Pay gap falls to less than 10pc in new record November 22, 2012 THE GENDER pay gap has narrowed to less than 10 per cent for the first time in 15 years since records began, official data out yesterday revealed, just as the gap between public and private sector pay widened. This came as City pay packets took a blow. Annual gross pay in Tower Hamlets – which [...]
TUC calls for bank shake-up September 9, 2012 The Trades Union Congress will today call for a major shake-up of the UK banking sector, with a state investment bank, possibly with a fully-nationalised RBS, as its core. It will also call for a crackdown on high pay and bonuses by including them as profits liable for corporation tax.
Unions ponder general strikes September 11, 2012 THE TRADES Union Congress yesterday voted to consider a general strike in protest at the government’s spending cuts. A big majority at the TUC’s annual conference in Brighton backed the measure, which pledges to look into the “practicalities” of a general strike, as called for by trade unionists including RMT boss Bob Crow. “This is a [...]
Women losing out on UK jobs September 17, 2012 WOMEN are losing out on jobs being created in Britain, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) claimed today, as they move from full-time employment to part-time jobs and self-employment. Since the recession 170,000 fewer women are working as full-time employees, while 200,000 more describe themselves as self-employed. But the TUC says that selfemployment often pays very [...]
EU aims to sign US trade deal by end of 2014 February 13, 2013 THE EUROPEAN UNION will this summer begin talks with the United States on producing a free-trade agreement that would be the biggest such trade deal in history. European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso made the announcement after President Obama backed reducing trade barriers in Tuesday’s State of the Union address. Under an outline for the [...]
TUC: Economy unbalanced August 16, 2012 THE ECONOMY remains unbalanced and so any recovery in growth will lack resilience and sustainability, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) warns in a report published today. Exports and investment are still too low to help the UK return to growth, the report says, while there has been little change in the sectoral make-up of the [...]
Auto-enrolment begins to shake up UK pensions September 30, 2012 BUSINESS lobbies, unions, and pension funds have backed pensions minister Steve Webb’s auto-enrolment scheme, as it is rolled out this morning. From today, firms with more than 120,000 employees must enrol all staff in a pension scheme, and by 2018 all employees earning enough to pay national insurance will have to be put in a [...]
TUC’s plan to ban business in public sector is outdated September 9, 2012 ACROSS Europe, governments are trying to take the tough decisions to get their economies moving again. The Spanish constitution has been changed so every part of government has to balance its budget. Public sector salaries have been cut, and hours have been increased. Italian trade unions have just agreed a package of reforms, including spending [...]
Autumn statement December 5, 2012 THE BUSINESS CONFEDERATION’S VIEW DIRECTOR GENERAL JOHN CRIDLAND The CBI is the UK’s top business lobbying organisation. It aims to influence government policy on a wide range of business matters. “£5bn on near-term infrastructure, like the tube to Battersea, half a billion a year tax relief for small firms, and £1.5bn extra export support should [...]
TUC and NEF claims on local pay criticised July 15, 2012 PLANS to vary public sector wages by region could hurt both jobs and output, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and New Economics Foundation (NEF) have claimed today. The rationale for the plan is that wages and the cost of living vary widely across the country – the familiar London weighting is a blunt example of [...]