[IER] Unemployment up for first time in five years

Fri Feb 23 17:01:55 GMT 2018

IER News Brief 23/02/18Follow us on Twitter 
news brief
Friday 23th February 2018
Unemployment has risen for the first time in nearly five years, while real wages continue to fall, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

This comes as new forecasts this week predict that income inequality will hit record highs by the early 2020s, with the highest earners expected to see 10% wage growth while people on low and middle incomes are set to see only 2%.

The impact this could have on people's lives has been further illustrated by a separate poll into the damaging effects of low pay. The survey found that full-time workers earning less than the living wage - which accounts for one fifth of the workforce, or 5.5 million people - have experienced problems with their relationships with friends, partners and children; and worsening mental health as a result of their money struggles.

Real wages have now been falling for ten months, and the ONS figures show that a rise in joblessness among the under-24s is driving an increase in the unemployment rate (from 4.3% in December 2016 to 4.4% in December 2017).

Meanwhile, almost a million people remain in unstable work on zero-hour contracts.

In our influential Manifesto for Labour Law, the Institute of Employment Rights recommends a reform to the framework of labour law to shift the focus away from individual rights to collective ones.

Over the last 35 years, the UK has been moving towards an increasingly individualised system of employment protections, which has deepened the imbalance of power between employers and workers.

When workers organise collectively through trade unions they are better able to negotiate for fair pay and conditions, keeping income inequality in check, than when they face an employer alone.

Our experts recommend reversing the successive laws that have reduced trade union rights in the UK over the last 35 years - during which time income inequality has soared - and reinstating sectoral collective bargaining, through which employers' associations and trade unions can negotiate minimum pay and conditions across entire industries.

PHD Studentship: Employment Rights and the Shareholder: Workers Rights vs ‘Owners’ Rights

The Institute of Employment Rights is collaborating with the Universities of Manchester and Liverpool in a project aimed at understanding how the corporate veil that shields shareholders works to restrict labour rights. The project also seeks to identify progressive reforms.

We are currently offering a three-year, full-time PHD studentship on this project. Click here to read more and apply. 
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 News and commentLow/middle earners face hardest hit from sluggish growth, report finds
Low and middle earners are set to be hit hardest by a projected period of sluggish growth, a new report from the Resolution Foundation think tank has said..
> click here to read full storyLow pay takes its toll on families/health, new study finds
Low pay damages both family life and worker health, a new study commissioned by the Living Wage Foundation has shown.
> click here to read full storyONS: Real wages fall and joblessness up
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics have shown that real wages are continuing to fall and unemployment is rising.
> click here to read full storyGovt review launched into ethnic minority progression in the workplace
The government has launched a review into ethnic minority progression in the workplace in order to find out what action employers are taking to remove barriers and prevent harassment and to discover whether companies are reporting their ethnicity pay gap.
> click here to read full story
  Events Liverpool: Racism at Work
08 March 2018 - 09:30 - 15:00
Unite the Union, Liverpool
At this one-day conference, our panel of lawyers, academics and campaigners will discus how racism at work impacts individuals across the UK, identify weaknesses in the legal system, propose reforms to the law, and discuss how unions can play a part in protecting workers from racism.
Speakers include Shavanah Taj, Dawn Butler, Owen Espley, Professor Sonia McKay, Wanda Wyporska and Jo Seery.
> click here to read more and book your place
  PublicationsBlacklisting: the need for a public inquiry (including a Manifesto Against Blacklisting): £8
By Dave Smith and Alex Just
In his thoughtful account of the conspiracy, which incorporates the first-hand experiences of blacklisted workers and their families, the author leads readers through the multitude of obstacles faced by the victims. It concludes with a call for a public inquiry that forces those involved to publically account for their actions; and a detailed Manifesto Against Blacklisting.
> click here to read more and purchaseEurope, the EU and Britain: Workers' Rights and Economic Democracy: £8
Notes from a seminar by the Institute of Employment Rights and the Marx Memorial Library
On 01 July 2017, labour movement leaders from across Europe met at the Marx Memorial Library, London, to discuss how a progressive future for workers’ rights can be sought following the UK’s vote to leave the EU. This report documents the meeting, including the transcripts of each presentation, as well as notes on the discussion between panel and delegates on the day.
> click here to read more and purchaseThe Legacy of Thatcherism in European Labour Relations: The Impact of the Politics of Neo-Liberalism and Austerity on Collective Bargaining in a Fragmenting Europe: £8
By Miguel Martinez Lucio, Aristea Koukiadaki and Isabel Tavora
As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, this analysis – the 11th in our Comparative Notes series – shines a light on the deleterious effect of the nation's deregulatory influence on the bloc.
> click here to read more and purchase8 Good Reasons Why Adult Social Care Needs Sectoral Collective Bargaining: £8
By Dr Lydia Hayes
In this booklet, Dr Lydia Hayes sets out the lessons learned from her interdisciplinary research into the social care sector, and builds upon the recommendations made in the Institute of Employment Rights' Manifesto for Labour Law: a comprehensive revision of worker’s rights to propose a sectoral collective bargaining structure for the negotiation of wages and conditions.
> Click here to read more and buy your copy
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