TUC calls for at least £500 a week statutory redundancy pay

The TUC today (Friday) welcomed the increase in the amount of an employees’ weekly earnings which counts towards statutory redundancy pay from £330 to £350, which takes effect this Sunday (1 February).

Although the £20 increase will be welcome to the thousands of people who find themselves joining the dole queue each week, the £350 is still far lower in real terms than the original value of statutory redundancy pay when it was introduced in 1965. The TUC would like to see the weekly limit increase to at least £500 to provide a financial cushion for the newly unemployed.

Official statistics show that 46.2 per cent of UK employees earn more than £350 a week, so a significant amount of the workforce will still be losing out with a statutory limit of £350 for redundancy pay.

To ensure that workers are properly compensated when they lose their jobs, the TUC believes the Chancellor should increase the weekly limit on statutory redundancy pay to at least £500, to help restore the real value of the limit.

The current weekly rate severely limits the amount of redundancy pay available as the calculation, which is based on pay and length of service, ignores any weekly pay above £350.

To further assist those who have been made redundant, the TUC believes the amount that people receive in redundancy pay before they have to pay tax – frozen at £30,000 since 1989 – should now be increased to £50,000. This would have been the current level had the tax threshold increased in line with inflation.

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie said: “With unemployment soon due to exceed two million, more than 1,500 people a week are losing their jobs. Many will be facing redundancy and unemployment for the first time in their lives.

“There can be no assumption that the people who are losing their jobs will find it easy to get new ones, and they will need all the help they can get with redundancy pay, retraining and personal advice.

“They will also need resources to pay their housing and food bills.

“Many decent employers, especially those that recognise unions, already offer their staff more generous redundancy payments than the statutory limit. The statutory limit should be raised to reflect more closely the real cost to the individual of losing their job.

“Ministers must increase minimum redundancy pay to at least £500 a week and let people take up to £50,000 of their redundancy pay tax free.”

The TUC recently launched a package of support for workers who have been made redundant, or are at risk of redundancy or of losing their homes due to the economic downturn.

The package includes two new free booklets – Coping with the Economic Downturn and Facing Redundancy – as well as updated information about redundancies, how to use JobCentre Plus, how to look for a new job, and what training and benefits individuals are entitled to on www.worksmart.org.uk, the TUC’s website for people at work. The website not only has downloads of both leaflets, but also contains questions and answers on all aspects of redundancy.

Midlands TUC welcomes auto-industry support, but package cannot be "last word"

Responding to Lord Mandelson's statement Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie said:

"There is much to welcome in Lord Mandelson's announcement today. He has accepted the case for support and has rightly put emphasis on training and securing a low-carbon future for the automotive sector. This is exactly the kind of sensible government intervention in industrial policy that the TUC has long advocated. But employees in the sector will be worried that not enough is being done to keep them in work during the recession ready for the recovery. This should not be the last word."

TUC calls for end to discrimination and hatred on Holocaust Memorial Day

The TUC is calling for an end to discrimination and prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people (LGBT) at the Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) national commemoration event in Coventry today (Sunday).

HMD itself is on Tuesday (27 January), on the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, where 1.6 million men, women and children were killed in the Nazi holocaust.

HMD aims to prevent the holocaust being forgotten or repeated, and serves to remind people of the crimes and racism of both the holocaust and of more recent genocides across the world.

Alongside the six million Jewish victims of Nazi persecution, hundreds of thousands of others were targeted by Hitler’s regime – including union members and LGBT people.

The TUC LGBT committee is attending the event in Coventry, and is urging LGBT people to support HMD events taking place around the country on Tuesday.

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie said: “Unions have always stood up to the kind of discrimination, prejudice and hatred that led to the Nazi holocaust.

“LGBT people were among the millions of victims of Hitler’s brutal regime, and today LGBT communities are a vital part of the resistance to modern versions of this hatred. I am proud that LGBT union members are taking part in the event.”

The event will see local people stand side by side with national leaders and survivors of genocide and conflict as well as international survivors of Nazi persecution, and will include survivor testimonies, poetry, drama and time for reflection.

Midlands TUC welcomes government drive on minimum wage in Birmingham

The Midlands TUC has welcomed a government initiative to raise awareness of the National Minimum Wage in Birmingham. The visit will take place on Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd January when a team of National Minimum Wage Ambassadors will set out their stall in Edgbaston Street, between the Bull Ring and the Rag Market.

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie said: “We are glad to see that the Government is taking a proactive stance on the minimum wage and is bringing the message home in Birmingham. Trade unions are absolutely determined to ensure that all workers can get their rights and that is particularly so at a time when many workers are feeling vulnerable at work. There must be no hiding place for rogue employers who cheat their workers and we are pleased that new penalties are to be introduced for employers who flout the law”.

Royal Assent for the Employment Act has paved the way for new penalties to come into force in April, as part of government’s crackdown on those who try to exploit workers. The changes introduce unlimited fines for non-compliance for the most serious cases, removing the maximum limit of £5,000.

The roadshow will have facilities to report cases of abuse, while fully trained staff will be on the spot to give expert face-to-face advice. Visitors to the events will also hear local people tell their stories of underpayment and the help they received tackling wage abuse.

More than one million people across the UK benefit from annual rises in the National Minimum Wage. On October 1st, rates rose to £5.73 for workers aged 22 and over; £4.77 for 18-21 year olds and £3.53 for those aged 16 and 17.

Anyone worried they may not be getting the National Minimum Wage can call the NMW helpline on 0845 6000 678. Support is offered in more than 100 languages and callers can remain anonymous if they wish.

Midlands TUC welcomes government drive on minimum wage in Nottingham

The Midlands TUC has welcomed a government initiative to raise awareness of the National Minimum Wage in Nottingham. The visit will take place on Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd January when a team of National Minimum Wage Ambassadors will set out their stall in the Old Market Square.

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie said: “We are glad to see that the Government is taking a proactive stance on the minimum wage and is bringing the message home in Nottingham. Trade unions are absolutely determined to ensure that all workers can get their rights and that is particularly so at a time when many workers are feeling vulnerable at work. There must be no hiding place for rogue employers who cheat their workers and we are pleased that new penalties are to be introduced for employers who flout the law”.

Royal Assent for the Employment Act has paved the way for new penalties to come into force in April, as part of government’s crackdown on those who try to exploit workers. The changes introduce unlimited fines for non-compliance for the most serious cases, removing the maximum limit of £5,000.

The roadshow will have facilities to report cases of abuse, while fully trained staff will be on the spot to give expert face-to-face advice. Visitors to the events will also hear local people tell their stories of underpayment and the help they received tackling wage abuse.

More than one million people across the UK benefit from annual rises in the National Minimum Wage. On October 1st, rates rose to £5.73 for workers aged 22 and over; £4.77 for 18-21 year olds and £3.53 for those aged 16 and 17.

Anyone worried they may not be getting the National Minimum Wage can call the NMW helpline on 0845 6000 678. Support is offered in more than 100 languages and callers can remain anonymous if they wish.

Midlands TUC on the latest unemployment figures

Commenting on the official figures published today (Wednesday) which show that unemployment increased to 1.92 million between September and November last year, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie said:

“There is no disguising how bad today’s employment figures are. Compared with last month’s figures unemployment is up, employment is down, the number of redundancies is up and the number of job vacancies is down.

“And compared with a year ago the picture is even worse – the unemployment rate is higher for both men and women, for every age group and for every part of the UK except Northern Ireland.

“More importantly these figures stop at November 2008 and do not take into account the redundancies announced over the past eight weeks at companies like Woolworths, Santander, Barclays, Denby, Land Rover, JCB, Burberry, Zavvi, Grattan and Empire Direct. Many of these companies have shed jobs in the Midlands.

“Unfortunately, it seems certain that unemployment will continue to rise for at least the first six months of 2009, with a very strong chance it will pass the 2.5 million mark by June.”

Midlands TUC welcomes government drive on minimum wage in Coventry

The Midlands TUC has welcomed a government initiative to raise awareness of the National Minimum Wage in Coventry. The visit will take place on Wednesday 21st January when a team of National Minimum Wage Ambassadors will set out their stall by the Godiva Statue on Bank Street.

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie said: “We are glad to see that the Government is taking a proactive stance on the minimum wage and is bringing the message home in Coventry. Trade unions are absolutely determined to ensure that all workers can get their rights and that is particularly so at a time when many workers are feeling vulnerable at work. There must be no hiding place for rogue employers who cheat their workers and we are pleased that new penalties are to be introduced for employers who flout the law”.

Royal Assent for the Employment Act has paved the way for new penalties to come into force in April, as part of government’s crackdown on those who try to exploit workers. The changes introduce unlimited fines for non-compliance for the most serious cases, removing the maximum limit of £5,000.

The roadshows will have facilities to report cases of abuse, while fully trained staff will be on the spot to give expert face-to-face advice. Visitors to the events will also hear local people tell their stories of underpayment and the help they received tackling wage abuse.

More than one million people across the UK benefit from annual rises in the National Minimum Wage. On October 1st, rates rose to £5.73 for workers aged 22 and over; £4.77 for 18-21 year olds and £3.53 for those aged 16 and 17.

Anyone worried they may not be getting the National Minimum Wage can call the NMW helpline on 0845 6000 678. Support is offered in more than 100 languages and callers can remain anonymous if they wish.

Midlands TUC welcomes first interest rate decision of 2009

Commenting on the Bank of England’s decision today (Thursday) to cut interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to 1.5 per cent, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie said:

“Though not unexpected, this is a welcome move. Banks and building societies must now pass this cut on to business and mortgage borrowers.
“But today’s cut will not fix the banking system and get banks lending again. With more job losses being announced every day, the Government and the Bank of England must stand ready to take further action to boost the economy and make credit available once more, such as action to take out the toxic debts that are still hobbling the financial system.“

431,000 people in the West Midlands are working unpaid overtime

431,000 people in the West Midlands worked unpaid overtime in 2008, worth a total of £2 billion, according to an analysis of official statistics published by the TUC today (Thursday).

Employees who work unpaid overtime would receive an extra £4,674 a year if they were paid for the additional hours they are putting in – an increase of £175 since last year. The average amount of unpaid overtime worked is seven hours six minutes a week.

The number of people working unpaid overtime in the West Midlands increased by 5.6 per cent (+23,000) in 2008. The biggest increases were in London (+79,000), the East Midlands (+61,000) and Eastern England (53,000). The number of people working unpaid overtime fell in the South East (-26,000) and Scotland (-11,000).

The TUC has calculated that if everyone who works unpaid overtime did all their unpaid work at the start of the year, the first day they would get paid would be Friday 27 February. The TUC traditionally declares this ‘Work Your Proper Hours Day’ and makes a light-hearted call for staff to work their proper hours for at least one day a year and for employers to thank their staff for regularly putting in the extra hours at work.

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie said: “After years of progress, the numbers doing unpaid overtime has increased for the second year in a row. This is disappointing.

“But while some of this is due to the longs-hours culture that still dogs too many British workplaces, the recession will now be making many people scared of losing their job in the year ahead and joining the ever-growing dole-queue.

“Inevitably people will be putting in extra hours if they think it can help protect against redundancy or keep their employer in business.

“This is not the year therefore for our usual light-hearted ‘Work Your Proper Hours Day’. But this does not mean people should ignore excessive working. Friday 27 February should still be used to think through working hours. Long hours are bad for people’s health, and employers should never forget that each extra hour worked makes people less productive once they are over a sensible working week.

“The recession should instead provide a spur to make workplaces more productive, and for managers to get staff to work together, not compete for who can stay the latest.”

East Midlands has biggest increase in the amount of unpaid overtime worked

382,000 people in the East Midlands worked unpaid overtime in 2008, worth a total of £1.8 billion, according to an analysis of official statistics published by the TUC today (Thursday).

Employees who work unpaid overtime would receive an extra £4,756 a year if they were paid for the additional hours they are putting in – an extra £565 since last year – the biggest increase in the UK. The average amount of unpaid overtime is seven hours 18 minutes a week.

The East Midlands had the second biggest increase in the number of people working unpaid overtime (+61,000) after London (+79,000) in 2008. The number of people working unpaid overtime fell in the South East (-26,000) and Scotland (-11,000).

The TUC has calculated that if everyone who works unpaid overtime did all their unpaid work at the start of the year, the first day they would get paid would be Friday 27 February. The TUC traditionally declares this ‘Work Your Proper Hours Day’ and makes a light-hearted call for staff to work their proper hours for at least one day a year and for employers to thank their staff for regularly putting in the extra hours at work.

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie said: “After years of progress, the numbers doing unpaid overtime has increased for the second year in a row. This is disappointing.

“But while some of this is due to the longs-hours culture that still dogs too many British workplaces, the recession will now be making many people scared of losing their job in the year ahead and joining the ever-growing dole-queue.

“Inevitably people will be putting in extra hours if they think it can help protect against redundancy or keep their employer in business.

“This is not the year therefore for our usual light-hearted ‘Work Your Proper Hours Day’. But this does not mean people should ignore excessive working. Friday 27 February should still be used to think through working hours. Long hours are bad for people’s health, and employers should never forget that each extra hour worked makes people less productive once they are over a sensible working week.

“The recession should instead provide a spur to make workplaces more productive, and for managers to get staff to work together, not compete for who can stay the latest.”

- To find out more about ‘Work Your Proper Hours Day’ visit www.workyourproperhoursday.com
- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

Apprenticeship funding boost will help thousands of people into employment

Responding to proposals announced today (Wednesday) by the Secretary of State of Universities, Innovation and Skills John Denham that the Government is to increase funding for apprentices by £140 million and introduce commitments to training and apprenticeships in all publicly-let contracts, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie said:

“Today’s funding boost will give thousands of people the chance to re-train or learn new skills as apprentices.

“We also welcome plans to use procurement to ensure that any private sector company awarded a Government contract is committed to skills and apprentices too.

“As redundancies mount, the Government must take every step to help people back into the labour market as soon as possible. We cannot afford to leave unemployed people on the scrap heap, as has been the case in previous recessions.”

Bank must cut rates but the high street banks must pass it on, says TUC

As the Monetary Policy Committee begins its January meeting today (Wednesday), the TUC is calling on the Bank of England to opt for another substantial cut in interest rates, and for more to be done to make sure borrowers get the full benefit of any cut.

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie said: “Most commentators agree that with 2009 getting off to the gloomiest possible start, another big cut in interest rates, of between 0.5 and one per cent, is crucial if confidence is to return to the UK economy.

“But while some house owners and businesses have benefitted from much reduced monthly mortgage and loan payments, other banks and building societies have not been so generous.

“The Government must get tough with the banks who are failing to pass on the recent cuts, otherwise any drop in rates tomorrow will be meaningless as firms continue to go to the wall and thousands of workers find themselves joining the dole queue.”