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30
September 2010
Several years ago the
United Campaign was instrumental in drafting and campaigning
for the Trade Union Rights and Freedoms Bill. This year we
have a real chance to correct one aspect of the law that has
been increasingly exploited by employers seeking to undermine
the democratic voice of workers.
John McDonnell's Lawful
Industrial Action (Minor Errors) Bill is due to have its
Second Reading in the House of Commons on the 22nd October,
we must all ensure we give our full support to this important
piece of legislation. Please attend the United
Campaign's national demonstration at Parliament in support
of the Bill on the 13th October 2010.
The Bill has been introduced
in response to the recent raft of court cases which have sought
to challenge the legality of the trade union ballot. In each
and every case the ballots were overwhelmingly in favour of
strike action and the technicalities seized upon in the courts
would have had absolutely no impact upon the results of the
ballot.
The recent succession
of court cases aimed at preventing legitimate strike action
highlight the extent to which British law imposes fetters
on unions - laws which are unprecedented in Europe. These
laws are inconsistent with the European Convention on Human
Rights, the European Social Charter and International Labour
Organisation Conventions.
It is pathetic that after
13 years of a Labour government we are still saddled by restrictions
on our fundamental human rights. It cannot be doubted that
the legal restraints placed on trade unions have been the
prime cause of the collapse of collective bargaining from
82% of workers covered when Margaret Thatcher took power in
1979 to 32% today. Nor that those restraints have prevented
unions from resisting the widening gulf of inequality under
both Conservative and Labour rule since 1979.
The absence of the right
to strike in UK law was rammed home in 2009 by the Court of
Appeal in Unite v Metrobus which swiftly opened the door for
the series of cases which followed. Virtually no union has
escaped unscathed from this new assault on fundamental rights.
The Con-Dem Government
has only just begun to unleash its plans for the devastation
of the public sector. With unprecedented attacks on jobs and
conditions now on the horizon, the fight back must begin in
earnest.
The Lawful Industrial
Action Bill is focused and fair. It will mean that ordinary
working people, who may be struggling to protect their pay
and conditions and who have voted overwhelmingly in favour
of industrial action, will not have their democratic will
overruled on technical legal grounds.
It is vital that all workers
get behind this essential piece of legislation
by lobbying their MPs in support of the Bill today.
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