Nicola Smith
HSE is running a helpful website combatting health and safety myths. It clarifies that children in the UK are not forbidden from throwing snowballs, that workers are not prohibited from putting up Christmas decorations and, in contrast to David Cameron’s assertions in this year’s conference speech, that teachers are not prevented from putting plasters on children’s cuts.
Philip Pearson
Just what green industrial opportunities mean for working people is brilliantly explained in a new report from the American trade unions and the US Environmental Defense Fund, published here in Poznan at a packed Side Event to the UN Conference on Climate Change.
Nigel Stanley
(edited December 10th as the first draft read as if written in too much of a hurry – that’s because it was)
Mary Dejevsky has a piece in today’s Independent on public sector pensions. It’s much more thoughtful than the usual media attacks on public sector pensions as while she uses the language of pensions apartheid she concludes by attacking David Cameron’s comments that I blogged about ten days ago:
Nigel Stanley
Here’s an interesting post on Democratiya from Eric Lee, on how long term success for the incoming Democratic administration in the States may depend on a stronger relationship with the country’s trade unions.
Philip Pearson
In recognition of the important work on climate change conducted by the trade union movement, the UN body dealing with climate change (the UNFCCC) has granted the ITUC the select formal status of being an “official constituency” in the Climate Change process for the ITUC’s contributions and its participation from now on.
“Trade unions believe climate change is not only an environmental issue, but also is about social rights and rights to development, and that is the contribution we bring to the UN process,” said ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder.
Philip Pearson
I’m at the UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, where the ITUC’s statement and our lobbying activities are aimed at the core trade union issues of employment rights and making sure that workers have a seat at the table. We’re trying to raise a broad set of employment related issues for trade unions from the North and the South: understanding the full economic and social consequences of climate change, the job creation opportunities and quality of those jobs, the impacts on affected workers/communities from climate change, and standards for a just transition.
Adam Lent
If you had told me six months ago that the Secretary of State at BERR would make a speech like this and that that SoS would be Peter Mandelson, I would have bet a considerable amount of money against you. It’s not been reported much today but this thoughtful speech represents a real shift in the Government’s economic policy towards greater intervention – not just as a short term response to a crisis but as a new way of approaching economic growth in the UK even after the recession has passed. The fact that it is made by one of the key architects of the policies that have informed the last eleven years, and the head of the Government Department that has always been the biggest obstacle to a pro-active state, makes it all the more significant. If I find some time soon, I’ll do a more detailed analysis of its possible implications.
Alice Hood
Here’s an interesting piece from the Responsible Investor site about the impact that pressure from major investors such as pension funds can have on corporate behaviour. Facilities management company Sodexo has agreed to adopt a human rights policy across all their activities after investors raised serious concerns about the treatment of people at a UK detention centre run by the company. Swedish government pension funds who owned shares in the company have been engaging with Sodexo about these issues for the past year.
Nicola Smith
A satisfying change in tone from the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate which is now in the business of “purging” rogue employers rather than denying that any of them exist. Still, with only 26 inspectors nationally it will remain hard pressed to prevent the worst practice.
Adam Lent
The Government formally announced its independent review of tax havens today which was trailed in the Pre-Budget Report. This is a very positive move and I’m sure a lot of groups that normally get shut out of the closed world of tax policy lobbying will want to make submissions and give evidence. This world is usually only open to business associations and professional bodies although the TUC has managed to win some access for itself recently.
The review will be chaired by Michael Foot. No, not that Michael Foot; this Michael Foot! Foot is ex of the FSA and the Bank of England and is now Chairman of the UK wing of a global financial consultancy company called Promontory. Promontory say on their website:
