September 2021 Vol 110 No 9 Price £5.40 ReResearchLaboursearch UK workers need legal right to ‘switch off’ ‘Fairness not favours’? Union reform 21 years on New state aid regime after Brexit NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR TRADE UNIONISTS Log on to LRD Payline for information on pay and conditions Are you a member of any of the above unions? If so then you canAre access you a Paylinemember - of any of your union’s online pay and the aboveAre you unions? a member of any of conditions database.AreIf you are you a member a member of any of the aboveofAre any unions you of you a member of any of If so then haveyou canfull theaccessthe access above toabove Payline Payline –unions? yourunions? - union’s onlinethe pay above unions? 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Contact us for your username and password 020 7902PaylineAD_DEC15.indd 9811 1 or email us at [email protected] 23/11/2015 12:04 News and information for trade unionists September 2021 Volume 110 Number 9 Price £5.40 Published by LRD Publications Ltd 78 Blackfriars Road London SE1 8HF tel: 020 7928 3649 fax: 020 7902 9815 email: [email protected] web: www.lrd.org.uk Editor Ali Brown Contributors Sally Buffard Lewis Emery Lionel Fulton THIS MONTH Meesha Nehru Andrea Oates Clare Ruhemann FEATURES NEWS Nathalie Towner 9 Should we have a legal 4 News Cover photo Unions have voiced right to ‘disconnect’? Furlough must be replaced concern over the UK’s The increasing blurring of Scottish rail service ‘always on’ culture boundaries between work for homeworkers and home life for remote 7 Union news and are calling for legislation to counter workers is leading to calls the problem, page 9, for legislation to counter this 8 European news Shutterstock Photo this page 13 Statutory union BACK-UP The pharmacists’ recognition procedure PDA Union says the Unions continue to have 19 Law statutory recognition serious reservations about procedure has been of help to them, page 13, the statutory recognition 22 Health and safety Shutterstock procedure — though some say it is not without merit 24 Equality Advertising, subscriptions and circulation 16 UK’s post-Brexit 25 Workplace Shenaz Navaz state aid regime tel: 020 7902 9803 A new Bill sets out the [email protected] REGULARS government’s proposals for For details of discount state subsidies post-Brexit. 26 Index • LRD news rates for multiple However, unions are not subscriptions 27 Eviews tel: 020 7928 3649 impressed Electronic services Nina Cole o I/we wish to subscribe to Labour Research and enclose a tel: 020 7902 9812 cheque for £55.50 (call 020 7928 3649 or visit [email protected] www.lrd.org.uk for credit/debit card payments) o Please send details of LRD services Printed by RAP Spiderweb Ltd Name ______________________________________________________ Clowes Street Address ____________________________________________________ Hollinwood, Oldham ________________________________ Postcode ___________________ OL9 7LY Subscribe tel: 0161 947 3700 To: LRD, 78 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HF SEPTEMBER 2021 LABOUR RESEARCH 3 56438_LRDSeptemberMagInner_MH.indd 3 25/08/2021 15:53 NEWS Investment UK must have permanent needed in short-time working scheme prisons The TUC is pressing for the In a new report, Beyond and firms through future furlough scheme to be furlough: why the UK needs a industrial change would be a Urgent investment in the replaced with a permanent permanent short-time work fitting pandemic legacy. prison service is needed to short-time work scheme as scheme, the TUC says the “Too often in the past, overcome rising suicide unions representing the case for such a scheme is periods of economic and rates the POA prison airline industry warn of clear as it would reduce the industrial change have been officers’ union has warned. catastrophic consequences if risk of workers losing their badly mismanaged — The union issued a action is not taken. jobs in times of crisis. increasing inequalities and statement in response to a The TUC says the And it would protect leaving working people and recent BBC Newsnight government must build on the workers’ incomes while the whole communities investigation on the success of the furlough government would protect abandoned,” she said. dramatic increase in prison scheme, due to close at the against long-term Unions representing airline suicide rates — in the last 10 end of this month, and unemployment, the workers urged the government years the rate has gone up introduce a permanent subsequent devastating to do what is necessary to by 220%. replacement to deal with big impacts on communities and save the industry, with Office The POA highlighted the disruptions to jobs in the help stabilise the economy. for National Statistics figures struggle of prison officers future, such as the transition It would also save money, showing that 57% of after huge cuts to the to net zero, future pandemics as the cost of furlough remaining employees in air Ministry of Justice budget and technological change. schemes is often below the transport companies remain left them with no time to It points out that the UK is cost of unemployment on furlough. build relationships with an anomaly among developed benefits, particularly where Martin Chalk, acting prisoners. nations in having no costs are shared with general secretary of the Instead, the union said, permanent short-time employers. BALPA pilots’ union pointed prison officers spend their working scheme to deal with For employers, the union out that “one in four shifts simply trying to periods of industrial body says, such a scheme constituencies has over 1,000 deliver a regime set against disruption and weak demand. would produce significant people employed directly by unrealistic and undeliverable In the 38-member country savings on redundancy, aviation companies”. performance targets, with OECD intergovernmental training and hiring costs, as Diana Holland, Unite draconian cuts resulting in economic organisation, 23 they enable firms to keep assistant general secretary, the loss of 86,000 years of countries had short-time skilled workers on their books. said: “Aviation is crucial to prison officer experience. working schemes in place TUC general secretary the UK’s economic recovery. “Many of our local before the coronavirus Frances O’Grady said setting It needs furlough support to prisons and training prisons pandemic, including Germany, up a “daughter of furlough” to continue while Covid suffered staffing cuts that Japan and many US states. provide certainty to workers restrictions apply.” were simply not safe for staff, and not safe for prisoners,” the statement continued. Newsnight described a world where mental health Civil service union warns over problems are treated too often with custodial sentences and where officers are never given training. wages cuts for homeworkers POA national chair Mark Fairhurst said: “Prison The PCS civil service union they refuse to return to the for not returning to the populations have grown has warned of possible office after working from office. massively, the number of action if ministers try to cut home for so long during the “PCS is engaged in people taking their lives the pay of civil servants pandemic. However, this serious discussions with increased, yet the number of over office openings. was subsequently rejected the Cabinet Office about front-line prison officers has Last month, anonymous by business secretary how we can embrace the fallen.” government briefings to the Kwasi Kwarteng. post pandemic world with He added: “ ... we have media suggested civil Responding to the hybrid working and keeping campaigned tirelessly to servants’ pay could be reports, a PCS staff safe. Any attempt to remove razor blades from docked if staff refuse to spokesperson said: “It is the dock pay for civil servants our prisons ... yet our return to the office. height of cowardice for for any reason would be met employer has struggled to One Cabinet minister ministers to anonymously with a swift industrial act with any sense of said civil servants should brief the media about response, potentially urgency.” have their pay docked if docking civil servants’ pay including strike action.” 4 LABOUR RESEARCH SEPTEMBER 2021 56438_LRDSeptemberMagInner_MH.indd 4 25/08/2021 15:53 NEWS Unions demand first minister IN BRIEF State acquires gives commitment to rail Forgemasters The nationalisation of defence Transport unions in manufacturer Sheffield Scotland are calling on first Forgemasters has been minister Nicola Sturgeon to welcomed in steel commit to rail after communities. revelations that an internal Unite assistant general report by the ScotRail secretary for manufacturing, Scottish rail service has Steve Turner said that “this is put into question the future the news we’ve waited two of ticket offices.