for bad employers to get away with the most appalling behaviour.
“Tribunal fees are part of a wider campaign to get rid of workers’ basic rights. The consequence has been to price low-paid and vulnerable people out of justice.”
Westminster Government introduces fees for employment tribunals
Bringing a claim or an appeal to the employment tribunal is currently free of charge with the full cost being met by the taxpayer, but the government has now introduced fees, claiming that by doing this people using employment tribunals will meet ‘a significant proportion’ of the £84m cost of running the system. Their aim, they say, is to reduce the taxpayer subsidy of these tribunals by transferring some of the cost to those who use the service, while protecting access to justice for all.
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) – a taxpayer-funded service to help workers and businesses settle disputes without the need to go to a tribunal – will remain free, but if agreement cannot be reached at that stage and the claim is taken further significant costs will now be incurred.
Workers will have to pay £160 or £250 to lodge a claim and a charge of either £230 or £950 if their case goes ahead.
Minister Jonathan Djanogly said: “It’s not fair on the taxpayer to foot the entire £84m bill for people to escalate workplace disputes to a tribunal. We want people, where they can, to pay a fair contribution for the system they are using, which will encourage them to look for alternatives.
“It is in everyone’s interest to avoid drawn out disputes which emotionally damage workers and financially damage businesses. That’s why we are encouraging quicker, simpler and cheaper alternatives like mediation.”
Critics of the charges argue that the new charges will dissuade many employees from making legitimate claims about workplace discrimination and there is concern that, once again, it is the poorest and most vulnerable that will suffer.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “It is vital that working people have fair access to justice, but introducing fees for tribunals will deter many – particularly those on low wages – from taking valid claims to court. Many of the UK’s most vulnerable workers will simply be priced out of justice.
“The government’s remission scheme to protect low-paid employees is woefully inadequate, and workers will be more likely to be mistreated at work as rogue bosses will be able to flout the law without fear of sanction.”
Responding to a consultation on the controversial proposals, Citizens Advice Scotland’s Kevin Dryburgh said: “Employment tribunals are an essential service for all workers and employers in the UK. It is not just successful claimants who benefit – all employers and workers benefit from a service that protects workers, discourages rogue and exploitative employers, and ensures a level playing field for good employers.
“Far from being a costly burden on employers and tax payers, employment tribunals play a key role for all those in work. Placing barriers to accessing Employment Tribunals will affect the effectiveness of the service in providing this role.”
Trade union UNISON is fighting the fees and has been given permission to seek a judicial review. The hearing will take place in October.
