Read to the end for Rishi's maths teacher madness, the medical drama to watch, and a catwalk professional.
Morning team,
Earlier this week Rishi Sunak delivered his ‘Maths to 18’ speech, in which he reinforced his promise to shake up the education system by making maths compulsory until 18.
While it's undeniable that maths remains an attractive qualification likely to boost job prospects, “focusing on maths as the solution for career success shows just how out of touch he is when vast numbers of children are worried that they’re not going to have anything to eat this evening”, says Laurence Guinness, the chief executive at the Childhood Trust.
There is also the question of who will teach said maths?
Outwardly, Sunak has promised to recruit and train more maths teachers, but the government has actually cut its recruitment target for maths teachers by 39 per cent since 2020, according to the NEU.
Plus with disgruntled teachers in England and Northern Ireland set to strike, again, for two more dates in the coming weeks, he’s likely to have a difficult job holding on to the ones he’s got. It’s hard not to ask, has Rishi done his homework here?
Got a work-related story I should know about? Drop me an email at evie.breese@bigissue.com or tweet at @Evie_Breese
What you need to know about work this week:
Disappointing. The inflation rate has refused to dip below double figures, with the Office for National Statistics today reporting that CPI inflation has fallen slightly to 10.1 per cent. I break down what this means for your wages, and how to ask for the pay rise you need.
Three steps back. While wages rose by a decent 6.6 per cent in the three months to February, this was outstripped by rises in cost of living, leaving the value of pay continuing to slide. And for the ninth month in a row, the unemployment rate has risen and job vacancies have fallen. Richard Partington at the Guardian breaks down the ONS figures.
Robot overlords. AI technology is now making life-changing decisions about workers' lives including line-managing, hiring and firing staff. The TUC is calling on the government to bring in stronger rules to protect workers from AI decisions.
Migrants wanted. The FT’s Sara O’Connor explains why countries are increasingly vying with one another to attract skilled migrants to their payrolls. And while there has always been competition for the world’s top scientists and entrepreneurs, construction workers and nurses are increasingly in high demand. (£)
Tasty solution. While the government says it wants to get more disabled people into work, its recently unveiled strategies for doing so have been widely criticised. But one chocolate factory in Cambridgeshire has taken matters into its own hands, having created jobs for hundreds of young autistic people while going from strength to strength. As the author of this story, I can confirm their chocolates are delish.
No more zero-hours. Labour’s Angela Rayner has pledged to ban zero-hour contracts if the party wins the next election. The number of people working on zero-hours contracts, which gives employees no guarantee for working hours or earnings, has doubled in just under 10 years according to analysis of official government statistics by Rest Less.
Strike watch
Nurses say no. Nurses with the RCN have rejected the government’s NHS pay deal and announced further strike dates in April and May. Unison’s 150,000 health workers have voted to accept the deal, while members of unions Unite and GMB continue to cast their votes.
Amazon strike. Workers at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse have just completed a three-day strike over pay and conditions. Striking workers are “convincing people to not go into work and instead join the GMB union” according to this report from Socialist Worker, who spoke with workers themselves.
The government is grappling with a rising number of people citing sickness as the reason why they are out of work and not looking for a job. Britain is getting sicker, and current policies don’t seem to be helping people get well soon.
Despite a recent increase to statutory sick pay, the UK’s rates remain some of the lowest in Europe. I looked at sick pay around the world to see if there’s a better way of doing it.
Working culture
This week’s culture recommendation is brought to you by the Big Issue’s activism reporter, Greg Barradale: Bad bosses, office politics, and shattered ambitions. For most of us, that'd be enough to deal with at work. But for the cast of Bodies, there's also the constant wave of medical emergencies which make up daily life in an obstetrics and gynaecology ward.
Written by Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio, the BBC medical drama left our screens in 2006 but is a thrill to rediscover as a hidden gem on Netflix. Machiavellian managers come up against overworked doctors, and watching two decades later you can only wonder what the reality is like now.
Know someone who will love this newsletter? Share our sign-up article with your social networks. And why not check out Survival Guide, our newsletter on the cost of living crisis from my colleague Isabella McRae.
In the diary
Wednesday April 19. Resolution Foundation event, Good work: How to renew the UK’s economic strategy and put better jobs at its heart.
Friday 21 April. Amazon workers in Coventry are set to go on strike for a second three-day period on Friday.
Wednesday 26 April. Teachers in five education unions across Northern Ireland go on strike.
Thursday April 27. Teachers strike with the National Education Unions.
The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) Annual Conference: Shaping a fairer world of work.
Friday April 28. All out strike from over 130,000 civil servants and public servants with the PCS Union.
It’s also International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD) to commemorate the people who have died while working, with a one minute silence held at 12.00. The TUC uses this day to draw attention to the need for proper health and safety at work.
Sunday April 30. Nurses with the RCN have announced a 48 hours round-the-clock walkout, starting at 8pm, ending the evening of Tuesday May 2, the day after May 1 bank holiday.
Tuesday May 2. Teachers strike with the National Education Union.
Animals with jobs
That’s how to do a catwalk.
Does your cat / dog/ garden fox/ animal you saw on holiday work participate in the daily grind? Nominate them today by sending me a photo of them hard at work! evie.breese@bigissue.com
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