[IER] UN poverty & human rights expert investigates UK

[Sarah Glenister]

IER News Brief 05/11/18

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news brief

Monday 05th November 2018

 42bef9e9-0080-4d3d-9334-2e260fdb3b8d.gif <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/42bef9e9-0080-4d3d-9334-2e260fdb3b8d.gif> 

 



Today, the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights - Philip Alston - begins his investigation into the suffering of low-income people in the UK <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=12da5fe8fd&e=71131c031b> .

Over 300 charities, experts and individuals have submitted evidence to Alston's inquiry, the contents of which he said make it "clear many people are really struggling to make ends meet".

The expert told the Guardian newspaper that he thinks Britain is at a "crossroads", both due to Brexit and due to Theresa May's recent promise to end austerity.

Despite the fact Chancellor Philip Hammond's budget made it clear last week that austerity is far from being over <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=3d693fe8df&e=71131c031b> , Alston expressed optimism that new policy directions can be discussed.

His interim report is expected to be published before he leaves the UK in two weeks' times.

Interest in his thoughts on the ethics of the government's long campaign of austerity will be keenly awaited, especially after news that Ministers were warned a public sector pay cap would push children into poverty <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=a0eac36b01&e=71131c031b> .

Despite being told of the damage it would cause to working families across the UK, the government decided to go ahead in 2015 with a continuation of its austerity measures, according to a new document obtained through a Freedom of Information Request by GMB.

Scroll down for even more news and comment from the IER, your chance to show your support for our Manifesto proposals, and information on forthcoming events and new publications. 

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 News and comment

	

 30th anniversary <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/a445c496-c0c6-489d-86d5-33336f0515d9.jpg> 

	Support the IER in its 30th Anniversary year 
This year we are celebrating our forthcoming 30th Anniversary 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. 
 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=721e389856&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story 


 Public sector <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/e80db0b0-be8d-47c8-8d7d-05383e5cbcb3.png> 

	Govt ignored warnings public sector pay cap would push children into poverty, document reveals 
The government ignored warnings that the public sector pay cap would push children in working families below the poverty line, a new document uncovered by GMB has revealed. 
 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=ad7e09f542&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story 


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

	Over one in five workers paid less than cost of living, research shows 
More than one in five workers are now being paid less than the "real" living wage, according to new research from the Living Wage Foundation. 
 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=a9066dbbcd&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story 


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

	Uber leaves drivers '£18,000 Out Of Pocket' as it fights legal judgment 
Uber has left its drivers £18,000 out of pocket over the last two years as it continues to fight an Employment Tribunal judgment that its drivers are "workers", not "independent contractors", and therefore eligible for basic rights like the minimum wage and holiday pay. 
 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=51114d81d6&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story 


 Public sector <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/e80db0b0-be8d-47c8-8d7d-05383e5cbcb3.png> 

	Autumn budget gives little to the many and more to the few 
Theresa May's promise that the Autumn budget would signal the "end of austerity" was viewed with suspicion from the very start, and for many, Chancellor Philip Hammond's speech yesterday only reinforced their view that the government won't put its money where its mouth is when it comes to public services. 
 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=545b8fdcfe&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story 


 Public sector <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/e80db0b0-be8d-47c8-8d7d-05383e5cbcb3.png> 

	UN investigates impact of austerity 
Special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights for the United Nations, Philip Alston, today begins a two-week investigation into the impact of austerity in the UK. 
 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=399c105281&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story 


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

	Real living wage rises to £9/£10.55 
The real living wage – the amount a person needs to earn to afford basic living costs – has increased by 25p to £9 an hour outside of London and by 35p to £10.55 in the capital. 
 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=ab2a7f7366&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story 


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

	BME doctors overlooked for top posts, research suggests 
Signs of racial discrimination have been found within the NHS after research discovered that black and minority ethnic (BME) doctors are less like to be appointed as consultants than white colleagues, despite the fact they are more likely to apply for the posts. 
 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=7bfd472093&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story 


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

	Precarious workers 'fight back' 
Last week, hundreds of people marched through London to demand fair pay and working conditions under the banner 'Precarious Workers Fight Back'. 
 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=4cbe2036fc&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story 


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

	5,000 workers benefit from Unison holiday pay win 
Thousands of workers for Greenwich Council are set to receive compensation for unfair holiday pay after public sector union Unison won a five-year court battle. 
 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=5106db72b4&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story 

 


	

FEATURED PUBLICATION - Rolling out the Manifesto for Labour Law

	

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	The comprehensive recommendations detailed in this volume have been collaboratively authored by 26 leading labour lawyers and academics from some of the most prestigious universities in the UK. Taken together, they put forth a new framework for industrial relations and workers’ rights designed to better-fit the needs of a post-Brexit, increasingly automated and fragmented workforce.

Several key proposals have been adopted by the Labour Party and the report has received backing across the labour movement as well as other left-wing political parties including the Green Party.

Read more and purchase your copy <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=39c4eed5e4&e=71131c031b>  





  Events 

	

 Employment Law Update: Liverpool <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/af589531-1f0b-40bc-8d16-163f37c79fcb.jpg> 

	Liverpool: Employment Law Update 2018 
15 November 2018 - 09:30 - 15:00
Unite the Union, Liverpool 
At this popular annual conference, leading lawyers, academics and trade unionists will discuss how employment law has developed over the year so far, how it can be expected to change in the future, and how workers can best be protected.
Speakers include Ian Hodson, Paul Scholey, Prof Alan Bogg, Neill Todd, Prof David Whyte, Catherine Hobby 
 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=d229ab9b5d&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and book your place 

 



	

  Publications

	

 Labour Law Highlights 2017 <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/83275f98-1622-49e2-9a36-0ac77fd205ea.jpg> 

	Labour 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. 
 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=345464a121&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and purchase 


 Europe, the EU and Britain <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/ffa54ac8-9d49-4559-9d3d-1042aaacbe0b.jpg> 

	Europe, 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. 
 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=5b564a7a04&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and purchase 


 CB Europe <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/89596b4b-fb8c-466d-974a-89baa936f609.jpg> 

	The 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. 
 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=39b263b4f3&e=71131c031b> > click here to read more and purchase 


 CB in Social Care <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/f5cd005c-17c2-4c04-bd1f-452d91c64d61.jpg> 

	8 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. 
 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=9cdc77e322&e=71131c031b> > Click here to read more and buy your copy 

 


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