30 June 2017

By Steve Tombs, Professor of Criminology, Open University

Since 2010, the Coalition, then the Tories, have both continued and significantly extended some of the ‘reforms’ initiated by Blair and Brown under the Better Regulation initiative from 2004 onwards; and, significantly, these approaches to regulation in general and to health and safety law and enforcement in particular, have been pursued in the context of austerity and the attempt to shrink the state. The effect of these trajectories has been to unravel the levels of social protection for workers and local communities. Health and safety law is being undone, undermined and is under attack.

23 June 2017

By Steve Tombs, Professor of Criminology, the Open University

"It's going to come to the point where it's going to affect the residents, the local population, in many ways we are at that point now, public health and protection is being eroded." Environmental Health Officer, Merseyside.

20 June 2017

By Gregor Gall, Professor of Industrial Relations, the University of Bradford

The main provisions of the Trade Union Act 2016, concerning new, tougher balloting thresholds, came into force on 01 March 2017. This articles summarises the main findings of the first research (from the Jimmy Reid Foundation) to quantify the impact of the new Act on strikes and industrial action.

08 June 2017

As the electorate goes to the polls today, our Chair John Hendy QC and President Professor Keith Ewing, explain why trade union rights are an important factor for workers' future.

07 June 2017

Sonia McKay, Professor of European Socio-Legal Studies at the Working Lives Research Institute, London Metropolitan University

Universality of rights ought to be a fundamental principle in law so as to protect all workers, no matter what type of contract they have. Employers should not be able to avoid their obligations under employment law simply by defining some groups of workers in such a way so as to be excluded from employment rights.

05 June 2017

By Alan Bogg, Professor of Labour Law, the University of Oxford

Workers' rights and wage inequality have become a key political battleground this General Election following public outrage over the stagnation of real wage and the increasing gap between the haves and have nots. A TUC analysis released last summer showed that real wages fell by a massive 10.4% between 2007 and 2015 – the largest decline in the EU, matched only by Greece. But while average workers were feeling the squeeze, their bosses were flying high. FTSE 100 CEOs collected a 10% pay rise between 2014 and 2015 and now earn 183 times that of the average worker, according to the High Pay Centre.