[IER] McStrike workers stand up against ZHCs

Fri May 4 16:05:35 BST 2018

IER News Brief 04/05/18Follow us on Twitter 
news brief
Friday 04th May 2018
A week after the Office for National Statistics revealed nearly a million workers are on zero-hour contracts in the UK, McDonalds workers have taken a stand against the precarious contracts.

In the second BFAWU organised strike at the company's UK branches, the workers called for a living wage, union recognition, the end to unequal pay for younger workers, and guaranteed hours.

While McDonalds tried to claim that only one worker walked out, BFAWU dismissed this as "nonsense", and videos published on Twitter reveal packed pickets at branches across England.

The Institute of Employment Rights recommends in our Manifesto for Labour Law that zero-hour contracts should be replaced by defined-hours contracts, which provide a minimum of guaranteed hours per week or month and pay for a prescribed percentage of time spent on-call.

Our experts also propose the creation of a Living Wage Commission to set legal minimum pay at the real living wage and stronger trade union rights to recognition.

However, the key aim of the Manifesto is to shift the focus of labour law from individual to collective rights so that trade unions can negotiate on behalf of workers for fair pay and conditions at a sectoral level, building upon statutory minimums rather than relying on them.

Read more about our Manifesto for Labour Law
Subscribers receive all of our publications free and discount rates on our conferences. Subscribe now
 News and commentSupport the IER in its 30th Anniversary year
This year we are celebrating our forthcoming 30th Anniversar and we're appealing for your support. We hope to raise £30,000 to celebrate our 30 years and with these funds we will modernise our website and communications; promote our ideas through meetings, education packs, videos and animations; and establish a reserve to avoid repeat fundraising.
> click here to read full storyVACANCY: PhD Studentship: Employment Rights and the Shareholder: Workers Rights vs ‘Owners’ Rights 
Applications are invited to undertake a full time three year PhD studentship starting in October 2018. Work with the IER, University of Liverpool and University of Manchester on an important new research project that explores the relationship between corporate law and labour law. Deadline for applications: Wednesday 09 May. 
> click here to read full storyMcDonalds workers strike in protest of zero-hour contracts 
On 01 May, McDonalds workers walked out of branches across England calling for guaranteed hours, a £10 per hour living wage, equal pay for young workers, and union recognition. 
> click here to read full story
 Free resources 
A full report of the IER's Racism at Work conference in Liverpool, plus free downloads of all presentations delivered on the day, is now available on the IER's website.

Our full schedule of events for the next year has been announced - find out more and book your place.   Events Liverpool: The Future of Labour Law: Progressive rights under a progressive government
10 May 2018 - 09:30 - 15:00
Unite the Union, Liverpool
At this conference, key authors from our Manifesto for Labour Law team will guide delegates through our proposed reforms, the evidence behind them, and the benefits for workers, employers and the economy of reform.
Speakers include Prof Nicola Countouris, Prof David Whyte, Dr Aristea Koukiadaki, Prof Sonia McKay & John Hendy QC.
> click here to read more and book your placeLondon: The Future of Labour Law: Progressive rights under a progressive government
14 June 2018 - 09:30 - 15:00
Unite the Union, London
At this conference, key authors from our Manifesto for Labour Law team will guide delegates through our proposed reforms, the evidence behind them, and the benefits for workers, employers and the economy of reform.
Speakers include Prof Nicola Countouris, Prof David Whyte, Dr Aristea Koukiadaki & John Hendy QC.
> click here to read more and book your place
  PublicationsLabour Law Highlights 2017: £8
Edited by Rebecca Tuck
Catch up with the most important case law developments in 2017 in the latest of our popular Labour Law Highlights series.

In this year’s Labour Law Highlights, a team of barristers from Old Square Chambers returns to assess how each of these events has impacted upon case law in the last 12 months, including clarification from the courts on the requirements of the Trade Union Act in practice, the flurry of tribunal hearings regarding ‘gig’ workers, and further decisions on the rights of workers required to take "sleep-in" shifts. In each case, they provide commentary on the potential wider implications of tribunal decisions.
> 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 copyTo unsubscribe, please contact sarah at ier.org.uk. 
Produced by:
Institute of Employment Rights,
4th Floor, Jack Jones House
1 Islington
Liverpool L3 8EG
0151 207 5265
www.ier.org.uk

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://mailman.gn.apc.org/pipermail/ier-elist/attachments/20180504/1ccd1023/attachment-0001.html>