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Employment newsThe role of modern union representativesIn April 2008, the Confederation of British Industry, the Trades Union Congress and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform launched a joint project to describe the role of modern union representatives and the positive contribution they can make to the workplace. The three parties aim to publish a joint statement about these issues around the end of 2008, after assembling evidence from a range of other organisations and experts. The joint statement will present case study evidence showing how management and lay union representatives have worked positively together. These real-life examples, drawn from specially-commissioned research, will also identify the benefits such an approach can deliver. For more information about this project, or if you have information about potential case studies which you believe the project group should consider, please contact:BERR Marleen Jannink Email: marleen.jannink@berr.gsi.gov.uk Telephone: 020 7215 3135 CBI Katja Hall Email: katja.hall@cbi.org.uk Telephone: 0207 395 8265 TUC Paul Nowak Email: pnowak@tuc.org.uk Telephone: 020 7467 1218 Impact of changes to Sex Discrimination ActThe former Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) brought judicial review proceedings against the Government in relation to some of the provisions of the Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005 which amended the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 to implement the Equal Treatment (Amendment) Directive. The judgment of the Court handed down on 12 March 2007 requires Government to make some amendments to provisions in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 on pregnancy and maternity leave discrimination and harassment. The regulations that will make these changes to the Sex Discrimination Act have been laid before Parliament and will come into effect on 6 April 2008:
CBI lobbying moderate approach to NMWThe announcement of the rate of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) for October 2008 reflects the CBI’s call for moderation in the face of an uncertain economic climate and rising business costs. The hourly rate will rise by 3.8% to £5.73 – lower than both RPI and average earnings growth for the second year in succession. The TUC called for a rise to more than £6.00 – 8.7% – while other unions had called for rates as high as £8.00. The CBI praised the Low Pay Commission’s stance of not increasing the minimum wage by more than the growth in average earnings, and taking into account the prevailing economic climate and firms' ability to pay. The CBI's director of HR Policy Susan Anderson sits on the Commission.Unsuitable agency work legislation opposedThe CBI is lobbying MPs and key stakeholders to oppose the Private Member’s Bill on agency work at committee stage and third reading.CBI director-general Richard Lambert met Secretary of State for Business John Hutton recently to restate our opposition to either domestic or European legislation that would damage a vital component of the UK’s flexible labour market. Richard will call on the minister to continue to present a realistic view of the value agency work delivers to the UK, highlighting that enforcement of the existing rights that agency workers have will deliver better protection for vulnerable workers, rather than costly and complex additional legislation.New work permit systemCBI staff are working to ensure the new points-based system (PBS) for work permits delivers for employers. We have supported the principle of the system – based on the Australian model – which has the potential to deliver a balance between labour market demand and the impact of migration on society. At two recent meetings however, CBI staff emphasised that the system should not be rushed to meet political deadlines or be too inflexible in its first months. A pragmatic approach is required. The government has not yet completed the design of the system, yet is expecting all firms to use it from September.EC 'to revise' Works Council DirectiveThe European Commission has launched a second stage consultation of social partners on plans to revise the European Works Council Directive. This consultation contains a number of potentially unwelcome proposals, such as strengthening rights to information and consultation; recognising trade union's contribution in forming EWC agreements; and giving employee representatives a right to training. The CBI will be consulting members through our HR policy committees but would also welcome views from those not represented on them. For more information call Rob Don on 020 7395 8065.For the latest CBI thinking on employment issues, see our business summaries. If you need free Adobe Acrobat PDF reader software or help with PDFs, go to http://access.adobe.com (opens in new window). If you need PDF documents in alternate formats, email the web editor. Click here to go to the Policy Work page. |
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