Women, fear and pay

Fear factor means equal pay for women is still just a dream - One reason why women get paid less is that they are more afraid to ask for a pay rise. Two-thirds of women claimed they were too scared to ask for more money, compared with just a quarter of men. Suggests to me that the workplaces are still places where you fear speaking out about simple and ongoing injustices.

The most marginalised people remain unemployable - More than 60% of employers say they would exclude anyone with a criminal record, a history of drug or alcohol problems or a history of long-term sickness/incapacity from the recruitment process. A role for government of would it be more 'red tape' for employers?

Employers warned to watch out for bogus job applicants - a growing number of 'serial saboteur' job applicants are said to be making multiple applications for an advertised position under different identities, in an attempt to prove that an employer discriminates against applicants of a particular race, gender or disability. Would they be saboteurs if they uncovered illicit practices? Are employers transparent as they could be with recruitment and selection procedures?

Unions to call for UK workplace rights to mirror European - the TUC conference next week may be used to discuss the claim that unions were "conned" by the government with the so-called 'Warwick Agreement' on workers' rights, reached before the general election. And not for the first time...!