Changing Times News * Number 73 * 31 May 2006
Changing Times News is the TUC's fortnightly online bulletin on work-life balance issues. Visit the website at http://www.tuc.org.uk/changingtimes
Edited by Rory O'Neill of Hazards magazine. Comments to Jo Morris. To unsubscribe or subscribe to this bulletin, click here. Past issues are available
CONTENTS
Union news : Advocate General backs landmark equal pay case * Amicus blueprint for better jobs * Union defends remains of the day of rest
Other news : Get ready for slivers-of-time working * Tribunals have not delivered equality says EOC * Britons put work and fun before babies * Work Wise UK aims to revolutionise work * News in brief
Resources : Progress report on Euro teleworking deal * Forgotten families audio conference * New Amicus 'E-Equality' newsletter * DWP research on part-time benefits
International news : Europe: Big differences in flexi-time arrangements * Hong Kong: British Airways accused of double standards * Spain: Agreement to curb precarious work * Global: Union says social compliance is 'cosmetic' * Global round-up
UNION NEWS
Advocate General backs landmark equal pay case
A landmark equal pay claim being pursued through the European Court of Justice with the backing of the professionals' union Prospect moved a step closer to victory following a favourable ruling from the Advocate General. Bernadette Cadman, a principal inspector of health and safety, has been fighting for justice after discovering her employer, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), was paying male colleagues on the same grade as her between £5,000 to £7,000 more per year largely as a result of a pay system based on seniority. In his opinion published on 18 May the Advocate General agreed with Cadman that it was unlawful to allow for men in a comparable role to be paid more than their female colleagues solely on the basis of length of service without any need to show why that was justifiable. Prospect general secretary Paul Noon said: 'We welcome the opinion and are optimistic that the Court's final verdict, when published, will back the Advocate General's findings. However, we are disappointed that a time limit is recommended on the submission of further claims from employees facing the same discrimination as our member.' He added: 'This is the most important equal pay claim to be brought in the last 10 years and is particularly relevant to public services or any employment where long seniority-based pay scales exist, or where additional contractual benefits are dependent on long service, such as enhanced holiday entitlements.' Prospect's legal team presented the case to the ECJ in March after Cadman was granted leave to appeal an earlier ruling by a UK employment appeal tribunal that challenged the outcome of her initial tribunal case, held in May 2002.
Prospect news release. Personnel Today.
Amicus blueprint for better jobs
Fairness and dignity at work and more control of the working environment are essential components of 'good' work, Britain's largest private sector union has said. 'Good work: An Amicus agenda for better jobs' includes these two key factors in a list of 'five key elements that need to be considered in the pursuit of improving working lives.' Other priorities include secure and interesting work, a trade union voice and a safe and healthy working environment. John Earls, head of the Amicus research section, said: 'People not only want to work, they want decent jobs. This is not just about meeting basic standards of employment. It is about enjoying working life, achieving job satisfaction and maximising potential. This is an aspirational agenda for workers, employers and government. Amicus is working to meet those aspirations.' The report notes: 'One of the most effective ways that managers and workers can work together is through collective bargaining between employers and trade unions. A survey of Amicus members in the finance sector found that members report better experiences on a whole host of key issues, such as job security, job satisfaction, utilisation of skills and work-life balance, where management is positive about the union in their workplace.'
Amicus news release. Good work: An Amicus agenda for better jobs [pdf].
Union defends remains of the day of rest
Extending Sunday shopping hours would have a devastating impact on the family lives of Britain's 3.1 million shopworkers, retail union Usdaw has told the new team of ministers at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). An independent cost-benefit analysis published in May by DTI looks at the possible extension of the six hour limit on Sunday trading hours for large stores. Usdaw's lobbyists put the union case against an exhausting, family-unfriendly extension of the allowed hours to ministers at a 10 May 'stakeholder conference' called by new DTI minister Jim Fitzpatrick. The union says the DTI economic cost-benefit analysis fails to take any account of the negative impact on the family lives of Britain's shopworkers. 'Any proposal to extend Sunday shopping is bad news for shopworkers as it will have a devastating impact on the time our members can spend with their families because the reality is that it will mean 10 hour Sundays for many of our members,' said Usdaw general secretary John Hannett. 'Usdaw's survey of over 4,000 shopworkers has shown in fact that 95 per cent of staff oppose longer Sunday opening. One third want to work less hours on Sundays and only 3 per cent wanted to work for any longer.' He added: 'Usdaw will make sure that their voice is heard because extending shopping hours means hard working retail staff will come under even more pressure to cut their precious family time to work longer Sunday shifts. Usdaw's message on this issue is loud and clear: we don't think extending the present six hour limit is good for shopworkers or business.' The Usdaw general secretary put the union case directly to Prime Minister Tony Blair in a 24 May meeting. 'It was extremely useful to put our case directly to the Prime Minister and I'm confident that the voice of Britain's 3.1 million retail workers will be fully taken into account before the final decision is made,' John Hannett said.
Usdaw news release and follow-up release on discussions with the Prime Minister. DTI Sunday shopping cost-benefit analysis.
OTHER NEWS
Get ready for slivers-of-time working
A new form of flexible working is being backed by the government and the private sector. The Slivers-of-Time Programme 'allows individuals to sell their 'spare hours' around other commitments to local employers who need ad hoc top-up workers,' says programme director Wingham Rowan. Writing on the Union Ideas Network website, he says: 'There are millions of people in the UK who need to find work around other commitments (eg. childcare, medical constraints, existing part-time work, caring for a dependant adult, job-seeking, studying or starting their own enterprise). There are many employers who would like access to a pool of local individuals willing to work odd hours to cover peaks in demand or absences. If those workers could show they were reliable it would become worthwhile paying for their induction so their skilled time could be bought from that point on.' He says the programme is currently 'in testing mode but looking to expand to other parts of the UK where there are funds being spent on local work by local people.' Rowan adds: 'If Slivers-of-Time Working is embraced by unions as an alternative they could add enormous value by underpinning worker conditions, perhaps in return for a micro-payment within each booking.'
Union Ideas Network report. Slivers-of-Time website.
Tribunals have not delivered equality says EOC
The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) says thousands of tribunal cases have not delivered equality - and says it is time to consider what will. Statistics released on 20 May by EOC show there have been a quarter of a million Employment Tribunal cases of sex discrimination and 67,000 related to equal pay in the 30 years since the Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay Acts came into force, with record numbers filed over the last five years. Yet many of the problems of gender inequality remain stubbornly persistent. According to EOC, women working part-time earn nearly 40 per cent less per hour than men working full-time and this has barely changed over the last 30 years; four in five part-time workers, mostly women, find themselves stuck in jobs below their potential partly due to the lack of flexible working at more senior levels; and nearly half of pregnant women experience some form of pregnancy discrimination at work, and 30,000 are forced out of their jobs. EOC chair Jenny Watson commented: 'The government is now undertaking a welcome review of discrimination laws to create a single Equality Act - a once-in-a-generation opportunity to establish laws that work better for both individuals and employers. We would like to see the widest possible debate about how best to achieve that outcome, including whether we should take the opportunity to build on recent changes in the public sector by asking private and voluntary sector employers to take active steps to promote sex equality. Prevention is always better than cure, and when it delivers business benefits too, it should be considered as an approach.' Figures released by the government's Women and Equality Unit on 9 May confirmed individual incomes of women remain less than those of men and show greater variation between groups. The main factors which influence both women's and men's individual incomes include age, economic activity status, children and whether they are single or partnered.
EOC news release. Department for Communities and Local Government news release.
Britons put work and fun before babies
Britain's low birthrate is being driven by a generation of potential parents who would rather have money and have fun than start a family, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published on 2 May. It also shows that while people still think it is best to have children while young, they are being forced to delay family life by career pressures and the growing difficulty of finding a partner. Both men and women, according to the poll, believe it is more important for women to enjoy themselves than to have children - with 64 per cent of men and 51 per cent of women agreeing. A majority also thinks that doing well at work and earning money count for more than bringing up children. Just 36 per cent of women believe that people put children ahead of their career. Only 32 per cent of men think women should put children before work. ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,006 adults by phone between 21 and 23 April.
Work Wise UK aims to revolutionise work
A new initiative is to encourage the widespread adoption of smarter working practices, such as flexible working, remote working, mobile working and working from home. Work Wise UK, which is backed by the government, unions and employers' organisations, will promote ways of working that it says will increase business productivity and competitiveness, reduce transport congestion and pollution, improve health, assist disadvantaged groups, and harmonise our work and family commitments. At the 3 May launch of the new campaign, DTI minister for women and equality, Meg Munn, said: 'Smarter working should be integral in a modern economy. It increases productivity, competitiveness and helps our economy perform better in the global marketplace. It also helps people - it enables us to lead more fulfilled lives - having greater choice about how we balance our work with our family commitments. These flexible work practices benefit us all.' TUC general secretary Brendan Barber, said: 'The attitude of employers is the biggest barrier we face to a better work-life balance. Unfortunately too few employers have yet to grasp the concept that flexible working not only makes for sound business sense but is also good news for overworked individuals.' He added: 'A more flexible approach to work is the direction in which we want to be going and I call on the UK's employers to work with unions and the government to make Britain a better, more productive place to work.'
Work Wise UK news release. ZDNet UK.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Mind googling: Conservative leader David Cameron has told a conference organised by gigantic search engine Google that work-life balance is more important than making money. The statement was welcomed by Jenny Watson, chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission, who said: 'Our own polling shows that David Cameron is right to say that voters - both men and women - value flexibility and worklife balance extremely highly,' adding: 'The right kind of laws are enabling, helping businesses to manage their workforce efficiently, such as the right to request flexible working, which is very popular with both employees and employers and underpins a new approach to a modern, productive working culture.' David Cameron's speech. EOC news release.
Harmed forces: A new drive to rid the armed forces of sexual harassment has been launched by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The move comes after a study by the MoD and Equal Opportunities Commission revealed 'widespread' problems, including offensive jokes and language, with some 99 per cent of the 9,384 servicewomen surveyed saying they had witnessed 'sexualised behaviour' in the past year and one in seven women said they had suffered a 'particularly upsetting' experience, including sexual assault. MOD news release. EOC news release. BBC News Online.
Better childcare: The government says new research proves that its commitment to childcare is driving up standards and providing more choice for parents of young children, with increased places and a better skilled workforce. Minister for children and families Beverley Hughes said the '2005 Childcare and early years providers' study conducted by BMRB on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills shows that thanks to record government investment, implementation of the 10 year childcare strategy and the introduction of the Early Years Foundation Stage, more and more parents will have the opportunity to access high quality childcare and early years provision. DfES news release. Childcare Strategy Action Plan.
On-demand childcare: The NHS is tackling absenteeism by promoting an innovative staff benefit that allows parents to find emergency childcare with less than an hour's notice. Doctors, nurses and admin staff at 22 London NHS trusts are receiving a 10 per cent discount to use the Emergency Childcare Service, with a website allowing parents to find and book a nanny or local nursery place as and when it is needed. emergencychildcare.co.uk. Personnel Today.
Maternity meanness: The UK and Ireland have the lowest levels of statutory maternity pay in Western Europe, according to a new study by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Women in these countries receive lower pay entitlements than those in some Eastern European countries and maternity benefits in Denmark and Norway are more than twice as generous as those in the UK. Mercer Human Resource Consulting news release.
London leads: London has the UK's highest percentage of women working from home. TUC research has found 38 per cent of those that are based at or usually work from home in Inner London are women, with the figure for Outer London the UK's second highest at 33.8 per cent, and the South East (excluding London) the third at 33.3 per cent - the figures compare with the national average of 31 per cent. Work Work UK news release.
Breastfeeding rights: A May survey by the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) reveals that nearly four out of five mothers want a UK wide law similar to that in Scotland which allows women to breastfeed in public. Public sector union UNISON has been lobbying Westminster to follow Scotland's example and protect women both in public and in the workplace and is backing MP David Kidney's Private Member's Bill for a breastfeeding law in England. NCT news release. UNISON news release.
Healthy mums: Working mothers are healthier, according to a new UK study. Researchers found that by the age of 54 women who had been partners, parents and employees were significantly less likely to report ill-health than women who did not fulfil all three roles. Life course social roles and women's health in mid-life: causation or selection?, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, volume 60, pages 484-489, June 2006 [abstract]. BBC News Online.
Small babies: Exposure to a range of workplace factors in pregnancy can increase the likelihood of having an under-sized infant, according to a new report. Researchers found irregular or shiftwork schedules were key problems, as well as other factors including excessive standing and high psychological demand coupled with low social support. Agathe Croteau, Sylvie Marcoux, and Chantal Brisson. Work activity in pregnancy, preventive measures, and the risk of delivering a small-for-gestational-age infant, American Journal of Public Health, volume 96, pages 846-855, 2006 [abstract]. Reuters Health.
Pensions positive: The TUC and the EOC have welcomed the government's 25 May Pensions White Paper. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said 'while we were once told our campaign objectives of a state pension linked to earnings, compulsory employer contributions and a fairer system for women were unrealistic and naïve, today they are the central pillars of the White Paper.' TUC news release. EOC news release.
IT girls? Almost half of the women working in the IT industry in the UK believe their pay package is not comparable to that of their male counterparts. The Perceptions of Equal Pay survey by IT trade body Intellect asked 450 female IT professions if they were being paid fairly, whether their company appreciates them, and how this impacts on their loyalty and revealed 49 per cent believe they face gender pay discrimination. Personnel Today.
Unbalanced bookkeepers: Employers need to help their finance staff balance their work and home lives following a promotion or they risk losing them to another company. A survey of 1,100 finance professionals by recruitment consultancy Robert Half, carried out with Accountancy Age magazine, reveals that nearly two in five (39 per cent) find balancing their work and home lives the most challenging part of gaining a promotion. Personnel Today.
Care burden: Caring responsibilities lower employment participation, according to analysis of employment patterns in England. The study suggests that carers are giving up work in order to fulfil caring responsibilities rather than taking up care responsibilities in the absence of employment opportunities and says that policymakers need to increase the availability of formal care arrangements and employers should ensure flexible working conditions for employees with caring responsibilities. Informal care and employment in England: Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey, IZA, March 2006 [abstract]. Diversity and Flexibility e-newsletter, April 2006.
Families Bill: The EOC has welcomed the government's draft Work and Families Bill, which introduces new rights for carers, and creates longer paid leave and more choice for parents during a baby's first year. In a briefing, it says it will be seeking improvements to the bill including an extension of the right to request flexible working to include all carers and parents of older children and in the longer term to all employees 'so that everyone is able to achieve a better balance in their working and private lives.' EOC briefing.
Compulsory audits: A top employment lawyer has called for a compulsory pay audit for all employers in order to address the pay gap between men and women. Arpita Dutt, from national law firm Russell Jones & Walker, said: 'We are calling on the government to make pay audits mandatory for all private sector employers, in line with those in the public sector,' adding: 'Only then will we be able to genuinely eradicate the pay gap that current law has attempted, but failed, to address.' RJW news release.
RESOURCES
Progress report on Euro teleworking deal
A deal on teleworking was agreed by Europe's unions and employers in 2002 (CTN3). The framework agreement applied to anyone who works away from their employer's premises regularly, and uses information technology to do so. It was signed in by the European social partners (ETUC for unions , UNICE representing private sector employers, UEAPME for the small & medium enterprises and CEEP for public sector employers). ETUC affiliates met in May 2006 t o review progress on the agreement. Progress varies across the member countries, according to a preliminary assessment carried out by ETUC. It found there was confusion over whether or how the agreement applied to self-employed workers, whether teleworkers should have the same employment rights as other employees, and on the workability of the voluntary agreement. There was also the issue of homeworkers, who ETUC found only had limited protection. A follow up meeting of the social partners is scheduled for 28 June.
Teleworking: progress on the 2002 framework agreement, Social Dialogue Committee, 16 May 2006. TUC summary report.
Framework agreement on telework, 2002 [pdf].
Forgotten families audio conference
A Baltimore nurse, a Honduran sweatshop worker, and a Vietnamese shoe factory labourer - if they are parents, they must all balance the often impossible demands of earning a living with raising healthy, cared-for children. Dr Jody Heymann's new book, 'Forgotten families', makes recommendations on how to improve the lot of working families everywhere. Dr Heymann, the founder of the Harvard-based Project on Global Working Families, is the guest speaker in a US Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) audio conference, which can be accessed free online.
Forgotten families: An interview with author Dr Jody Heymann, audio conference. Join the CLASP mailing list. Listen to other CLASP audio conferences online.
New Amicus 'E-Equality' newsletter
Amicus equalities department has launched a new 'E-Equality' newsletter. The monthly newsletter can be downloaded from the Amicus website.
Amicus E-Equality newsletter, issue 1 and issue 2 [pdf].
DWP research on part-time benefits
New research from the Department for Work and Pensions examines the evidence on the nature of part-time work in the UK and how part-time workers are treated in the social security and tax credit systems. The research explores the extent to which part-time work may play a role in increasing employment rates, particularly among those groups that have traditionally been defined as outside the labour market.
DWP news release. Research Report 351, Part-time work and Social Security: Increasing the options, DWP, May 2006 [pdf]. DWP research webpage.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Europe: Big differences in flexi-time arrangements
The highest proportion of companies and organisations offering flexible working time arrangements in Europe is to be found in Latvia, Sweden, Finland and the United Kingdom, a new survey on working time has found. A report from the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions adds that Cyprus, Portugal, Greece and Hungary have the fewest companies offering flexible work arrangements. On average, flexible working time arrangements exist in about one in two (48 per cent) establishments with 10 or more employees in Europe, with 16 per cent of firms surveyed only allowing workers to vary their starting and finishing times on the same day. More sophisticated schemes, allowing the accumulation of credit or debit hours, are found in 7 per cent of the establishments surveyed. A further 12 per cent offer at least some of their workers the opportunity to take full days off in compensation for accumulated credit hours. Fewer than one in seven of those surveyed (13 per cent) allowed workers to compensate for credit hours by taking longer periods off work. Jorma Karppinen, the Foundation's director, commented: 'The results of this unique survey demonstrate the benefits of flexible working time arrangements, benefits that can help attract more people into employment and retain them.' The European Foundation is running a 'Your work, your life' campaign, which 'explores the implications for working life of demographic ageing, gender mainstreaming and new working patterns, as well as looking at strategies for achieving a satisfactory work-life balance.'
European Foundation news release. Working time and worklife balance in European companies, Reidmann, Arnold; Bielenski, Harald; Szczurowska, Teresa; Wagner, Alexandra. ISBN: 92-897-0929-4, May 2006. Summary and full report [pdf].
European Foundation work-life balance webpages.
Hong Kong: British Airways accused of double standards
British Airways (BA) in Hong Kong has been accused of discriminating against its mainly female cabin crew by forcing them to retire early. Unlike their colleagues who work in ground jobs, the cabin crew are forced to retire at 45 years of age. 'Many crew feel as though they are reaching the prime of their working life and contributing valuably to the success of BA, when suddenly they are unceremoniously forced to retire like I was,' said Christina Hau, a member of British Airways Hong Kong Cabin Crew Association (BAHKICCA). The union stressed said BA is guilty of double standards, as new regulations to be introduced in the UK from October 2006 will make age discrimination illegal within the airline for its British-based employees.
Spain: Agreement to curb precarious work
Spanish trade unions, employer organisations and government signed an agreement on 9 May to tackle the widespread abuse of fixed-term work contracts. The agreement, struck after 14 months of negotiations, was welcomed by European union federation ETUC, which said it believes policymakers throughout Europe should learn the lesson that urgent measures are necessary to fight excessive flexibility in the labour market and working contracts. ETUC general secretary John Monks said: 'Europe must be open to change. However, shifting the full burden of adjustment onto workers is not the solution. To reach higher productivity and more innovation, Europe needs a secure workforce.' There is widespread abuse of fixed-term contracts in the Spanish labour market, where one third of work contracts are temporary. ETUC says improving workforce security by fighting excessive flexibility makes good social and economic sense, providing an environment to improve workers' motivation and skills. It called on other governments in Europe to identify instances of precarious work and to take action and urged the European Commission to examine what can be done on this issue at European level. The new social dialogue agreement in Spain requires that after 24 months on a fixed-term contract doing the same job in the same workplace over a reference period of 30 months, the worker's contract becomes permanent. A range of incentives are available to employers.
Global: Union says social compliance is 'cosmetic'
Garment workers around the world are worse off than they were a decade ago despite 10 years of intense activity in the name of corporate social responsibility, the global union federation for the sector had said. Neil Kearney, general secretary of ITGLWF, told the Association of Suppliers to the British Clothing Industry's conference in May that great reliance has been placed on the social auditing profession, but that intermittent visits from under-qualified auditors are not capable of bringing about real progress. 'Everywhere the story is similar: Long hours of work, low wages, workers cheated of benefits and denied fundamental rights.' He added: 'Too many of the brands and retailers are suffering from a split personality, on the one hand they claim they want their code of conduct respected, on the other they engage in purchasing practices which make this impossible, paying pitiful prices and demanding unrealistic delivery schedules. Buyers are rewarded for squeezing every extra penny out of the supplier rather than on the social compliance of the supplier concerned.' He concluded: 'Brands and retailers today have a choice, it is a choice between RP and PR - real pressure on suppliers rather than public relations in the marketplace.'
GLOBAL ROUND-UP
Decent work: A major push for more action, more coherent policies and better implementation of 'decent work' was launched on 24 May by the European Commission. Decent work, which the EC says means more and better jobs with welfare protection, equal opportunities and social dialogue, can help improve working and living conditions and appropriate policies as globalisation, technological advances and population trends all change. Promoting decent work for all: The EU contribution to the implementation of the decent work agenda in the world, press release, summary, full report [pdf] and annex [pdf].
Extended leave: Extensions to paid parental leave passed in May by the New Zealand parliament will further assist working women to achieve quality working lives, the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) has said. Carol Beaumont, CTU secretary, said however the vast majority of workers still face a drop in income when they take parental leave, and said CTU will continue to push for an increase in the payment rates, adding 'the CTU supports a legislative right to breastfeeding breaks and facilities for new mothers upon returning to work, and this is another improvement we will be pushing for.' NZCTU news release.
Garment peril: Bangladesh urgently needs to address major labour rights issues in order to stabilise the garment industry in the wake of the violent protests that erupted in May, the global union representing workers in the industry has said. ITGLWF general secretary Neil Kearney said Bangladesh's 'social reputation lies in tatters' and added many workers faced intimidation and 12-hour days, seven days a week, on starvation wages. ITGLWF news release.
Women organising women: A US report says unions must organise large numbers of women to stem the current decline in union membership and they cannot do so with an overwhelmingly male force of organisers. 'Women organising women: How do we rock the boat without getting thrown overboard?' says union must institute a systematic programme of training and on-the-job mentoring to increase senior organisers' effectiveness and to assist their efforts to recruit and retain more women organisers. Berger-Marks news release [pdf] and full report [pdf], September 2005.
Childcare works: Low income mothers who receive childcare subsidies are more likely to be employed, to stay off welfare, and to have higher earnings, according to a new report from the US Center for Law and Social Policy. Author Hannah Matthews argues for the importance of increasing investments in childcare assistance in order to help families move from welfare to work and to assist low income parents to continue working. Childcare assistance helps families work: A review of the effects of subsidy receipt on employment, CLASP, 2006 [pdf].
Home truths: The continuous rise in employment of women in Canada 'brings new evidence, if new evidence was needed, of the need for good, safe and affordable early learning and child care centres across the country,' said Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress. 'Social policy should address the reality that exists, and not try to force working mothers to return home when the vast majority of them are already working outside of home.' CLC news release.
Motherhood manifesto: There is a need for a genuine motherhood revolution in US workplaces, according to a 22 May 2006 article in The Nation. It says a Motherhood Manifesto would include paid parent leave, flexible working, after school programmes, childcare and fair wages, with the manifesto providing 'a call to action, summoning all Americans - mothers, and all who have mothers - to start a revolution to make motherhood compatible with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.' The Nation.
Newsletter (5,200 words) issued 31 May 2006
