This week the Marmot Review, the Department of Health’s Strategic Review of Health Inequalities, was published. Its remit was to “focus on the social determinants of health and in particular, the way they influence health inequalities”. A review that starts with quote from Pablo Neruda seems unlikely to be limited in its scope, and the Marmot Review does not disappoint, taking a forensic and brutally honest look at the reality of the social causes of ill health.

The review identifies six policy recommendations, which reflect a life course perspective, recognising that disadvatage starts before birth and accumulates throughout life. All are important, in particular Policy Objective C, which calls for the creation of “fair employment and good work for all” in recognition of the reality that:

Work is good – and unemployment bad – for physical and mental health, but the quality of work matters. Getting people off benefits and into low paid, insecure and health-damaging work is not a desirable option

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   Filed under: Labour market, Vulnerable workers | 1 Comment »

European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) General Secretary John Monks told Nicholas Sarkozy’s ‘New World, New Capitalism’ conference yesterday that

“we have done better that we did in the 1930s. But …the global economy is very fragile and in many countries problems will get worse before they get better.”

He said that there should be no return to business as usual, that young people needed a European jobs guarantee, and that Governments should not abandon their crisis interventions until growth was well-established. The financial sector still needs major surgery, including a financial transactions tax. His speech is brief, but pretty much says it all.

   Filed under: Europe, Public spending, Recession, Vulnerable workers | Comments Off

Last week, the Prime Minister, and before him, the Home Secretary, made major speeches on immigration. They both claimed to understand ‘the problem’ and be ready to address it. They gave the impression that this is a really new debate, and that they were ready, at last, to take action. Today the Director of the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) hit back in the Financial Times (on a page you have to pay to view, ironically enough) so I thought a TUC comment might provide some balance. However, mostly, we agree with the ASI: immigration policy is too tough already and is set to get worse, whichever party policy you read. Read more »

   Filed under: Migration, Vulnerable workers | 1 Comment »

The Better Regulation Executive have published a new report, which lists the multiple benefits that regulation has for the UK economy. In a refreshing change from the usual anti-regulation rhetoric of the UK business lobby, this report concludes that:

Regulation has an important role to play in Britain’s economic growth and prosperity. It protects our environment and the health and opportunities of our citizens. Well designed and implemented regulation helps support innovation and has other beneficial outcomes….For example, competitive markets create benefits like extra trade and reduced prices. Regulation means cleaner air and water, safer workplaces and food as well as the safety net created by the minimum wage.

What a shame the Government hasn’t been able to apply these principles to recent policy on employment rights.

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A quick hat-tip to Left Foot Forward for this piece on the massive fare rises for London public transport announced by Boris Johnson last week. The bus fare rises in particular mean that it will be the poorest who will feel the most severe impact of the change.  LFF will be investigating further this week, as I’m sure will Dave Hill on his London blog.

   Filed under: Transport, Vulnerable workers | Comments Off

I imagine other Touchstone contributors will want to comment on this announcement.  But just to say quickly here what a truly terrible decision it is.  Read more »

   Filed under: Employment law, Vulnerable workers | 4 Comments »

The doyen of migration economics, Prof Christian Dustmann at UCL, has published research showing that East European migrants pay more in taxes than they use in social protection. Indeed they put in 30% more than they take out, unlike UK-born adults who claim more than they pay! Read more »

   Filed under: Earnings, Migration, Vulnerable workers | 2 Comments »

This week has seen a (little reported) campaigning success, as the Ministry of Justice announced new measures to improve the enforcement of employment tribunal awards. Although it sounds technical, this measure has potential to lead to real improvement for workers, who will now have a greater chance of actually recieving compenation they are awarded. The announcement followed the publication of research which found that (among a large sample of respondents who had won employment tribunals and had waited for the 42 day period that employers are permitted to take to pay) 39 per cent had not received the award they were entitled to, and only 53 per cent had been paid in full. This is an injustice that Citizens Advice have been highlighting for years, and that the Commission on Vulnerable Employment (CoVE) also identified. The fact that the MoJ have recognised the scale of the problem, and taken steps to enable claimants to recieve their awards, is a real success. Read more »

   Filed under: Vulnerable workers | 1 Comment »

The impact of the recession on women is still being discussed. The debate that started in January goes on, and despite the media misreporting earlier this year it’s good to see that conversations remain focused on how the specific challenges that women will face during the recession can be overcome. No one is (or ever has been) arguing that more women than men are losing their jobs, or women’s needs are more important than those of other groups, only that the particular ways in which women are affected by the downturn should be recognised and addressed. Read more »

   Filed under: Labour market, Recession, Vulnerable workers | 3 Comments »

The problem of false self-employment can sound technical. But for those affected it can be catastrophic. Workers who are falsely classified as self-employed can be denied access to the most basic of employment rights, including the minimum wage, holiday leave and pay and sick pay. In addition, nominally self-employed staff are far less likely to be provided with training or to benefit from union representation, leading to poorer health and safety. The problem is particularly prevalent in the construction sector where it is complicated by the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), which has been shown to provide employers with tax incentives to classify dependent workers as self-employed. Read more »

   Filed under: Budget 2009, Employment law, Labour market, Vulnerable workers | Comments Off