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News brief - 02/10/20 View this email in your browser
Covid and the unions: how they were blighted and how to keep fighting
With multiple bodies this week forecasting en masse job losses are still to come, particularly among young workers and those in low-paid sectors, unions have continued to push for government support.
Economists predicted another million job losses, while the Labour Party warned as many staff could be shed from the hospitality and entertainment industry alone. One industry body said there could be 300,000 jobs losses just in pubs and bars.
Unions continue to push for adequate government support to save these at-risk sectors, with the TUC urging Ministers to establish a National Recovery Council on which both business and workers' voices are heard.
IER experts have pitched in with new resources detailing some of the barriers unions and workers have faced during the Covid-19 pandemic and how they can adapt to this changing world to keep fighting back.
Professor David Etherington explains how austerity and Universal Credit have worked in tandem to drive the proliferation of insecure, low-paid work - much of which has collapsed since Covid-19 struck.
Janet Newsham of the Hazards campaign looks at the lack of enforcement from the government and the Health and Safety Executive when it comes to ensuring workplaces are safe - a topic examined in detail by Professors Phil James and Steve Tombs alongside Janet during this week's Who's Regulating the Regulators? event.
And Dr Philippa Collins considers the impact on trade unions and collective action of the increasing trend to work from home, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, and how unions can continue to engage with workers even when they are geographically dispersed.
The IER has also added two new events to the all new 2020 Employment Law Webinar Series, which provides delegates with all the benefits of our most popular annual conferences at a fraction of the price. Panels of leading lawyers, academics and campaigners will update attendees on the most significant aspects of new legislation and case law from just £10 or £15 when you book on to two events.
Contribute to research into working from home
Research is being conducted into the experiences of people working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read full report
WATCH: Who's regulating the regulators? Covid-19 and the HSE
COMMENT: Austerity and the Covid-19 Crisis: The impact of welfare reform on employment rights
Professor David Etherington explains how Universal Credit is driving an increase in 'cycling' between welfare and low-paid work, trapping people into poverty.
Read full report
COMMENT: What happened to enforcement during the pandemic?
Janet Newsham from Hazards Campaign warns that the reality workers say they face is quite different from the one the HSE glimpsed by telephoning employers.
Read full report
COMMENT: Unions, solidarity and working-from-home
Dr Philippa Collins examines the barriers to workplace organisation when staff work from home and how unions can break through them.
Read full report
Introducing the IER's 2020 Employment Law Webinar Series
Equality at work update 2020: Part 1
13th October 2020 - 7pm-8pm
Leading lawyers and campaigners discuss the racial inequalities at work, which have been deepened and brought to light by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Register your place
Equality at work update 2020: Part 2
15th October 2020 - 7pm-8pm
Leading lawyers and campaigners discuss the gender pay gap and consider what reforms should be made to resolve this issue once and for all.
Register your place
Employment Law Update 2020: Part 1
24th November 2020 - 7pm-8pm
Leading lawyers and campaigners take a closer look at some of the dirtiest tactics of the pandemic, including fire and rehire, redundancies, and health and safety .
Register your place
Employment Law Update 2020: Part 2
26th November 2020 - 7pm-8pm
Leading lawyers, academics and campaigners update delegates as to the most significant cases going through the tribunal system and their wider impact on the protection of workers.
Register your place
IER and Covid-19
Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease and the need to keep our staff, supporters and speakers safe, IER have decided to postpone all forthcoming IER events and meetings until further notice, including both Health and safety at work after Brexit conferences in Liverpool and London, the IER Executive Committee, IER AGM and our joint event with the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom on 6th June.
IER staff will continue to work, but remotely from home. We will answer emails, produce publications and circulate our weekly News Briefs and other on-line information. However, phone calls to the office or mail sent by post will not receive immediate attention.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused and wish you all best wishes during this difficult time.
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