TRADE UNION FREEDOM BILL

Last September TUC delegates unanimously endorsed an RMT and T&G call for a Trade Union Freedom Bill and, in the same month, the Labour Party Conference backed the right of workers to take solidarity action. The significance of these decisions was highlighted by the Gate Gourmet dispute which demonstrated the effect of laws that render unions impotent against the tactics of ruthless employers. Never has there been a greater need for such a Bill. The removal of trade union rights is one of the most important factors behind the collapse of collective bargaining coverage in the UK, and has therefore contributed to the marked widening of the gulf between rich and poor over the last 25 years. TAFF VALE 2006 marks the centenary of the passing of the 1906 Trades Disputes Act, which secured for unions the legal freedom to take industrial action. This Act paved the way for the huge improvements in the conditions and life for working people in the 20th century. It was the preceding Taff Vale railway strike judgement against this union’s forerunner, the Amalgamated Society of railway servants, which caused the outcry that led to the 1906 Trades Disputes Act. This Act gave legal protections against anti-union laws introduced by judges. In 1906, British trade unions were free to organise solidarity action. These are rights that do not exist today. MAY DAY The Bill will call for the re- establishment of solidarity action, the simplification of industrial action ballots and protection for those workers engaged in industrial action. The implementation of these proposals would move the UK closer to its international legal obligations. That is why thousands of trade unionists will be coming to the national demonstration in support of the Trade Union Freedom Bill which has been called for May 1 in London. It is also encouraging that a very large number of Labour MPs are now prepared to support trade union freedoms. Over 100 Labour MPs have signed a parliamentary motion in support of the campaign for a Trade Union Freedom Bill. So make sure that your MP signs up. www.rmt.org.uk :: march 2006 :: RMTnews 11 This excellent and well- researched booklet tells the story of the strike in 1900 on the Taff Vale Railway in South Wales. That strike led to legal action against one RMT’s forerunners, the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS). That legal action resulted in a massive award of damages against the union in a judgment which threatened the same for any union organising industrial action. However, that judgment also influenced political agitation which led to the formation of the Labour Party and the passing of the Trades Dispute Act 100 years ago in 1906. That Act, though it did not grant a right to strike, gave unions legal freedoms to organise industrial action for most of the 20th century –until the Thatcher governments. That legal freedom allowed workers to exercise a collective power which went some way to counteract the overweening power of the employer in the workplace. That collective power was largely responsible for the increase in the standard of living of working people and the diminution of the inequalities between rich and poor up until the 1980’s. However, for the last 25 years these achievements have been reversed. The lesson of this little booklet is that the trade union movement must once again mobilise politically to change the law. That is why we need a new Trade Union Freedom Act 2006 to secure what is already enshrined into international laws, already ratified by the UK government: the right to strike. FIGHTING FOR TRADE UNION RIGHTS New Trade Union Freedom Bill increases pressure for improved rights at work EARLY DAY MOTION 1170 CAMPAIGN FOR A TRADE UNION FREEDOM BILL That this House recognises that free and independent trade unions are a force for good in UK society and around the world, and are vital to democracy; welcomes the positive role modern unions play in providing protection for working people and winning fairness at work; notes the 1906 Trades Disputes Act granted unions the legal freedom to take industrial action; regrets that successive anti-union legislation has meant that trade union rights are now weaker than those introduced by the Trades Disputes Act; notes the overwhelming support at both the Trades Union Congress and Labour Party Conference for the Gate Gourmet workers and for improvements in union rights, including measures to simplify ballot procedures and to allow limited supportive action, following a ballot, in specific circumstances; further notes that these conferences called for legislation which conformed to International Labour Organisation Conventions ratified by the UK; and therefore welcomes the decision of the 2005 Trades Union Congress to campaign for a Trade Union Freedom Bill to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1906 Trades Disputes Act. Tony Lloyd MP THE STORY OF TAFF VALE John Hendy QC reviews a new pamphlet on the Taff Vale rail strike which each member will receive with the next issue of RMT News