These are the professions where people are most likely to have to work on Christmas Day December 22, 2015 While most of us head home for Christmas and push work firmly to the back of our minds, that isn't the case for everyone – almost three per cent of Britons will be heading to work as usual. Figures from Trades Union Congress (TUC) reveal that across the nation, 900,000 people will work on Christmas Day [...]
Lack of building to blame for high house prices, says Bank of England’s Andy Haldane November 12, 2015 The UK housing market is “broken” the Bank of England’s chief economist said today, arguing that not enough homes were being built, in an unusually stark critique of government policy. Andy Haldane told an audience at the Trades Union Congress that Britain needed to build around 200,000 homes a year and its failure to do [...]
How free trade died in the US – and why the same could happen in Britain too August 10, 2016 Two landmark US trade deals look like candidates for the morgue: the 12 nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the EU. After nearly 70 years at the forefront of efforts to liberalise trade and investment across international borders, the US has done a complete about face, with leaders [...]
Millions of jobs at risk of automation over the coming decades, Bank of England’s Andy Haldane tells trade union November 12, 2015 The Bank of England's chief economist Andy Haldane believes that millions of jobs will come under threat from automation over the coming decades, fuelling unemployment and inequality. While he believes that up until now "technology has enriched labour, not immiserated it", he believes the next wave of technological advancement could be different. “By itself, a [...]
Preaching to the choir? Jeremy Corbyn brands Conservatives “poverty deniers” at TUC conference October 27, 2015 Union leaders are singing the praises of newly-elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn after he used one of his first public appearances as party leader to call the Conservatives “poverty deniers” who spend “billions” cutting taxes for the rich. Corbyn – who has avoided media interviews and has yet to speak in the House of [...]
We’ve nothing to fear from job-killing automation – and the pace of change will be manageable too November 17, 2015 The chief economist of the Bank of England Andy Haldane has been in the news with his prediction that up to 15m jobs in the UK are at risk of being lost to automation. This is a huge number, around half the total number of people in work today. Haldane injected a note [...]
Can company boards be improved by worker representation? These experts think so October 6, 2015 A board, responsible and accountable for the strategy, culture and performance of a company, would be improved by more worker representation, experts on a panel at the Institute of Directors annual conference have said. There is plenty of evidence that “shows clearly when workers are represented in their boardroom you get higher investment in research [...]
UK private sector pay is growing at its fastest rate in 15 years – Resolution Foundation October 12, 2015 Pay in the private sector is likely to be growing at its fastest pace in 15 years, a think tank has said today. The Resolution Foundation believes workers’ pay packets – once inflation has been taken into account – will have grown between 3.4 and 3.6 per cent in the three months to August when [...]
Jeremy Corbyn slams rail fare rise as “rip off” August 19, 2015 Regulated rail fares may be set to rise by just one per cent next year, but Labour leadership front-runner Jeremy Corbyn has called them a “rip off”, insisting only his plan to renationalise the railways will deliver savings for consumers. Speaking at a rally at Kings Cross Station yesterday, Corbyn said that “extricating the [...]
Mark Carney to discuss wages in speech at Trades Union Congress September 9, 2014 Mark Carney will discuss his plans for real wages in an address to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) later today. The prospect of an interest rate rise continues to shadow the governor, and members of the TUC are expected to tell Carney to reject a hike until real wages show signs of strengthening. The Canadian [...]