Freedom to associate sits at the heart of democracy and enables workers to unite and work together to promote and protect their economic and social interests. The importance of this freedom to democratic society is reflected in its status as an internationally recognised human right protected in such conventions as United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); International Labour Organisation Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention 1948 (No.87); International Labour Organisation Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention 1949 (No. 98). More...

This year’sEqual Pay Day falls on 14 November. It’s the day women in the UK effectively start working the remainder of the year for free because of the gender pay gap. There are differences between sectors and industries but education is among the worst, with a pay gap of 25.9% as opposed to the national average of 17.9%. This means that a woman employed in education works, on average, 95 days a year without being paid. More...