A RALLY FOR TRADE UNION FREEDOM

RMTnews :: august/september 2007 :: www.rmt.org.uk 28 T he Joseph Rowntree Foundation published a report into poverty in July showing that inequality between rich and poor has now reached levels not seen in Britain for 40 years. A second report, published simultaneously, found that the public thinks the gap between rich and poor is too large. TRADE UNION FREEDOM This is an issue relevant to trade union freedom. Unions are a force for good in dealing with such inequality and unionised workers are generally not those who suffer most from low pay. UK laws, however, are overly restrictive in relation to trade unions. The United Nations has said repeatedly that UK laws are in breach of the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, because they prevent unions from properly exercising their collective rights. The government responds that they do not accept that they might be in breach of international law. These fundamental human rights are “aspirational” and that they do not need to be legally enforceable in the UK. CHANGING UK LAWS Is this a rational disagreement between the UK government and an over-enthusiastic part of the UN? No it is not. The UN is not alone in its criticisms of the UK. The same sort of disapproval is levied by the International Labour Organisation (in relation to ILO Conventions 87 and 98), the European Court of Human Rights in relation to the European Convention on Human Rights and ), the European Committee of Social Rights (in relation to the European Social Charter). On July 11, the Prime Minister announced the Government’s draft legislative programme for the next session of Parliament. Among the proposals is an ‘Employment Simplification Bill’. This will include provisions for unions to have tiny bit more control over their own rules and how they act. The government has agreed it must act to comply with the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in February this year in the case of ASLEF v UK. The UK laws restricting the union’s ability to expel a fascist are themselves illegal judged by reference to Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which deals with freedom of association. The United Campaign said, “if this government does not repeal these laws, we believe the next one might well have to…” But the United Campaign says that the proposals in the Employment Simplification Bill do not go far enough to comply with the judgment or the principles of freedom of association and article 11. The government says that the case is limited to its facts and there only needs to be change to deal with a union’s right, in accordance with its rules, to expel those in a political party whose beliefs are opposed to those of the union. The ASLEF case goes further to say that "under Article 11 unions must remain free to decide, in accordance with union rules, questions concerning admission to and expulsion from the union". However, Thatcher's laws that outlawed unions from "unjustifiably" disciplining, or expelling strike breakers must go. This is another argument that the campaign has been putting over the years – and so have others, including the TUC with the encouragement of their affiliates. FREEDOM BILL Unions have been campaigning for a Trade Union Freedom Bill since the 2005 TUC. The Labour party conference also passed a motion that year in support of the bill. The bill has been laid before parliament as a private member’s Bill and it is very modest in its aspirations. It is so modest that it would not put the UK in compliance with its international obligations. A RALLY FOR TRADE UNION FREEDOM AND AGAINST INEQUALITY–October 18 2007