This week’s news in brief
TUPE reforms boost
The Government has announced plans to take forward reform of TUPE, the
legislation that protects employee rights when the business they work for is
transferred to a new owner. It aims to improve operation of the legislation for
both employees and employers, and will apply TUPE more comprehensively to
service contracting operations. www.dti.gov.uk
Car workers walkout
Thousands of workers at Peugeot in Coventry walked out over pay last week,
staging a 24-hour strike that hit three plants, after the company offered a 7.3
per cent pay rise over two years. The walkout, mainly by members of the
Transport and General Workers Union, halted production of 1,200 Peugeot 206
models. www.tgwu.org.uk
T&G leadership race
The Transport and General Workers Union (T&G) is looking for a new
leader after Bill Morris last week announced he would step down as general
secretary of the union in October. Morris has been a full-time official for the
T&G for 30 years. He was elected general secretary in 1991 and re-elected
in 1995. www.tgwu.org.uk
Unemployment low
Unemployment figures are at the lowest level for 27 years, dropping by
36,000 in the three months to December and bringing the total of people without
a job to 1,506,000, according to the latest figures from the Office for
National Statistics. The number of people claiming benefits dropped by 3,500 to
928,500. www.statistics.gov.uk
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