[IER] Blacklisting, work place issues and human rights - 3 London events not to miss

Mon May 18 11:49:46 BST 2015

Three London events not to be missed

 <mailto:secretary at haldane.org>
<http://www.ier.org.uk/events/workplace-issues-taking-issues-new-government-
0>
<http://www.ier.org.uk/events/human-rights-possibilities-and-problems-labour
-law-london-0> 

FREE: Blacklisting: The secret war between
big business and trade union activists
Tuesday 2 June 2015
6.30pm
Diskus Room, Unite the Union, London

Building on our series of joint events with the Haldane society, this free
event will bring together some of the leading people involved in the
blacklisting issue. 

IER supporters will know that the institute has been involved in the
blacklisting exposure since 2009 when UCATT commissioned the IER to do a
report on blacklisting in the UK construction industry:

Ruined Lives: Blacklisting in the Construction Industry
<http://www.ier.org.uk/publications/ruined-lives-blacklisting-construction-i
ndustry> 

<http://www.ier.org.uk/publications/ruined-lives-blacklisting-construction-i
ndustry> 
by Prof Keith Ewing
Commissioned from IER by UCATT

This very timely report highlights the problems surrounding the practice of
blacklisting within the UK and critically examines the governments proposed
Regulations to deal with the matter.

The author, Keith Ewing, concludes that the Regulations fall far short of
what is required to first outlaw the compiling and use of blacklists and
second to compensate those who have been denied work and had their lives
ruined by companies using blacklists.

Workplace Issues: taking up the issues with the new government
Wednesday 10 June 2015
A one-day conference
Diskus Room, Unite the Union, London

This event will be the first IER conference to take place after the general
election, providing an excellent opportunity to assess the government's
programme of work. How will worker's rights fair under a Tory regime? Which
labour law topics will trade unionists need to be aware of in order to best
protect their members at work?

We will also hear from academics, lawyers and trade unionists - on new cases
relating to both whistle blowing and victimisation of trade unionists. And a
leading trade unionist will share his experiences and suggestions on the
role trade unions play in delivering workplace learning.

Joining our platform for the first time will be a group of psychologists
researching the psychological costs of austerity. They will focus on how
this manifests itself in the workplace and what trade unionists can do to
monitor alleviate and assist those suffering from austerity linked problems
at work

Speakers

Welcome from Chair. Carolyn Jones, Institute of Employment Rights

Workplace Issues: A post-election overview. 
Hannah Reed,TUC

Public Interest Whistleblowing: Mandatory Reporting?. 
Catherine Hobby, University of East London

Workers' health and safety: looking for trouble? 
Susan Murray,UNITE

Pensions: for what it's worth! 
Neil Duncan-Jordan, National Pensioners Convention

Victimisation in the workplace: protection under the Equality Act 2010 and
TULRA 1992? 
David Sorensen,Morrish Solicitors

The psychological impact of austerity at work 
Vanessa Griffin & Laura McGrath, Psychologists Against Austerity

Learning on the job: the role of trade unions at work 
Roger McKenzie, Assistant General SecretaryUNISON

Human Rights: possibilities and problems for labour law LONDON
Wednesday 1 July 2015
A one-day conference
Diskus Room, Unite the Union, London

At the Tory party conference in 2014, Cameron announced that he was ready to
remove the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights. In April 2015
that threat was included in the Conservative Party election manifesto,
reflecting Tory plans to replace the Human Rights Act 1998 with a British
Bill of Rights.

So what would be the impact of such a change on workers' rights? To begin
with it would enable British Judges to ignore rulings of the European Court
of Human Rights (ECtHR) and would undermine the European Convention on Human
Rights (ECHR) - the international treaty first drafted in the post-war years
to protect fundamental rights and freedoms.

A flood of watchdogs and organisations have come out against the move, which
despite government claims, is clearly intended to remove rather than
strengthen civil liberties and will further deregulate and remove health and
safety and employment protections from the statute book.

The plan has been extensively critiqued by the Tories own Dominic Grieve,
who said; "Such a course may be strictly lawful, but its practical
consequences are likely to be as devastating both for ourselves domestically
as it will be for the future of the convention." And the Shadow Justice
Secretary, Sadiq Khan said; "five more years of the Tories would mean the
systematic dismantling of the postwar human rights system that has done so
much to protect people's basic rights here and across Europe"

So what would withdrawal from the ECHR mean for employment rights and worker
protections? This conference aims to shed light on the issues by focusing on
the kind of workplace abuses that the Convention aims to protect us against.
So, whether it's surveillance at work, blacklisting of trade unionists, the
systematic removal of access to justice or the need to defend the
protections provided against discrimination under Article 14 of the
Convention, expert speakers at this event will look at the possibilities and
problems of the developing human rights agenda.

IER, 4th Floor, Jack Jones House, 1 Islington, Liverpool L3 8EG
www.ier.org.uk

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