A round-up of HR-related stories in today’s newspapers.
Public sector union Unison has launched legal action against the Government’s plans for a major shake-up of the NHS system in England, which will see primary care trusts and strategic health authorities scrapped, putting jobs at risk. According to the BBC, the union claims ministers failed to ask the public if it wanted such fundamental changes in the first place.
One in 10 people fear they will be forced to work until they die, a study revealed yesterday (24 August). The research from investment firm Barings Asset Management said some people simply could not afford to give up their jobs. Overall, the research found that 10% of workers “have no plans ever to stop working”, reports the Daily Mail.
Union leaders are expected to announce a series of 24-hour strikes by tube workers in a row over jobs, threatening travel chaos for passengers next month. The walkouts, by members of the RMT union and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, are set to start in the week beginning 6 September, the Guardian reports.
Workers at pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca will stage a series of strikes next month in a row over pensions, reports the Independent. The GMB union said members at the company’s site in Macclesfield, Cheshire, would walk out for three two-hour strikes on 8 September, three four-hour strikes on 15 September and a 24-hour strike starting at 6am on 22 September.
