Trade Unions

It used to be the pub after work, now it is social networking sites and virtual reality environments that are giving workers their own communities away from the prying eyes of their managers.

Since the United States is celebrating Labor Day this Monday, this seems like the perfect time to discuss the importance of trade unions.

British managers and workers put in £23 billion of unpaid overtime a year, in the process putting their health and family lives at risk.

The modern British workplace is one where there are fewer grievances between workers and managers, better relations with unions and - according to managers at least - a much better working climate.

One of Britain's biggest trade unions has unleashed a storm of protest after it offered advice to members on how to throw a sickie to watch England play in the World Cup.

For most businesses, Europe is synonymous with red tape, intervention and obstruction. But according to Britain's trade unions, most of the advances in workplace rights that employees now take for granted would not have become law if it were not for the European Union.

Britain's trade unions risk becoming irrelevant unless they stop fighting yesterday's battles and realise that younger workers are more interested in "getting on" than they are in "getting even".

A third of British businesses do not offer any training to their workers and almost two fifths of the workforce received no training at all last year, the TUC has warned.

OK, we've got to hand it to the TUC. This is a brilliant way of putting across their message about "dignity at work".

At the start of its annual Congress this week, the TUC has accused Britain's employers of walking away from the country's pensions crisis.

The broadside launched against retail leviathan Wal-Mart by some of the world's largest institutional investors is a stark reminder that no organisation – however large – is immune from the effects of poor corporate reputation.

The "bowler hats and bureaucrats" image of the public sector – and the view that job cuts can be made without having a negative impact on services – is a myth, unions have argued.

British trade unions face a painful journey to extinction if they fail to evolve, according to a provocative analysis from a leading business academic.

Trade union members across the UK are planning a nationwide day of campaigning in February to protest against changes the government is planning to make to the pensions of public sector workers.

The International Transport Workers' Federation has set up a website - www.ryan-be-fair.org - to offer the staff of the strongly anti-union airline Ryanair "the freedom to discuss their work, conditions and any problems they have".

Can Europe hold out as the last bastion of unionisation in the rich world?

Britain is not a nation of malingerers or shirkers, contrary to the impression given by some politicians and sections of the media, according to the TUC.

UK employees did unpaid overtime worth £23 billion last year, according to an analysis of latest figures by the TUC.

Employers are not doing enough to tackle dyslexia in the workplace and often treat dyslexic workers unfairly, the TUC has warned.

Thousands of station staff on the London Underground system have forced their bosses to agree to a deal that gives them 52 days paid holiday a year – that's 10 weeks.

CBI director-general Digby Jones has described Britain's trade unions as "increasingly irrelevant" and "stuck in the mindset of yesterday’s ideology".

On the eve of the annual TUC Congress in Brighton, Union leaders have launched a series of attacks on ' whingeing' fat cat executives and excessive working hours

The Government faces a fresh clash with unions after rejecting calls to improve workers' employment rights.

Union recognition is rising across the UK, says the TUC in its annual survey of recognition. But deals with most co-operative employers have now been done, and deals with more resistant and obstructive employers are getting harder to achieve.

New research suggests that the involvement of third parties in industrial disputes can often be counterproductive.

London's workers face the worst health and safety conditions in the country, according to a TUC survey of workplace union safety reps.

Union membership has dropped by a fifth in the last 18 years, according to a paper published by the national Council for Social Research. Just under a third of employees are union members compared with almost half in 1983.