Yesterday’s Budget blog focused on challenges facing the Chancellor as he prepares for the last Spring Budget. New TUC research out today shows why tackling the rise of insecure work should be high on the Chancellor’s agenda, revealing the £4bn a year cost of the rise in low-paid self employment and zero hours contracts. The…
When the government published a white paper on Brexit priorities, we hoped it would give more certainty to working people on what the future holds. But it poses more questions than it answers. And it fails to give the reassurances workers need for their rights at work. During the referendum campaign, the TUC highlighted just…
Today Lord Kerslake (the head of the home civil service, 2012-2014) published his independent review of the Treasury, with launch events in London and Manchester. The report was commissioned by Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell; TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady was on the panel amongst others (the report is available here). The commentary so far has…
The new(ish) Chancellor’s first Budget, due on 7th March, would normally be seen as a key political moments in the year. It’s an opportunity for Government to dominate the headlines and give a cash based indication of their priorities. But with Brexit hoovering up political attention, not to mention what’s happening across the Atlantic, there’s…
The next set of labour market data is out next Wednesday. This blog looks at recent trends in the figures to give some pointers as to what we should be looking out for. In summary, our view of the labour market hasn’t changed much; the headline employment figures are strong, but we’re seeing a growth…
The recent TUC report ‘Powering Ahead’ argues that Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is an investment in our industrial and environmental future. It will be important for the economic regeneration of key industries by stimulating future clean growth in the UK. Teesside Collective is working to make CCS a reality. Investment in CCS infrastructure for…
The subject of Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) pensions got an unexpected airing at the TUC Pensions Conference last week. The topic was not even on the conference agenda. For, after losing its most high profile backer in former Pensions Minister Steve Webb with the end of the Coalition Government, official policy work on the issue has…
Last Thursday, the Government published its hastily promised and delivered white paper on exiting the European Union. The United Kingdom’s exit from and new partnership with the European Union was longer than many expected, but did not really add much to what the Prime Minister said in her Lancaster House speech last month. There was…
If you mingled among the delegates at the TUC Pensions Conference last week, then you would be sure to hear people chatting about one of the presentations: the barnstorming contribution of Baroness Hollis on women and pensions. The Labour peer gave a robust denunciation of how the pensions system works for women. “Pensions were designed…
The number of people in insecure work, those working without guaranteed hours or baseline employment rights, has rapidly increased by more than 660,000 (27%) over the past five years. The TUC estimates that over 3 million people now work in insecure jobs; this represents 1 in 10 workers in the UK. In new analysis, we…
In 2015 there were 4,133 €-millionaire bankers in UK. This figure is up 20% on 2,926 the previous year. In the rest of Europe, the increase was more modest from 934 to 1002 (+7%). The sharp eyed will gather that we are home to 4,133 of 5,035 €-millionaire bankers in Europe as a whole, that’s…
