May 2017: South West Union News

West Country workers cannot afford another real wages slump

Inflation has overtaken wage growth and working people are still £20 a week worse off on average than they were before the financial crash in 2008. Real earnings are now falling by 0.2%. The South West TUC is calling on all the political parties standing in the region to explain how they’ll create better paid jobs.

Nigel Costley, South West TUC Regional Secretary said: “The last thing South West workers need is another real wage slump. But rising prices are hammering pay packets.

“Any party that’s serious about giving Britain a pay rise will have a plan to create well-paid jobs where we need them most. They will have a plan to raise the minimum wage to £10 as soon as possible. And they will have a plan to stop the unfair pay cuts that are making hard-working midwives, firefighters and nurses thousands of pounds worse off.”

Public sector workers facing further years of falling income levels are being especially hit hard and many key services are struggling to recruit staff.

British workers are stuck in the longest pay squeeze since Victorian times and there is still worse to come. The OECD forecast that that real wages in the UK are on course to fall by -0.5% by the close of 2018 despite real wage growth in other countries will increase by an average of +2.6%. The UK will be one of just five OECD countries to experience a fall in real wages – with only Greece, Italy and Austria set to fare worse over 2017 and 2018.

Why aren’t wages rising?

Kate Bell, TUC Head of the Economic and Social Affairs Department explains why boosting workers’ ability to organise has to be a critical part of the effort to get wages rising again. Read the blog here

What will you earn in 2022

To help you gaze into the future, the TUC has a nifty pay calculator. It will show you what might happen to your own pay under the government’s forecasts.

Try the 2022 pay calculator now

Home is where the work is going

Homeworking in the South West up by 12,000 over the last year. 196,000 employees in the South West worked from home in 2016 - up 6.52% since the previous year. The region has the highest proportion of homeworkers: 1 in 11 workers regularly work from home.

The number of women working from home in the UK has increased by 10.5% (64,000) over the past year but men still account for the majority of homeworkers, with 966,000 regularly working from home in 2016, compared to 673,000 women.

Older employees are more likely to work from home with 1 in 13 workers in their forties and fifties working from home. Just 1 in 36 workers (168,000) in their twenties regularly work from home.

Government research shows that another 4 million UK workers would like to work from home for at least some of their working week but are not given the chance. Properly-managed homeworking can save time and money on commutes, give more flexibility over working time, and make it easier for carers and parents doing the school run.

Homeworking is also an important way for disabled people to access the labour market, currently used by 190,000 disabled people across the UK.

For employers, homeworking makes recruitment easier, can increase productivity, and reduce premises costs. The TUC warns, however, that homeworkers must be properly supported. Homeworkers’ additional bills should be covered, and they should have access to the right equipment.

Work still fails those with mental illness

Only 1 in 4 (26.2%) people with a mental illness or phobia lasting for twelve months or more are in work, according to a new report published by the TUC. Mental health and employment, finds that while 4 in 5 (80.4%) non-disabled people are in work, people with mental illness, anxiety or depression have substantially lower employment rates:

• Only 1 in 4 (26.2%) people with a mental illness lasting (or expected to last) more than a year are in work.
• Less than half (45.5%) of people with depression or anxiety lasting more than 12 months are in work.

The TUC is concerned that this suggests employers are failing to make adequate changes in the workplace to enable people with mental illnesses, anxiety or depression to get a job, or stay in work. Mental health problems can often be 'invisible' to others, so a lack of mental health awareness amongst managers and employers is also likely to be a factor.

The TUC report is here Mental health and employment

Safety after Brexit

The TUC’s new briefing, Protecting Health and Safety after Brexit, warns trade unionists and working people that health and safety protections are at risk from the government’s Brexit plans. The briefing outlines the relationship between UK and EU regulation, the potential risks to health and safety regulation that the Government’s Brexit proposals pose and what unions should be seeking.

Bridgwater Argos workers set for two week strike

Deliveries to Argos stores could be severely disrupted when up to 1,400 warehouse workers, including those employed at the Huntworth near Bridgwater site, strike in a dispute over job security and terms and conditions.

The warehouse workers who prepare deliveries for Argos stores are fearful that a contracting-out culture will lead to job losses and a deterioration in their terms and conditions.

See more here

Solidarity Hour

Friday May 19^th 4-5pm, when senior Unite reps will be present

ARGOS, Huntworth Business Park, Bridgwater TA6 6TS

Bridgwater Trades Union Council is calling for local trades unionists to show solidarity with the 280 Unite members at the Huntworth picket lines, staffed, as a minimum, around shift change-overs at 6am, 2pm and 10pm every week-day.

RMT strike at Arriva

Friday 19th May Picket line 5.30am to 7pm.

Arriva Train Care, Barton Hill Depot, Days Road, Bristol

RMT members had a 96% ballot in favour of strike action across the country because Arriva won't negotiate with the union over pay and conditions. RMT Branch officers, reps and members are welcome to visit the picket line and give support.

Poole shipping protest

RMT members protested against low-cost crewing in the shipping industry – as practiced by local employer Condor Ferries – outside the European Maritime Day conference in Poole. Over 500,000 seafarers work in European waters, yet most (56%) are non-EU nationals on poverty pay. 87,000 ratings jobs in the UK shipping industry, yet only 10% are held by UK seafarers with 3,000 UK ratings set to retire by 2020.

Living on the edge

Monday 26th June 9am-4.30pm

Congress house, London WC1B 3LS

Job insecurity is still on the rise in Britain. Ten years on from the Commission on Vulnerable Employment, the TUC is hosting a major conference to discuss how unions and other civil organisations can tackle insecure work. To improve protections for insecure workers in the UK, the TUC is calling for the political parties to make manifesto commitments to:

• Ban zero-hours contracts: people working regular hours should have a right to a guaranteed-hours contract.
• Give people on variable-hours contracts a right to overtime pay for hours outside of their contracts.
• Give all workers to have a right to a written statement of terms, conditions and working hours, from day one.
• Ensure everyone at work to get the same rights as an employee, unless the employer can show that they are genuinely self-employed.
• Guarantee agency workers the going rate for the job, on an equal basis with directly-employed workers.

Speakers include: Frances O'Grady, General Secretary of the TUC; Matthew Taylor, head of the government's independent review into modern employment practices; Trade Union general secretaries and union organisers from the front line of the fight against insecure work.

Register your place here

Apprentice rights at work

Unionlearn and TUC Education have a new eNote – online course  –  aimed at helping apprentices, and those who support them, understand their rights at work.

The new interactive eNote Apprenticeships – know your rights explains why a quality Apprenticeship is a great way to earn money while developing skills for a rewarding career, and explains that new apprentices will be entering the world of work but learning as they do so, studying for a qualification, and possibly a degree.

The eNote answers lots of questions that new apprentices need to know and

highlights what makes a high quality apprenticeship, what commitment an apprentice would have to sign up to and gives a number of case studies around different apprentices. To access the new eNote click here

Ines Lage sets to work

The South West TUC has recruited Ines Lage as its new Policy and Campaigns Support Officer. Ines has come from Bristol Citizens Advice where she has given support to clients on a wide range of issues as well as being involved in a number of local campaigns. Born in Portugal, Ines studied law at the University of Bristol including spending a year teaching English in France.

Zero tolerance of gender-based violence

By signing the Bristol Zero Tolerance pledge, the South West TUC has confirmed it will continue to push for decent jobs in Bristol, fight to end discrimination and gender-based violence, and support unions to ensure that all workers are protected from abuse and harassment.

Read the Blog here

John Bees funeral

Tuesday 23rd May 11.15am

St Mary's church, High Street, Shirehampton Bristol BS11 0DU 

The funeral of John Bees will be at St Mary’s Chruch and followed by committal at Canford Crematorium at 12.45pm. Then back the Shirehampton working men's club - food will be available.   

John was chair of the former TGWU South West region. He was the convenor at The Bristol Port Company for many years, including during the years of transition from public to private ownership. He also served as a leading Bristol City Councillor for many years.

John’s family really want people to come and celebrate his life and would welcome seeing people even if they can only attend part of the day.