Staff are treated as ‘throwaway workers with throwaway rights’ as technology allows new methods of exploitation, a union leader warned.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said mistreatment of staff has been transformed by the economy and technology, comparing people on zero hours contracts waiting by the phone for work to how dockers once waited by the quayside for jobs.
She said casual workers can be ‘sacked’ via apps, their livelihoods at the mercy of bosses they never meet or speak to...
For more details see ‘Sacked by app’… TUC raps zero hours exploitation (Daniel Binns, The Metro).
Showing posts with label TUC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TUC. Show all posts
Restriction of social media during a strike
Striking unions could face restrictions on their use of social media, the TUC's general secretary has told the BBC.
Frances O'Grady said an attack on trade unions was "unfinished business" for "some elements within governments".
Ministers said any restrictions would not apply to posts by individuals...
See Trade Union Bill: TUC fears over social media restrictions (BBC News) for more details.
TUC blog
It would appear that some one at the TUC or who has close links with the TUC has set up a blog to criticise the TUC.
The blog is called What's wrong at the TUC.
TUC video competition about spending cuts
The TUC invites you to make a 60 second awareness-raising advert about the Impact of the spending cuts...
For more detail click here.
For more detail click here.
Promoting trade unionism through video sharing
The TUC recently launched an appeal for individuals to make a short video, to be aired via YouTube and to appeal to the YouTube generation, that promotes the role trade unions play in the world today.Some brief details:
Welcome to the 60 Second Challenge
Your challenge is to make a short advert for the TUC for YouTube that helps to illustrate the positive role that trade unions play in the world of work/society.
It should be aimed at those who have little or no knowledge of trade unions.
The ad should display a positive message that encourages people to either join or to get involved with trade unions.
All the details are available by clicking here.
Trade union organizing and blogging
Today's post fits in neatly with one I did the other day on top union bloggers.
It concerns a blog by the TUC organising team.
Some more details:
Helping unions grow, helping unions win!
The TUC’s Organising & Recruitment Team works to support union efforts to meet the organising challenge and organise the next generation of union members and activists.
This blog records the work of the Organising & Recruitment team and provides links to news and information related to union organising.
To find out more why not visit Stronger Unions.
It concerns a blog by the TUC organising team.
Some more details:
Helping unions grow, helping unions win!
The TUC’s Organising & Recruitment Team works to support union efforts to meet the organising challenge and organise the next generation of union members and activists.
This blog records the work of the Organising & Recruitment team and provides links to news and information related to union organising.
To find out more why not visit Stronger Unions.
An agenda for the workplace from the workplace?
What to workers want?
Not an easy question to answer by anyone's standards and level of expectation.
The TUC has attempted to do this, however, and presented it's findings in a downloadable report entitled, funnily enough: "What do workers want?"
Some highlights from a survey of almost 3,000 workers:
1) Most people are satisfied with their jobs, but around one in four (6 million) is neither satisfied with their job, nor would speak highly about their organisation as an employer.
2) Almost one in three workers (30 per cent) say their organisation does not fully engage them and less than half (46 per cent) the workforce agree that their employer deserves their loyalty.
3) The top attributes that people look for in a job are fair pay, working with great people and the chance to learn new skills.
The biggest gaps between aspiration and reality are for promotion opportunities, fair pay and the chance to learn new skills.
No great surprise there except to comment on how old problems remain a feature of modern work organizations despite the claims of corporate HR initiatives and practices.
To see the report and summary for yourself see - What do workers want?
Download a copy of the report directly here.
Not an easy question to answer by anyone's standards and level of expectation.
The TUC has attempted to do this, however, and presented it's findings in a downloadable report entitled, funnily enough: "What do workers want?"
Some highlights from a survey of almost 3,000 workers:
1) Most people are satisfied with their jobs, but around one in four (6 million) is neither satisfied with their job, nor would speak highly about their organisation as an employer.
2) Almost one in three workers (30 per cent) say their organisation does not fully engage them and less than half (46 per cent) the workforce agree that their employer deserves their loyalty.
3) The top attributes that people look for in a job are fair pay, working with great people and the chance to learn new skills.
The biggest gaps between aspiration and reality are for promotion opportunities, fair pay and the chance to learn new skills.
No great surprise there except to comment on how old problems remain a feature of modern work organizations despite the claims of corporate HR initiatives and practices.
To see the report and summary for yourself see - What do workers want?
Download a copy of the report directly here.
TUC launches new virtual world project
As noted in a press release from the TUC:
May Day (Thursday 1 May) sees the launch of Union Island, an innovative new trade union project to build a home for unions and activists in the virtual world Second Life™.
Union Island will host the first ever virtual May Day, a day of training, networking and celebration to bring activists from the global union movement together in a way never before possible.
See Unions to celebrate May Day in virtual world for more details of what this involves.
May Day (Thursday 1 May) sees the launch of Union Island, an innovative new trade union project to build a home for unions and activists in the virtual world Second Life™.
Union Island will host the first ever virtual May Day, a day of training, networking and celebration to bring activists from the global union movement together in a way never before possible.
See Unions to celebrate May Day in virtual world for more details of what this involves.
Work Your Proper Hours - tomorrow
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An initiative designed to draw attention to the vast amount of unpaid work by British employees reaches its climax tomorrow.
Details include:
Work Your Proper Hours Day (22 Feb 2008) is the day when the average person who does unpaid overtime finishes the unpaid days they do every year, and starts earning for themselves.
We think that's a day worth celebrating!
If you are in anyway sceptical of how this can damage the life of employees, then listen to the podcast above (FiveLive with Victoria Derbyshire).
More and more people working on Christmas Day
According to a press release from the TUC, the number of people who work on 25th December has almost doubled in six years.
Basic data suggests:
In 1998, 72,013 people worked on Christmas Day, but by 2004 (the most recent year for which figures are available), 134,489 employees were in work on the most festive day of the year (an increase of 86 per cent).
In terms of gender:
Women are more likely be working on Christmas Day. In 2004, over 79,000 women were in work on 25 December compared to around 55,000 men.
A quick break down by general occupational group:
- 47,390 health employees (up from 30,226 in 1998)
- 12,000 employees in small shops and garages
- 12,000 who work in the UK's pubs, bars and restaurants
For more details see More people are working this Christmas than ever before says TUC.
Basic data suggests:
In 1998, 72,013 people worked on Christmas Day, but by 2004 (the most recent year for which figures are available), 134,489 employees were in work on the most festive day of the year (an increase of 86 per cent).
In terms of gender:
Women are more likely be working on Christmas Day. In 2004, over 79,000 women were in work on 25 December compared to around 55,000 men.
A quick break down by general occupational group:
- 47,390 health employees (up from 30,226 in 1998)
- 12,000 employees in small shops and garages
- 12,000 who work in the UK's pubs, bars and restaurants
For more details see More people are working this Christmas than ever before says TUC.
Show your union credentials on Facebook
The TUC has just announced a new initiative - a Facebook application for union members.Details from the TUC include:
It lets you add a little badge [see mine above or visit my blog to view it] to your Facebook profile to show everyone which trade union you're a member of.
You can also see which unions your friends are members of.
The application was initially developed for use by unions in the UK, but it is hoped we'll be able to make it available to more countries, through other national trade union federations.
You can get details of the creator of the initiative and how to add the application to your Facebook profile by visiting My Union.
Thanks to John for letting me know about the initiative - which I think is very encouraging, by-the-way.
Employers and social networking sites
A press release by the TUC about employers and how they may want to respond to their employees accessing social networking sites on work time seems to have created almost as much news as the prison officers strike yesterday.
The press release itself - Employers need to face up to the age of Facebook - appears to be about the TUC having its say on a matter that has generated quite a bit of news over the past year or so.
The TUC is certainly not suggesting accessing social networking sites should be a god given right, and instead, it is suggesting "that sensible employers, realising that their staff spend much of their waking hours in work and lead busy lives, should be trusted to spend a few minutes of their lunchbreak 'poking' their friends or making plans for outside work."
The TUC has also offered employees some idea of their rights on the matter - see Online social networking and work.
Over at the BBC's Have Your Say social networking and work appears to be a very popular debating point with around 600 comments left at the last count - probably all posted from workplaces!
I first noticed the story in The Times - see Get a life and allow your staff to use Facebook, TUC tells bosses (Christine Buckley, Frances Gibb and Michael Herman), and worth reading for the polarity of opinion on the subject.
I don't think this will be last time we hear of social networking and employment.
Who'd be a union rep?
Research from Personnel Today and the TUC reveals that a surprising 92 per cent of union reps believe they are sacrificing their careers in order to represent their colleagues even though they enjoy a largely positive, professional working relationship with their organisations' HR departments.
More than nine in ten union reps (92 per cent) responding to the survey think their career prospects have been hampered by their personal involvement with unions. Some 38 per cent believe this is definitely the case and 54 per cent believe it is possibly so.
Further details from the research include:
- Only just over a third (36 per cent) of HR professionals think that union reps careers are damaged by taking on union duties;
- Over half the HR professionals questioned (57 per cent) agree that unions are an essential part of modern employer/employee relations and that unions are a 'force for good' (52 per cent);
- On balance, a slim majority of HR professionals believe their organisations' employees would get a worse deal without their union and its reps.
For more details see a Personnel Today press release here and the TUC's here.
More than nine in ten union reps (92 per cent) responding to the survey think their career prospects have been hampered by their personal involvement with unions. Some 38 per cent believe this is definitely the case and 54 per cent believe it is possibly so.
Further details from the research include:
- Only just over a third (36 per cent) of HR professionals think that union reps careers are damaged by taking on union duties;
- Over half the HR professionals questioned (57 per cent) agree that unions are an essential part of modern employer/employee relations and that unions are a 'force for good' (52 per cent);
- On balance, a slim majority of HR professionals believe their organisations' employees would get a worse deal without their union and its reps.
For more details see a Personnel Today press release here and the TUC's here.
Is two weeks off at Christmas skiving??
An interesting article in The Guardian yesterday suggests many British workers have opted for two weeks off over the Christmas/New Year period.
For some it may not be a "choice" as a lot of school kids won't be going back to until the 8th (myself included bar a quick meeting and some stuff done in the evenings).
The article itself - The Great British Skive delays start of 2007 till January 8 (Lucy Ward, Helen Carter and Terry Macalister) - draws attention to "streets and squares in London and other city centres typically thronged with commuters remained almost deserted, while the AA reported a very quiet day on the roads."
Then, as expected, an employer organization - Federation of Small Businesses - steps in, in a Scrooge-like manner, to warn all those who've taken extended leave that "UK workers' apparent reluctance to return to the grindstone could damage the economy."
Looks like the TUC should have got in there a day early with findings that highlight how Britons put in £23 billion of unpaid overtime a year!
For some it may not be a "choice" as a lot of school kids won't be going back to until the 8th (myself included bar a quick meeting and some stuff done in the evenings).
The article itself - The Great British Skive delays start of 2007 till January 8 (Lucy Ward, Helen Carter and Terry Macalister) - draws attention to "streets and squares in London and other city centres typically thronged with commuters remained almost deserted, while the AA reported a very quiet day on the roads."
Then, as expected, an employer organization - Federation of Small Businesses - steps in, in a Scrooge-like manner, to warn all those who've taken extended leave that "UK workers' apparent reluctance to return to the grindstone could damage the economy."
Looks like the TUC should have got in there a day early with findings that highlight how Britons put in £23 billion of unpaid overtime a year!
TUC publishes guide on work blogging
WorkSmart, a part of the TUC and designed to help working people get more from work, has published some guidelines for people wishing to blog about their work (or mention it in passing) in the UK.
The basis for the article Blogging at Work is that there is a "lack of understanding and clear guidance from employers means that thousands of people in the UK are potentially putting their livelihoods at risk".
The guidelines take the follow directions:
What are the rules on blogging about work?
Can I avoid getting the sack for blogging about work?
Do any employers encourage blogging? Why?
If I am sacked for blogging, what are my rights?
Secret Santa
WorkSmart (aligned with the TUC) have set up web-page that allows employees to set up their own secret santa thing.
Details are as follows:
Secret Santa is a way of organising mystery gifts, so that everyone gets something suited to them, and nobody goes overboard giving loads of presents. Everyone buys a gift (up to a pre-determined maximum value) for someone else on the list, but nobody knows who it was that bought the gift they received.
You can use this tool to set up a Secret Santa group of your own, and it will anonymously pair everyone with a gift recipient, and email them who to buy for.
Details are as follows:
Secret Santa is a way of organising mystery gifts, so that everyone gets something suited to them, and nobody goes overboard giving loads of presents. Everyone buys a gift (up to a pre-determined maximum value) for someone else on the list, but nobody knows who it was that bought the gift they received.
You can use this tool to set up a Secret Santa group of your own, and it will anonymously pair everyone with a gift recipient, and email them who to buy for.
Access the on-line Secret Santa service here.
Hopefully, if you do the Secret Santa where you work it doesn't end up like the on The Office: An American Workplace.
The truth behind health and safety myths
The TUC has just published a report that challenges a number of urban myths about health and safety practice. These include:
- Workplaces are “risk averse” and employers are overly cautious because of the fear of health and safety regulations.
- There are now more regulations and red tape than ever.
- A local authority ordered the removal of St Georges’ flags from outside shops on safety grounds.
There are another seven urban myths and four half-truths to browse over in Health and Safety Myths: Looking at the truth behind the headlines (TUC).
- Workplaces are “risk averse” and employers are overly cautious because of the fear of health and safety regulations.
- There are now more regulations and red tape than ever.
- A local authority ordered the removal of St Georges’ flags from outside shops on safety grounds.
There are another seven urban myths and four half-truths to browse over in Health and Safety Myths: Looking at the truth behind the headlines (TUC).
Monitoring in the workplace
WorkSMART from the TUC has recently up-dated its advice for workers on monitoring and Internet policies.
The basis for the advice is as follows:
"Everyone has the right to a private life, even when at work. But privacy at work is becoming more of an issue every day.
New technology allows employers to collect substantial information about their staff, whilst surveillance techniques in the workplace are becoming increasingly sophisticated and intrusive.
Snooping on workers is now technically very easy."
An example of the questions answered by WorkSMART include:
1) How should my employer approach monitoring at work?
2) Is my boss allowed to listen to my voicemail or open my email whilst I’m away from work?
3) Is my employer allowed to monitor my vehicle?
The basis for the advice is as follows:
"Everyone has the right to a private life, even when at work. But privacy at work is becoming more of an issue every day.
New technology allows employers to collect substantial information about their staff, whilst surveillance techniques in the workplace are becoming increasingly sophisticated and intrusive.
Snooping on workers is now technically very easy."
An example of the questions answered by WorkSMART include:
1) How should my employer approach monitoring at work?
2) Is my boss allowed to listen to my voicemail or open my email whilst I’m away from work?
3) Is my employer allowed to monitor my vehicle?
WorkSMART also provide a Know Your Rights leaflet on privacy at work
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