FIGHTING TORY ATTACKS ON TRADE UNION RIGHTS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: june 2015 :: RMTnews 16 In the run up to the last general election, the Institute of Employment Rights (IER) issued a ten point Charter of employment law reforms essential to secure social justice, democracy in the workplace, a reduction in inequality and a growing economy (see box). Shame such a programme wasn’t adopted by the political parties – the result might have been so different. As it is The Trade Union Bill announced in the Queen’s speech held few surprises. We knew it was coming. The Tories and their big business friends don’t like ‘third party interference’ in the labour market. To them unions are a hindrance - and a popular one at that! So the Conservatives hope that by tying unions up in ever more restrictive laws, unions will fail to deliver their promises to provide a voice in the workplace and to protect workers’ rights. SO WHAT’S THE TORY PLAN OF ATTACK? First they came for the strikers. As John Hendy QC has quite rightly said, collective bargain- ing without the right to strike is collective begging. Not surprising then that the first target of the Tories is to further restrict our right to take strike action. By demanding a 50 per cent turnout threshold in a ballot and an additional 40 per cent yes vote requirement in “core public services” (health, education, transport and fire services), the Tories hope to make it impossible for unions to organise lawful strikes. Add to that the new time limitations on ballot mandates and the Bill is an open invitation to employers and courts to interfere and delay legitimate industrial disputes. To make it worst, even during official industrial action, new laws will allow bosses to bus in agency workers to cover the jobs of strikers, abandoning a law that’s been in place since 1973. Any attempt to picket the workplace to prevent the use of scab labour will be subject to new criminal sanctions, backed up by new and intrusive surveillance legislation. THEN THEY CAME FOR THE TRADE UNION REPS It is a fact that workers in unionised workplaces enjoy better terms and conditions. Why? Because trained trade union reps are active in the workplace negotiating, representing and promoting the wellbeing of the workforce. That role is ever more important as inequality in power and wealth increases. According to a recent Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD) report, “we have reached a tipping point as inequality in OECD countries is at its highest since records began”. Trade unions help to rebalance power relations in the workplace – a fact commonly recognised by 70 per cent of respondents in MORI polls who say unions are “essential to protect workers’ interests”. To undermine that fundamental role of trade unions, the last government put a cap on the proportion of the civil service pay bill that could be spent on trade union facility time, restricted the number of FIGHTING TORY ATTACKS ON TRADE UNION RIGHTS IER director Carolyn Jones outlines how the Tories are attacking basic workers’ rights and the need to unite and fight back