[IER] Millions of workers still getting left behind, reports show

Fri Oct 25 17:56:03 BST 2019

IER, news brief - 25/10/2019                                                                           <https://mailchi.mp/a4c8f1261435/corbyn-adopts-ier-proposals-at-tuc-2394233?e=71131c031b> View this email in your browser 

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Millions of workers still getting left behind, reports show

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New reports this week show that millions of workers are still getting left behind in the workplace.

 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=3e5655cfaf&e=71131c031b> Over half of UK workers have witnessed or experienced discrimination on the job, whether it come in the form of ageism, racism, or unfair treatment based on someone's gender or LGBTQ status. This marks the UK out against other leading European countries France and Germany, where employers have made more progressive steps to stamp out injustice against protected groups.

Another subsection of workers hitting the headlines recently have been women going through the menopause, especially after the Labour Party announced it would introduce new protections for those affected by symptoms that interfere with their work. On World Menopause Day - Friday 18 October - both  <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=b877fd2fd3&e=71131c031b> Acas and Unison released new guidance for employers on how to best support workers experiencing symptoms.

But perhaps the largest section of the workforce being left behind in current times is one divided not by their protected characteristics but by their postcode. Public services union, Unison, is raising awareness of  <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=60d9633fd1&e=71131c031b> the pay gap between Northern Irish health workers and their colleagues in other parts of the UK. Because the devolved governments of Scotland and Northern Ireland agree pay rises separately to England and Wales, there is always a risk that some NHS workers' wages will fall behind. For NHS workers in Northern Ireland, the pay gap has grown so large that paramedics and nurses can earn around £2,000 less per year than peers doing exactly the same job in Scotland.

The IER, too, is focusing on pay gaps and other forms of inequality in our series of Equality and Discrimination conferences.

Our first event was held last week in Liverpool, where a packed room heard from speakers on a wide range of issues -  <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=53d2cd46c4&e=71131c031b> read a report, kindly provided with delegate Charlie Wilson, here.

Our next Equality and Discrimination event will be held in  <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=a2391115f1&e=71131c031b> London on Wednesday November 13 - book now to avoid disappointment! 

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The IER's Executive Committee demonstrating their support for an equal workplace by showing racism the red card last week. 

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ACAS and Unison issue menopausal workers' rights advice

On World Menopause Day (Friday 18 October), both Acas and the public service union, Unison, issued guidance for protecting the rights of workers who are experiencing the menopause.

 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=e309f0edbe&e=71131c031b> Read full article 

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Northern Irish health workers getting left behind, Unison warns

NHS workers in Northern Ireland are being forgotten when it comes to improvements in pay and conditions, public services union, Unison, has warned.

 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=e8527663dc&e=71131c031b> Read full article 

FREE: Download the presentations and reports from our Equality and Discrimination Conference

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 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=110d22386b&e=71131c031b> Read the report and download the presentations 

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McDonald's workers announce 'biggest ever' strike

McDonald's workers across the UK have warned bosses that they are planning to launch the biggest wave of fast food strikes the UK has ever seen.

 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=b124bf6a60&e=71131c031b> Read full article 

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Over half of UK workers have witnessed or experienced discrimination, survey finds

Over half of UK workers have experienced or witnessed discrimination at work, with rates of this form of injustice higher in Britain than in France or Germany.

 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=7432029b24&e=71131c031b> Read full article 

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ASDA threatens to sack 12,000 workers if they don't give up breaks

Supermarket giant, ASDA, has threatened to sack 12,000 UK workers if they do not agree to give up paid breaks and bank holidays.

 <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=c20d17d1ac&e=71131c031b> Read full article 

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FREE: Brexit and Workers' Rights

Now, on the brink of the third deadline for a Brexit deal, two leading UK academics consider the possible implications of a ‘no-deal Brexit’ for UK workers’ rights. They conclude that the process and the post-Brexit architecture will be owned and determined by the political party in power at the time of Brexit and they pose two alternative scenarios.

Either the future could deliver a relentless process of ossification, stagnation and erosion of UK labour rights led by politicians traditionally hostile to workers’ rights. Or, the UK could not only protect those UK rights already on the statute book but could resist the tendencies of the European Commission to decentralise collective bargaining arrangements and deregulate employment protection legislation.

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FREE: Guide to a progressive Industrial Relations Bill

Download our free  <https://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=adce3a47fd&e=71131c031b> Guide to a progressive Industrial Relations Bill, in which we explain our recommendations for reform in a digestible and easy-to-read format, laying out our vision for an effective framework of labour law fit for the 21st century.

We believe this Bill will transform the world of work for millions of people, give workers a voice in parliament, in their jobs, and across the economy at large.

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