[IER] The Trade Union Act has come into effect - now is the time to resist

[Sarah Glenister]

IER News Brief 03/03/17

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news brief

Friday 03rd March 2017

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On Wednesday 01 March 2017, the Trade Union Act 2016 came into effect, bringing into force a raft of new laws that threaten trade union freedoms and the ability of workers to resist exploitation in the workplace. For a full rundown of the laws that have come into place - and their expected impact on workers' rights - see our new guide to the Trade Union Act <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=d194f9a919&e=71131c031b> .

As we wrote in our feature for the Morning Star this week <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=6f9db8a19b&e=71131c031b> , this Act reveals the Tories' true colours at a time it is attempting to recast itself as the "party of workers". Regardless of what comes out of the Taylor Review or any other tokenistic nod towards workers' rights heralded by the current administration, without repealing their Trade Union Act this government can make no substantial headway towards protecting vulnerable workers. They have already undermined the very goal they claim to seek in the Taylor Review - to prevent exploitation in the workplace.

And repeal is exactly what the Institute of Employment Rights is calling for. Our Manifesto for Labour Law <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=6d71f9cbb0&e=71131c031b>  has as one of its key recommendations the scrapping of this dangerous Act.

Elsewhere, unions promise to resist the new legislation <http://ier.us12.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=a49d5c1f36&e=71131c031b>  and prevent it from silencing their members.

In happier news, congratulations to Unison on winning a landmark case against British Gas <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=a5a99ee9f4&e=71131c031b> . The Supreme Court this week turned down an appeal from the company against a ruling by the Court of Appeal which decided in Unison's favour that workers who are normally paid commission should have their annual leave calculated according to the amount they earn after their commission has been added, rather than just on their basic wage. Thousands of workers will now benefit from fair holiday pay as a result.

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 News and comment

	

 Equality <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/41d5d27b-969b-4b55-bcb8-9a0e910471e3.png> 

	Govt excludes BME workers from working group on BME equality
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has launched a working group to discuss improving work opportunities for BME workers but has not invited any representatives of BME workers to participate.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=4a37dd58df&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story


 TUA <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/1678b4e0-c9b6-47e4-b514-0b850d9f1825.png> 

	IER guide to TUA
The main provisions of the Trade Union Act 2016 came into effect today, and the IER has created this guide to explain which rules have come into effect and what their expected impact will be on the labour movement as well as for workers.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=26804c7f3d&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story


 ZHCs <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/cf3c70ae-025a-4aaa-9acb-555c611bdd4e.jpg> 

	Zero-hours contracts hit record high
A record 910,000 people are now working on zero-hours contracts (ZHCs), new research has shown.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=8d996f5160&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story


 TUA <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/1678b4e0-c9b6-47e4-b514-0b850d9f1825.png> 

	How unions are resisting the Trade Union Act
The Trade Union Act 2016 came into force on Wednesday 01 March 2017, bring into effect some of the most draconian anti-union laws for decades (read more about the Act and its impact in our guide), and prompting unions up and down the country to set out their plans of resistance.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=2bb5693fc5&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story


 Workers' rights <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/b1c726de-bf3c-454c-9dd0-50d42672c9ff.png> 

	UNISON wins landmark holiday pay case for workers on commission
UNISON this week won a landmark case to entitle workers on commission to holiday pay.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=082f8d9e45&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story


 Sarah Glenister <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/6091c950-a604-4904-a8d6-9f788f8812f2.bmp> 

	COMMENT: The so-called “party of workers” shows its true colours today
National Development Office for the IER Sarah Glenister explains what laws were implemented with the Trade Union Act on Wednesday, and how it sits uncomfortably with more contemporous assertions by the Tory government that it is the "party of workers".
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=ab3e82e92d&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story

 




	

 Featured publication 

	

 





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The IER's Labour Law Highlights <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=cfb28d6428&e=71131c031b>  series has long been seen as an essential companion for trade unionists and labour lawyers. Edited by a team of barristers from Old Square Chambers, this easy-to-read panflet is the easiest way to stay up to date on all the developments in legislation and case law.

Click here to read more about Labour Law Highlights 2016 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=9d6667039b&e=71131c031b> . Paid subscribers can read it for free online by logging into our website. For access to our extensive electronic library of all of our publications, as well as new publications sent straight to your door and discounts on our employment law conferences, subscribe to the IER <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=34784e5cdf&e=71131c031b> .





	

  Publications

	

 LLH2016 <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/815fda47-e4b4-4148-a3e2-81af67efe0a4.jpg> 

	Labour Law Highlights 2016: £8
Edited by Rebecca Tuck
This year’s Labour Law Highlights is produced against the backdrop of a Brexit vote in the UK and a Trump victory in the USA. It promises to be a bumpy ride ahead!
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=5525d660da&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and purchase


 Health and Safety Time for Change <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/afdba51d-b908-42ab-8241-ddca46df52ce.jpg> 

	Health and Safety at Work Act: Time for Change: £10
By Phil James and David Walters
The world of work is changing. Fast. But the framework of law tasked with protecting the health, safety and well being of workers is now 50 years old and – according to the authors of this report – no longer fit for purpose. The authors put forth proposals for reform
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=df51e93a31&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and purchase


 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-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=51e6f232b4&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=a8fc579b06&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.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=16c71b14c7&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and purchase 


 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-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=013e6a42fe&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and purchase 

 



	

  Events

	

 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=718625e373&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and book your place


 Hope not Hate <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/82134e63-b098-406d-ab8e-d6bfa0b6dfed.jpg> 

	A future for Post Industrial communities?
23-24 March 2017: Leeds
While de-industrialisation began before the Thatcher governments of the 1980s, it has continued to accelerate, and today the process is felt hardest in previously industrialised towns. There is strong evidence to suggest that these old industrial towns and cities that lost out most from the far-reaching economic change over the last 40 years as being one of the key driving forces behind the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.
Hope not Hate has co-organised this conference with the hope of creating strategies for intervention that support communities to overcome 'narratives of division' and turn to 'narratives of hope'.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=398fbd1607&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and book your place

		
	

 


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