Trade Unions (Web Crawl No.2)
For many people the first source of legal advice will be their trade union, often by way of telephone helpline or access to an adviser or solicitor. This advice is obviously restricted to members of the union, but increasingly some very useful legal advice and information is being made available online too: which means that you and I can benefit from it too. This month’s web review takes a sample of trade union websites and introduces the reader to their most useful, interesting and engaging features.
The Association of University Teachers (or AUT) has three sections which provide some manner of law related information: problems at work; pay and conditions; and equal opportunity. The surfing adviser should not expect much in the way of detailed legal exposition or advice, but what it lacks in detail, it more than makes up for in the scope of material it covers and in the easily understandable way it does so. It covers all the usual suspects in terms of information on stress at work, bullying and harassment, contract issues etc. but of particular interest on this site is a small collection of articles on intellectual property. The site gives a brief guide to the concepts and legal principles surrounding intellectual property and it gives advice on practice within the sector in terms of authors of academic articles and ownership of copyright. Well worth a visit.
Representing the lion’s share of school teachers in Scotland, you’d expect great things from the website of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) and it doesn’t disappoint. The most obvious link is to the page entitled The Law and The Teacher. It covers a number of issues relating to contracts which would be of much wider application than the teaching profession including part-time contracts; fixed term and temporary contracts and overpayment of salaries. Perhaps of more interest are the sections on assault at work; defamation and liability for accidents at work. The information is very brief but provides a vital introduction to each of the topics. And just to demonstrate that the legal team at the EIS are no slouches, they detail summaries of cases where members have recovered cash settlements (over 500,000 pounds in 2002).
Health and safety at work is an increasingly complex area which requires similarly detailed and accurate advice. This is supplied and supplied in excellent measure on the Trade Union Congress website’s health and safety pages. A fantastic range of topics are covered and the pages don’t shy away from the more troublesome and complex areas of law, covering such gems as corporate responsibility; smoking, drinking and drugs; hazardous chemicals; and repetitive strain injuries / back strain. The information is collected in news bulletins and each topic provides an archive of articles from the bulletins relevant to that topic. The short news articles keep the advisor up-to-date with recent developments in health and safety law, including case law, new regulations and developments in Europe. The articles also include relevant links to news articles or source websites, such as the Health & Safety Executive or HMSO. This useful service is not only available free online, but it is also available (free) as an e-mail bulletin. Anyone advising employees should subscribe immediately as a "must-read" update.
The Graphical, Paper and Media Union (GPMU) also has a strong section on health and safety. There is a voluminous archive of GPMU circulars on health and safety, which provide a similar level of detail and will be of particular interest for people working within the industry. It is particularly strong on matters concerning the use of solvents at work; occupational asthma and work related upper limb disorders (WRULD) – also having a number of articles relating to drugs in the workplace and stress at work.
Slightly less well known, perhaps, is the Knitwear and Footwear Workers Union (KFAT) (sic) but no less useful on the internet front. The site is very attractively designed and simple to navigate, with the topics being accessible in a cascading series of menus. It also covers some issues that are less often covered elsewhere such as the national minimum wage and rights to breaks during longer shifts.
UNISON is probably the largest trade union in Scotland and has a fantastic legal support service available for members. In fact it has a dedicated legal site which is provided via Thomson’s solicitors. There is actually not a lot of detail in the way of advice or information under the sections describing the services, but what you will find is a number a leaflets which can be downloaded in PDF format. These cover a wide range of topics – employment law and health and safety as usual – together with wider issues such as road traffic accidents, spinal injuries and data protection. These would look very nice printed off and displayed in the reception areas of advice centres (I’m sure UNISON wouldn’t mind).
Finally, with a breathtaking display of useful legal advice, albeit slightly sector specific, we have the Musician’s Union. Not content to advise on the law, the front page heralds their attempts to change it. Something to do with licensing and a "two in a bar" rule, the law in Scotland favours performers more than does English law – a useful piece of cross border information for the wand’ring minstrel? There are health and safety pages which have particular sections on deafness claims and electrical safety (occupational hazards for musicians?). Also there is a section called the Business Contracts Advisory Service which gives advice on what to look out for and what to hold out for in contract negotiations with managers, producers, merchandise agreements, copyright and so on. Indispensable for musicians, but useful for others too.
This article was written by Iain Nisbet of
Govan Law Centre.
It is based on an article first published in SCOLAG Legal Journal in June 2003.
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