Scandal Of Mistreatment and Low Pay

Two million UK workers are ‘trapped in a continual round of low-paid and insecure work where mistreatment is the norm’ according to the findings of the TUC’s Commission on Vulnerable Employment, published this week.

The Commission, set up by the TUC and involving employers and independent experts as well as trade unionists, says Government, unions, employers and consumers must now all play a part in ending exploitation at work.

Commissioners say that they were shocked both by the extent of vulnerable work and that much of the poor treatment they found was perfectly legal. The report says that ‘employment practices attacked as exploitative in the 19th century are still common today’ and that the ‘poor treatment at work that we have found should not be tolerated.’

Commissioner and SERCO Chairman Kevin Beeston said: ‘During my time on the Commission, meeting vulnerable workers and hearing the evidence first-hand for myself, I have become increasingly surprised by my own and society’s ignorance of these issues.

‘It’s disappointing to see how low the morals of some unscrupulous employers can be, and it’s time society stopped turning a blind eye to these workplace abuses that are shaming the world of work and tarnishing the reputations of good employers.’

TUC General Secretary and Chair of the Commission Brendan Barber said, ‘All the Commissioners - whatever their backgrounds - were shocked at just how vulnerable some workers are in today’s Britain. Their treatment is a national scandal, and we need urgent action.

‘But we have to cut thought the sterile debate that has turned any proposal to help even the most exploited people at work into a pro-union, anti-business old Labour move. Good employers have nothing to fear - and much to gain - from policies that stop them being undercut by bad employers who break the law or use loopholes to get round it.’

The report says that vulnerable workers suffer because they do not know their rights, lack an escape route from vulnerable jobs, cannot get their rights enforced - and often suffer when they try to - and that they fall through gaps in employment law that mean they do not enjoy the decent minimum standards to which the Government is committed. The report reveals OECD research showing that the UK has less employment protection than any other advanced economy apart from the USA.

Among the recommendations made by the Commission’s report, available free on-line at www.vulnerableworkers.org.uk are

• To counter widespread ignorance of employment rights, particularly among vulnerable workers, there should be a major awareness programme and better funding of employment rights advice.
• To counter the lack of proactive and co-ordinated enforcement of employment rights, there should be more funding for enforcement agencies such as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the minimum wage enforcement unit of HMRC, changes in the law that will allow them to work together more closely and more proactive enforcement that targets bad employers without waiting for complaints from their insecure victims.
• Some straightforward breaches of employment rights, such as illegal deductions from pay packets, which currently can only be enforced by individuals taking difficult and slow Employment Tribunal cases should be policed by an agency such as HMRC’s minimum wage enforcement unit.
• A new Fair Employment Commission involving employers, unions and civil society groups should co-ordinate the work of enforcement agencies, monitor awareness of employment rights and make recommendations to Government.
• The Gangmasters’ Licensing Authority (GLA) regime should apply to other sectors where agencies use vulnerable workers as there is evidence of exploitative treatment in sectors that are not currently regulated such as care homes or construction.
• There should be a reform of employment status law that denies rights and any security to workers who do not count as employees as they do not have a contract of employment.
• Equal treatment for agency workers with permanent employees doing the same work.
• Changes in immigration law to reduce the vulnerability of migrant workers who raise complaints to losing their jobs and thus facing destitution.
• Vulnerable workers should be helped to move into better jobs, through more training - including ESOL for migrant workers - and a more flexible benefits system.

Commissioner Belinda Earl, Chief Executive, Jaeger, said: ‘During my work on the Commission I was able to meet with some of the UK’s most vulnerable workers in London. I was shocked that such poor practice still exists; one worker that I spoke to told me he had worked 70 hours a week, in a fast food takeaway, for 3 years without any paid holiday - and he was not even being paid the minimum wage. I also met with migrant domestic workers, who were being underpaid and exploited - and who faced physical and sexual violence from their employers. It is unacceptable that these practices exist today and more action is needed to prevent these extreme violations of employment law.’

End 30 Year Wait For New Bank Holiday

The TUC is today (Thursday) marking the 30^th anniversary of the creation of the May Day holiday - the last bank holiday to be introduced in the UK - by calling for a new autumn holiday to celebrate the great British tradition of volunteering.

The Callaghan Government introduced the May Day bank holiday on 1 May 1978. As people across the UK celebrated the extra day off work, the Bee Gees were top of the charts with Night Fever, Nottingham Forest were on the way to winning the First Division and a pint of bitter cost just 40p.

But while the worlds of football and music have moved on, the UK’s bank holiday allocation has been left behind. No new bank holidays have been introduced since 1978, leaving Britain with just eight, the second lowest in Europe.

The TUC believes that a new bank holiday would help repay employees for their part in building the UK’s economic success. The real value of the economy has doubled since 1978, but wages have not kept pace. If today’s workers had the same share of the economy that went to wages in 1978, they would each have an extra £2,339 per year - easily enough to pay for another bank holiday.

The TUC, along with leading voluntary organisations, want a new Community Day bank holiday in late October to celebrate and encourage volunteering and community activity.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “We’ve gone thirty years without a new bank holiday and the UK is now languishing behind the rest of Europe. People are crying out for a new bank holiday, a call that politicians should be listening to.

“A new bank holiday would give everyone much-needed time with friends and family. Timing it around late October would also create a welcome pit-stop to break the gruelling four-month stint between the August bank holiday and the Christmas break.

“But a new bank holiday should not just be a day off work, it should be a special day that brings the nation together. What better cause for us all to celebrate than our great British tradition of volunteering.”

The Community Day campaign is supported by the TUC, Volunteering England, National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), Community Service Volunteers (CSV) and the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA).

The TUC has supported an early day motion (EDM 1400) calling for a new bank holiday. So far 55 MPs have signed the EDM (as of Monday 28 April). 

Jumbo Jet Load of Workers Killed Each Fortnight

The equivalent of a jumbo-jet-load of passengers dies every fortnight in Britain because of the failure to ensure safe and healthy conditions in workplaces, RoSPA said as Workers’ Memorial Day approaches (April 28).

Roger Bibbings, Occupational Safety Adviser for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: “Because workers rarely die in high-profile disasters, their plight and the silent suffering of their families tends to go unnoticed.

“But if one jumbo jet crashed every two weeks killing all 400 people on board there would be a national outcry – and that is the rate at which workers are dying. Workers’ Memorial Day offers a chance to remember those who have been harmed at work and to redouble efforts to protect those who remain at risk.”

He said Government ministers claimed justifiably that reportable workplace injuries had come down and that the UK was now almost in pole position in the world when it came to accident rates. But the latest HSE figure of 241 notifiable deaths due to accidents to workers could disguise the true extent of the health and safety problem in the UK.

Over 100 members of the public (still under-reported) die annually in accidents connected with work activity. About 1,000 people die in work-related road accidents and many thousands suffer early death due to work-related health damage (estimates vary from 6,000 to 24,000 cases).

“By focusing only on accident deaths at the top of the casualty iceberg, there is a danger of losing sight of figures for the overall injury and ill-health toll which tend to remain below the water line,” Roger Bibbings said.

“There are more than 1.1 million work-related injuries annually – excluding road injuries – and about 2.2 million cases of ill health caused or made worse by work. In all, this is estimated to contribute to about 36 million lost working days.

“This is equivalent to more than 20 jumbos landing every day in the UK loaded with sick and injured people. And around the world more workers continue to be killed, injured or made ill by their work than all those who die in armed conflicts.

“For families and friends affected by each of these tragedies, their loss cannot be measured by statistics.

“At a time when it has become fashionable to poke fun at ‘elf and safety’, these stark figures should serve to remind everyone of the true extent of pain, suffering and loss due to the failure to manage risks associated with work.”

Search For Lost Adult Learners

Over the past two years there has been a fall of nearly one and a half million adult learners on publicly funded courses. This week the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) is launching a nationwide search to find out what has happened to those adults.

NIACE is exploring how the cuts in publicly funded adult learning have impacted on individual learners and wants to hear about what people have done without publicly supported classes. In particular NIACE is interested in finding out from learners, tutors and providers.

Alan Tuckett, Director of NIACE, said, “These are challenging times for adult learners. Because of our ageing population we need more – not fewer – adults of all ages learning. Learning increases confidence, reduces isolation and has positive effects on your mental health, particularly as you get older. This is why we want to hear about how adults are learning now – if not on publicly-funded courses.”

Anyone interested in sharing their experiences should contact NIACE at: lostcourses@niace.org.uk or write to: Lost Classes, NIACE, Renaissance House, 20 Princess Road West, Leicester LE1 6TP.

EHRC Publishes Single Equality Scheme

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published its first single equality scheme.

The scheme lays out the practical steps the Commission will take to promote equality and human rights in everything it does. The document will be the starting point for its three-year scheme which will be developed during 2008/9. All public authorities have a duty to produce an equality scheme.

Because of the Commission’s unique remit, the scheme goes beyond the legal requirement to address gender, disability and race and also covers issues around age, sexual orientation, religion or belief and human rights.  The Commission has a special position among public authorities as these duties are identical to its own remit. The Commission is also responsible for ensuring other public bodies meet the legal requirements of the equality duties.

A copy of the scheme can be found on the EHRC website.

Sexism and the City

Today (Tuesday) the Fawcett Society launches a major new campaign, Sexism and the City, calling for tough action to stamp out sexism in UK workplaces.

Why? Because nearly 40 years on from the outlawing of discrimination against women in the workplace, sexism remains rife:

• Only 11% of FTSE 100 company directors are women
• 30,000 women lose their jobs every year in the UK simply for being pregnant
• Two thirds of low paid workers are women
• Women working full-time are paid on average 17% less than men
• 18% of sex discrimination compensation awards are for sexual harassment
• The first UK lapdance club opened in 1995. There are now over 300 lapdance clubs in the UK

For the first time the Fawcett Society is joining the dots between women’s experiences in the workplace and a wider culture in which women are subject to sexist stereotypes and are increasingly sexually objectified.

Sexist workplaces: Attempts to shoe-horn women in to workplaces designed by men for men have failed. The result? Motherhood carries a penalty and poverty has a female face. Fawcett is calling on the Government to extend the right to work flexibly to all so that flexible working is not seen as the “mummy track”, and ending the opt-out of the EU Work Time Directive in order to curb the destructive long working hours culture.

Sexist attitudes: All women are now subject to a damaging culture of sexual objectification, waved in by the normalization of the sex ‘industry’. Women in the workplace experience worrying levels of direct sexual harassment, and visiting a lapdance club has become an increasingly normal way for companies to entertain clients. Yet polling carried out by Ipsos MORI and published today shows:

• 60% of women would be very or fairly uncomfortable working for an organisation that allows its employees to use lapdancing venues for entertaining clients.
• 52% of men and 59% of women believe it is not acceptable for businesses to use lapdance clubs as venues for entertaining clients.

As a first step to challenging the objectification of women, Fawcett is calling for lapdance clubs to be licensed as Sex Encounter Establishments (as sex shops currently are) instead of the current Premises License (like ordinary pubs and clubs), enabling local authorities to place greater restrictions on the clubs.

Threat From US Union Busters

Tactics used by US employers to keep unions out of the workplace are being increasingly used in the UK as employers here begin to hire firms of union-busting consultants to persuade their workers against the benefits of union membership, warns a TUC report published today (Tuesday).

To coincide with the report’s publication, the TUC and its American equivalent - the AFL-CIO - are joining forces to try to thwart employer efforts on both sides of the Atlantic to demonise trade unions and scare employees from joining up. The two union organisations plan to shed light on the underhand tactics used by the union busters to keep workplaces union-free.

The report, US Union Avoidance Consultants: A Threat to the Rights of British Workers has been written for the TUC by Dr John Logan from the London School of Economics. Describing the multi-billion dollar union busting industry in the US,  the report says tactics used by “consultants” are designed to frighten and intimidate workers away from any union attempt to recruit them at work. The union busters warn the workforce that the union will start harassing them in their homes, risk their job security, and cause them a loss of earnings and benefits. Employees are also given company leaflets warning them that if they join the union they are likely to be permanently on strike and under threat of violence should they join any picket line.

Dr John Logan, author of the report said, “For over three decades, so-called ‘union avoidance consultants’ have helped American employers undermine their workers’ fundamental right to organize and bargain collectively.

‘The United States has an entire industry dedicated exclusively to stopping workers from forming a union. Several of these US consultants are now operating internationally and are seeking to expand their business in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. It is essential that union busting is not allowed to flourish on this side of the Atlantic.”

AFL-CIO’s Director of Organising Stewart Acuff said, “The US’s $4 billion union busting industry is by far our worst export. As the industry grows in the UK, it makes sense that we band together to fight these highly paid, morally bankrupt agents of corporate greed. Our fundamental source of power is workers united and in motion.”

FE Still The Poor Relation

Further education (FE) colleges require greater funding and support if the government is serious about boosting skills, a parliamentary report has concluded.

Mind the gap: funding adults in Further and Higher Education, argued that further education is still seen as the poor relation of the university system in this country, despite it being key to the type of skills that UK employers typically need.

Read the full news story on the CIPD website.

Employers Wasting Skills of Migrant Workers

A report commissioned by the TUC and published today (Friday) reveals a huge gap between the present contribution migrant workers make to the UK economy, and the contribution they could make if their skills and qualifications were recognised by employers.

Migrant workers in the labour market reveals how many migrant workers are trapped in low-skill, low-pay jobs with poor conditions that do not use their skills and experience gained back home. Too often they find themselves working well below their capabilities on the bottom of the jobs ladder, while British workers with similar skills and qualifications are much more senior.

The research highlights a disturbing lack of awareness among employers about the skills and qualifications migrant workers can offer them, and a systematic failure to employ migrants in jobs that allow them both to use their existing skills and learn news ones to enable their careers to progress.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “For too long the skills and qualifications of migrant workers have been desperately undervalued.

“Unions are working hard to develop learning and training strategies to persuade employers to recognise the qualifications of migrant workers, and employers need to wake up to the skills and potential these workers can offer. Trained migrant workers coming to the UK can fill gaps in our labour market, but business is failing to use their true skills.”

Funding Boost For Acas

The Government will today announce support worth up to £37 million for the employment relations service Acas to help prevent work place disputes unnecessarily going to employment tribunals.

The measures are part of package designed to simplify the dispute resolution system, saving business and employees what, according to the government estimates, could be over £175m a year.

The extra funding, over three years, will allow Acas to boost its helpline and advice services and offer help at any stage of a dispute to make sure it is never too late to choose an informal resolution.

Minister for Employment Relations, Pat McFadden, said:

“The link between successful employment relations and productivity is clear. Early action can often prevent the need for tribunals, bringing enormous benefits to business and employees.

“We want to move from the current overly rigid and legalistic process to one where there is more conciliation between employers and employees.

“This new system will strike a balance between ensuring workers can protect their rights through employment tribunals while helping them to resolve disputes as early as possible.”

Recent research from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research showed that for every pound Acas spends, over £16 is returned, equating to £800 million a year in benefits to UK companies, employees and the economy.

Acas Chair, Ed Sweeney, said:

“Acas provides a first-class service to employers and employees, based on impartiality, integrity and expertise. We also give the taxpayer outstanding value for money, with every pound invested in us resulting in a £16 benefit to the economy.

“This new investment will enable us to increase our effectiveness and spread the benefits more widely. I am delighted by this news and recognition of the unique and valuable role that we play.”

Failure To Honour Police Pay Is Big Mistake

On the day that thousands of police officers are planning to march and rally in Westminster over pay, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber has today (Wednesday) sent a message of support from the unions to Police Federation Chair, Jan Berry.

The TUC letter says that the Government made ‘a disastrous mistake’ when it decided to ignore the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal recommendation of a 2.5 per cent pay award last year. Other workers in the public sector – including health workers and prison officers – were subject to a similar staging of their pay in 2007

Wishing the Police Federation well on its day of action, Brendan Barber calls for a new approach from the Government over public sector pay, saying that “all public servants deserve proper reward and recognition for the vital jobs they perform….”

The text of the letter appears below:

Dear Jan
I am writing with a message of solidarity and support for the Federation and all of your members in your campaign for pay justice. All public servants deserve proper reward and recognition for the vital jobs they perform and the Government has made a disastrous mistake in refusing to honour, in full, the decisions of the Police Arbitration Tribunal.

The Government is plain wrong in seeking to impose across the public services below inflation pay rises, undermining in the process the integrity of the independent pay determination machinery that has contributed so much to industrial relations stability.
Other public service workers and their unions are, like you, determined to press Government for a new approach. Today your members are showing their resolute determination to win fairness.

All good wishes in your campaign.

Yours sincerely
Brendan Barber, General Secretary TUC

Guidance On Preventing Violent Extremism

The Government has published updated guidance for universities and higher education institutions on promoting shared values and preventing violent extremism on campuses.

The guidance, published today, highlights five key areas, offering practical advice and issues for staff and students to consider. These are:

• Promoting and reinforcing shared values: creating space for free and open debate; and listening to and supporting mainstream voices;
• Breaking down segregation: supporting inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue and engaging all students in playing a full and active role in wider engagement with society;
• Ensuring student safety and that campuses are free from bullying, harassment and intimidation;
• Providing support to vulnerable students and offering appropriate advice, guidance and sources of support to all staff and students;
• Ensuring staff and students are aware of their roles in preventing violent extremism

A copy of the guidance can be downloaded from the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills website. Similar guidance aimed at FE Colleges will be released for consultation soon.