This week Midlands TUC will launch a campaign against four local MPs' support for the ‘Pasty Tax' announced by Chancellor George Osbourne in his recent Budget. This tax will introduce VAT on previously untaxed hot take away food.
Families will have gained up to £381 by April 2013 as a result of the personal allowance threshold rising faster than inflation – but could have lost more than £4,000 from changes to working tax credits over the same period – the TUC says today (Wednesday) as it launches its new tax credit calculator for 2012.
The TUC, railway unions and transport campaigners have launched a campaign to fight job cuts, service reductions, ticket office closures and fare hikes in the rail industry.
At a meeting with MPs at the House of Commons on Tuesday 20 March, union leaders and representatives from the Campaign for Better Transport raised their concerns about the government's proposals for the future of rail as outlined in the Rail Command Paper. They were joined by Shadow Transport Minister Maria Eagle.
Around 2.7 million workers across the UK could face an increased risk of losing their jobs when the government increases the qualifying period for protection from unfair dismissal from one year to two years on Good Friday (6 April).
The TUC is concerned that this change in the law will also increase job insecurity, discriminate against younger workers, part-time women workers and employees from black and ethnic (BME) communities, and encourage more of a ‘hire and fire' culture in the UK.
With exactly two months to go until the Diamond Jubilee weekend (taking place from Saturday 2 June until Tuesday 5 June) the TUC is today (Monday) calling on employers to ensure that workers do not miss out on the unique four-day celebrations.
A new poll published today (Friday) by Survation into public attitudes on government proposals to introduce local pay for public sector workers shows that twice as many people say the proposals are unfair (56 per cent) as fair (28 per cent). There are majorities for unfair in all UK regions and among Liberal Democrat voters.
Commenting on the decision by RWE and E.On today (Thursday) to pull out of developing new nuclear power plants at Wylfa and Oldbury, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:
“This is a major jobs blow for the construction and engineering sectors. But it also exposes the government's position. If you think nuclear power has an important role in decarbonising the economy, as ministers say, then you have to make sure that these kinds of very long-term investments occur.
Commenting on the ruling in the Supreme Court today (Wednesday) which found against a number of insurance companies which have been seeking to deny compensation to the victims of mesothelioma,
Commenting on the figures on public and private sector pay published today (Tuesday) by the Office for National Statistics, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:
More than a million low-paid women could lose out on employer pension contributions after the government raised the new earnings threshold for pension auto-enrolment today (Tuesday), says the TUC.