[IER] IER releases new proposals for improved workers' rights

Fri Jan 6 16:54:51 GMT 2017

IER News Brief 06/01/17

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news brief

Friday 06th January 2016

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Welcome to the first IER News Brief of 2017, and we kick off the New Year with some new proposals to improve workers' rights

Last year, we released the Manifesto for Labour Law <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=b62928851c&e=71131c031b>  - 25 policy recommendations now adopted by the Labour Party - and we continue to work on developing these policies ready for Westminster reform. In parallel, experts across the IER's network of academics and lawyers are working up proposals to complement the Manifesto's wide-ranging net of legislative reform.

This week, new recommendations have been released in the form of Health and Safety at Work: Time for Change <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=005343cea5&e=71131c031b> , authored by Professors Phil James and David Walters. This easy-to-read panflet neatly details our key proposal: to repeal and replace the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

As the authors highlight, the world of work has changed substantially since this law was passed, and the same issues raised by the "modern workplace" from which our Manifesto for Labour Law aims to protect workers have a negative - and dangerous - impact on health and safety too. As work becomes more casualised and employment relationships more complicated, responsibility for the protection of workers' health and safety begins to lack clarity and sense. Moreover, the presence of trade union safety reps has been proven to effetively protect workers' health and safety, so union access to workplaces must be improved. Elsewhere, political influence over the HSE - and astonishing cuts to its services - has led to dangerously low enforcement of the law. This too must be rectified.

Professors James and Walters base their proposed reforms on models that have worked effectively in other developed economies such as Australia and Sweden. Paid subscribers can read their recommendations now by logging into our website and scrolling to subscribers' resources at the bottom of this page <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=1c0446446e&e=71131c031b> . Non-subscribers can purchase this publication <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=56156ae830&e=71131c031b>  for just £10.

Also this week, the government has announced the appointment of Sir David Metcalf <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=a5404229ac&e=71131c031b>  as the first Director of Labour Market Enforcement overseeing the strategic priorities of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and HMRC’s National Minimum Wage enforcement team. The IER will comment further on the government's approach, which it claims will reduce worker exploitation, in the coming days.

On our timeline this week...

This week, new research from GMB shows that nurses pay has fallen by a shocking £14,634 per year in real terms since 2010 as a result of public sector cuts. Visit the timeline here <http://ier.us12.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=53b701c6ae&e=71131c031b> 

Subscribers receive all of our publications free and discount rates on our conferences.  <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=258a393bb7&e=71131c031b> Subscribe now

 News and comment

 Access to Justice <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/3217d00c-d174-45e5-a9cf-a588a59f2af4.jpg> 

	Deposit Order should not be used to "impair access to justice", EAT finds 
Deposit Orders must not be used in such a way that they "impair access to justice", an Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) has found. 
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=44e837857a&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story

 Low pay <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/c9de063b-cd73-4fc5-8d13-fb67b7e3e040.png> 

	Real wages to remain flat for decades, study warns 
Cambridge University's Centre for Business Research has warned that real wages will remain stagnant for the next decade. 
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=329d1328e1&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story

 IER New Year Special Sale! 

Don't forget to check out our New Year's sale <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=10b0bbbb3a&e=71131c031b>  while stocks last!

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  Publications

 EU Developments <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/fb25d1db-2c1e-4d50-8d47-17dc166f146f.jpeg> 

	Access to Justice: Exposing the myths: £6
By Andrew Moretta
In the second of IER’s series of Mythbusters, Andrew Moretta considers the many myths surrounding access to justice, including the narrative surrounding the “red tape” and “burdens on business” ideology, which he believes paved the way for systematic attacks on the tribunal system.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=3374a2a911&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and purchase

 Kill the Bill <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/3a996d1c-1459-4dfb-81b8-8901488dad8a.jpg> 

	Protect the right to strike: kill the bill: £5
By John Hendy QC & Professor Keith Ewing
Two leading experts on trade union rights – Professor Keith Ewing and John Hendy QC – publish a short but comprehensive overview of the Trade Union Bill and its implications.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=72d9847c32&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and purchase 

 Ballot Thresholds <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/cee8b19e-c2dc-452d-a284-b14209fbf568.jpg> 

	The Conservative Government’s proposed strike ballot thresholds: The challenge to trade unions: from £6
By Professor Ralph Darlington and Dr John Dobson
According to the authors of this timely report, the government is attempting to rush into law ‘the most sweeping and radical tightening of rules on industrial action since the Thatcher era of the 1980’s’. They warn that such proposals could result in ‘the biggest showdown over industrial relations for a generation’ and go on to drill down into one aspect of the government’s proposals – strike ballots.
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 Keithe Ewing <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/6ac2ddd4-6bd6-4c3f-81ad-06fdb882171c.jpg> 

	The mythology of business: from £6
By David Whyte
The ‘myths’ that this publication takes into consideration are the kind of things that politicians now routinely say without thinking. Yet these 10 myths have very little foundation in reality and are rarely, if ever, accompanied with any concrete evidence to support them.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=d655027db1&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and purchase 

  Events

 Access to Justice 2017 Liverpool <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/ce2b41f7-f3db-4ed9-adcb-30eb6a15d46f.jpg> 

	Access to Justice 2017: Liverpool
24 January 2017 - 09:30 - 15:00
Unite the Union, Liverpool
We bring together legal experts, trade unionists and academics to address recent and future planned changes to the tribunal structures, how the changes impact on claims, and what unions are doing to try and improve the enforcement of rights at work.
Speakers include Judge Brian Doyle, David Sorenson, Jo Seery, Damien Warbuton, Jeanette Sainsbury and David Renton
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=649e4dbbac&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and book your place

 Access to Justice 2017 London <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/67980a6f-aad0-4289-ac49-271c6a576c68.jpg> 

	Access to Justice 2017: London
08 February 2017 - 09:30 - 15:00
Unite the Union, London
We bring together legal experts, trade unionists and academics to address recent and future planned changes to the tribunal structures, how the changes impact on claims, and what unions are doing to try and improve the enforcement of rights at work.
Speakers include Judge Brian Doyle, David Sorenson, Kate Ewing, Michael Ford, Gerard Airey, Diana Holland and Howard Beckett
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=14c5a011ec&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and book your place

 Migration after Brexit: the challenge for labour standards 2017: London <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/21731663-49d4-420d-8026-e8d4e9dce1e4.jpg> 

	Migration after Brexit: the challenge for labour standards 2017: London
15 March 2017 - 09:30 - 15:15
Unite the Union, London
This conference will cover migration policy after Brexit, both from the EU and from elsewhere in the world, and the implications of future labour migration patterns for labour standards. The speakers will bring extensive expertise to the subject, as academics, campaigners and trade unionists.
Speakers include Bernard Ryan, Don Flynn, Susan Cueva, Diana Holland, Alex Balch, Alan Bogg, Owen Espley and Sonia McKay
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=e55ea324b2&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and book your place

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Produced by:
Institute of Employment Rights,
4th Floor, Jack Jones House
1 Islington
Liverpool L3 8EG
0151 207 5265
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