Colin Hampton presentation

Cheryl Pidgeon, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary, presented a copy of the History of the Tolpuddle Martyrs to Colin Hampton to celebrate twenty five years of service to his community. Colin joined the Derbyshire Unemployed Workers Centre as Co-ordinator in 1985 and has been at the forefront of the campaign for justice for unemployed workers ever since.

"Colin is an inspiring figure, a great campaigner and not afraid to tell it like it is to the powers that be," said Cheryl. "It is a mark of the man that he was late for his own celebration event because he was helping a member of the public who came for advice late on Friday. Colin wouldn't walk away from someone in need - and he never has".

Threat of double dip recession looms large, warns TUC

Commenting on figures published today (Tuesday) by the Office for National Statistics which show that the UK economy is estimated to have grown by 0.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2009, Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said:
“The 2.5 million people currently without work will draw little comfort from the news that the UK is now officially out of recession. Unemployment will increase again, with more people continuing to face long spells out of work.
“No sectors of the economy are fully recovered and areas such as construction are still really struggling. Tough decisions lie ahead to get Britain back in full working order.”
“These figures show just how fragile the economy is. With the threat of a double dip recession looming large, it would be madness to cut public spending now."

TUC launches new guide to family friendly working

The TUC has today (Tuesday) launched a new guide on how to persuade employers of the benefits of introducing family friendly policies at work.

The TUC guide says that unions have led the way in calling for more family-friendly working. The issue is an increasingly high priority for unions, with work-life advice now the most popular equality issue that members ask their union rep for guidance on. The guide makes the case for good family friendly working practices and features case studies where unions have negotiated forward thinking policies with employers. Good flexible working practices benefit staff and their companies by helping to retain employees, increase productivity and morale, the guide says.

However, while millions of workers and their families have benefitted from the growth of flexible working, the guide warns that poorly managed workplaces can do harm more than good, often leading to long and unsocial hours.


The guide explains the various legal entitlements to paid and unpaid time off, as well as the right to request flexible working. Unions are often able to negotiate policies that go well beyond the legal minimum, with some of the most effective policies open to all staff and not just parents, the guide says.


The TUC says that many employers still base family friendly working practices on traditional notions of family. This is likely to exclude many workers such as fathers and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, who also have rights as parents and carers, the guide says.


Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon (pictured) said: “Unions have led the way in the long battle for more family friendly rights and it’s now one of the main issues that members ask their union rep for guidance on.


“As fewer parents and carers fit the stereotypical model of the breadwinner husband with part-time working wife, it’s important for union reps to be fully informed on everyone’s legal entitlements.


“Our new guide should help union reps negotiate better family friendly working practices. After all, as the examples in our guide show, good policies can benefit both staff and employers alike.”


The TUC guide is available to download from
www.tuc.org.uk/extras/familyfriendlyguide.pdf

Midlands TUC condemns English Defence League presence in Stoke-on-Trent

The Midlands TUC today (Saturday) issued a statement condemning the English Defence League for holding a rally in the centre of Stoke-on-Trent.


Cheryl Pidgeon, Regional Secretary of the Midlands TUC said, “We know that this group includes football hooligans and racist thugs who are intent on causing trouble. Their claim to be protesting against radical Islam has been shown to be a fraud, as their behaviour in other cities has shown, where they quickly descend into exposing their hate for all Muslims. They have deliberately chosen to come to Stoke-on-Trent on the day that a local football match takes place, with Macclesfield visiting Port Vale. Only the television schedule has prevented the EDL presence clashing with the FA Cup match between Stoke City and Arsenal as the game has been moved to Sunday.

The timing is designed to cause maximum disruption to the people of Stoke-on-Trent and will place severe demands on police resources today. The Midlands TUC rejects the EDL message of hate, and would urge the people of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire to do the same, leaving the EDL in no doubt that their shameful politics is not welcome in this fine city.”

West Midlands workers are giving away £2 billion of unpaid overtime

West midlands workers gave away over £2 billion in unpaid overtime in 2009, a TUC analysis of official statistics reveals today (Thursday).
The TUC analysis shows that 397,000 million people worked unpaid overtime in the west midlands in 2009, a decline of 34,000 since 2008.
Staff who did unpaid overtime worked an average of 7 hours 30 minutes a week, worth £5,156 a year and an increase of £484 since 2008.
The biggest rises in the value of unpaid overtime have taken place in London (+£498), the North West (+£492) and the North East (+£474). Wales is the only area in which the value of unpaid overtime fell (-£392).
Of the five million employees who worked unpaid overtime, nearly 900,000 worked more than ten hours a week for free. Workers in Northern Ireland (23.1 per cent), the East Midlands (21.3 per cent) and London (20.6 per cent) were the most likely to do more than ten hours of unpaid overtime a week.
With many employers and staff agreeing to reduce hours in order to avoid job losses, the reduction in working time has had a knock on effect on the number of people working paid and unpaid overtime, the TUC says.
If everyone who worked unpaid overtime did it from the start of the year, they would start getting paid on Friday 26 February. The TUC has declared this day “Work Your Proper Hours Day” and will call on bosses to thank staff for the extra work they are putting in to help businesses through the recession.
Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said: “The recession has forced many employees to work less hours in an effort to save jobs and this has also had an effect on the amount of unpaid overtime worked.
“This flexibility and the sacrifices made by staff has saved jobs and kept companies afloat. Bosses should use Work Your Proper Hours Day to thank staff for the extra effort they are putting in to help their business through the recession.
“But there are still 397,000 workers in this region who are working too many hours for which they are not getting paid. This long hours culture causes stress and damages people’s health.
“Most employers are understandably focused on fighting their way through the recession. But they shouldn’t forget that working cultures such as pointless presenteeism – which keeps people at their desks for no good reason – is not just bad for staff but bad for business too.”

East Midlands workers are giving away £1.9 billion of unpaid overtime

East midlands workers gave away nearly £1.9 billion in unpaid overtime in 2009, a TUC analysis of official statistics reveals today (Thursday). The TUC analysis shows that 374,000 million people worked unpaid overtime in the east midlands in 2009, a decline of just 6,000 since 2008.
Staff who did unpaid overtime worked an average of 7 hours 24 minutes a week, worth £5,072 a year and an increase of £316 since 2008.
The biggest rises in the value of unpaid overtime have taken place in London (+£498), the North West (+£492) and the North East (+£474). Wales is the only area in which the value of unpaid overtime fell (-£392).
Of the five million employees who worked unpaid overtime, nearly 900,000 worked more than ten hours a week for free. Workers in Northern Ireland (23.1 per cent), the East Midlands (21.3 per cent) and London (20.6 per cent) were the most likely to do more than ten hours of unpaid overtime a week.
With many employers and staff agreeing to reduce hours in order to avoid job losses, the reduction in working time has had a knock on effect on the number of people working paid and unpaid overtime, the TUC says.
If everyone who worked unpaid overtime did it from the start of the year, they would start getting paid on Friday 26 February. The TUC has declared this day “Work Your Proper Hours Day” and will call on bosses to thank staff for the extra work they are putting in to help businesses through the recession.
Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said: “The recession has forced many employees to work less hours in an effort to save jobs and this has also had an effect on the amount of unpaid overtime worked.
“This flexibility and the sacrifices made by staff has saved jobs and kept companies afloat. Bosses should use Work Your Proper Hours Day to thank staff for the extra effort they are putting in to help their business through the recession.
“But there are still 374,000 workers in this region who are working too many hours for which they are not getting paid. This long hours culture causes stress and damages people’s health.
“Most employers are understandably focused on fighting their way through the recession. But they shouldn’t forget that working cultures such as pointless presenteeism – which keeps people at their desks for no good reason – is not just bad for staff but bad for business too.”

Midlands TUC advice for getting to and from work in the snow

With snow and ice already covering much of the UK and weather reports suggesting that the snowstorms are moving south, the TUC has  issued advice for workers and their employers on what to do when the weather takes a turn for the worse.

While workers should make every reasonable effort to get into work, the TUC says that employees shouldn’t attempt to travel if it’s not safe to do so, particularly if they live in isolated areas. Employers in areas of the country already affected by the snowy conditions should already have put out advice to their staff and employers based in areas yet to be hit should be doing so now, says the TUC.

Employers should keep an eye on the weather during the cold snap, taking care that workers don’t get trapped at work and put at risk as the snow starts to fall. Workers should also let their employers know if they are not able to make it into work in the morning, the TUC says.

With the snow causing problems on the UK’s transport network, the TUC says that it makes sense for employers to allow staff who are able to do so to work from home rather than struggle with a lengthy commute to work.

Many employers already have bad weather policies which set out what is expected of staff and what they should do when snow, ice and a lack of public transport prevents them from getting into work. Any ‘snow’ policy should also cover what parents should do if their local schools close and they have no alternative means of childcare.

Early last year when snow and ice affected much of the country, it was reported that some mean employers were docking the pay of their staff, despite their often valiant attempts to get into work. The TUC advises against withholding pay or forcing staff to take holiday as it fears this could cause unnecessary resentment to employees who’ve been kept away from work through no fault of their own.

Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said: “Across the midlands, people are braving the elements to get into work. But with the snow still falling and the cold and icy weather set to stay with us for a good few days to come, we need a sensible approach to getting into work. Employers and workers must keep each other informed as to whether it’s safe, or even possible, to commute to and from work.

“For many the bad weather and lack of public transport have already made their commute impossible, but many employers will have ‘bad weather’ policies in place so staff are clear as to what is expected of them.
“Scrooge bosses who dock pay and take away holiday are needlessly adding to their business woes by creating resentment amongst staff. Workers who have been prevented from getting to work despite their best efforts should not have to foot the bill for the bad weather conditions.”