Your questions answered - Week Seven - Trade Union Rights

29.07.10 - Helen Symons

Britain has the most restrictive industrial laws in the western world, which stop unions from best representing their members. What one restriction do you think most urgently needs lifting and why?

Diane Abbott:

As a former trade union official, I know too well the struggle that some unions face in representing their members effectively. I worked as full-time Equality Officer in 1986 for ACTT (film technicians union) and I believe that post the industrial era, governments of whatever colour, have made it more difficult for trade unions to be the force for good they so often are. We often forget that trade unions do more than negotiate better pay deals - they are leaders in equality and diversity, experts in healthy and safe working environments and champions of international relations.

I support John McDonnell's Trade Union Freedom Bill and I have signed the Early Day Motion to demonstrate my support. I think we have to free up some of the legislation around industrial action which paints workers as criminals. I think we also have to simplify the technocratic rules and regulations around disputes.

But the most importantly, I want to make it unlawful to strike down an otherwise lawful ballot because of unintentional technical breaches of the regulations which would not have altered the outcome of the ballot. I would also change the law to stop employers taking vexatious injunctions.

The right to strike is a fundamental right and in Britain we have stifled this right for too long. As Labour leader, I would make sure this right is reinstated.

Ed Balls:

Being a union member seems tough right now: public service jobs, pay and pensions under attack; ideological cuts that risk a double-dip recession; lawyers thwarting democratic decisions on technicalities; and the Government plotting new restrictions.

But the biggest underlying threat facing unions is falling union membership - especially but not only in the private sector. That's why unions like Unite, the CWU, Unison and GMB have stepped up organising efforts.

Unions repeatedly proved themselves to be a force for good and I want to enable unions to organise to represent their members properly. The ILO proclaims a right to organise in free, democratic societies. I want to improve the Freedom to Organise in modern Britain.

Labour empowered workers to vote for recognition. But the right of access to staff only applies where a formal ballot process is underway. Catch 22 is how to get to this stage. It is currently too easy for employers to be obstructive.

Laws can't do the job for unions but laws can ensure fair and reasonable access to workers who are interested in joining.

And once established, trade union reps need training and proper facilities to represent members effectively - we must resist the impending Government attack on facilities.

Finally I want to maximise participation. Union members should be allowed to vote in ballots in non-postal forms such as secure and secret internet and workplace balloting. Experience shows this means more people will take part.

The Freedom to Organise can help union members to help themselves.

Andy Burnham:

I have been concerned by the role of the courts in recent industrial actions, where decisions have been made on relatively minor issues which have effectively quashed legally constituted strikes. We should look again at the legislation to reassure workers who have been properly balloted and who have voted in favour of industrial action that their decision cannot be quashed on minor technicalities, brought about by unforeseen consequences of the legislation.

David Miliband:

Unions should have the freedom to recruit new members. Preventing trade union reps from entering workplaces to speak to people about the benefits of joining a union also risks creating a confrontational relationship with employers, which is not the basis for good social partnership.

We made many positive changes to industrial relations in government, including the right to recognition and the Union Modernisation Fund. The challenge of maintaining and growing union membership is one shared by our sister movements in virtually all developed nations, despite very different employment legislation. But the insecurities associated with globalisation and desire of employees to be treated with respect and have a voice at work makes the need for trade unions as important today as at anytime in our history.

The opportunity for unions is to demonstrate their appeal to workers and to today’s economy – where being a decent employer and a profitable enterprise go hand in hand, and the best workplaces are those characterised by autonomy, engagement and innovation. That means standing up to those companies who think the route to success lies in squeezing every ounce of effort out of their workforce in return for low pay and poor conditions – as a substitute for management vision and investment.

In short, we need good trade unions now more than ever. Perversely, the Tories seem to want to re-fight old battles over strike laws. Industrial disputes are at a far lower level than during the 1980s – and the last thing Britain needs is a throwback to the confrontational prescriptions of that decade.

Ed Miliband:

I'm proud of what Labour achieved in government. But I think we have to realise we did too little to improve working conditions for those who work the hardest. Too many are stuck in low wage, long hours jobs. We didn't do enough to create routes to better work and a better life. The party of the minimum wage somehow became the party of maximum flexibility to work. But we all know that flexibility for employers can lead to low wages and poor employment conditions. We didn't take enough steps to offer better protection.

The Labour Party I want to lead will fight to build a different kind of economy. An economy with greater fairness in work, a greater number of higher quality and better skilled jobs, and with greater time outside of work for people to lead more fulfilling lives.

Britain’s Trade Unions are a force for good in society. Where Unions are recognised, pay is higher and conditions are fairer. Where Unions play an active role accidents are fewer, saving life, limb and the wasted money for companies and those who work in them. We need to deepen our links with the Trade Unions and recognise that some of the mistakes of the last decade could have been avoided if we had been prepared to listen more to our party.

I am determined to make sure that the Trade Unions are able to fairly represent the interests of their members and the wider workforce. Of course industrial action is a last resort, but the right to strike is a fundamental human right which must be protected and I will make sure it is. The British Airways dispute showed that the rules governing strike ballots are in urgent need of reform. Supporting strong, vibrant unions means we must re-visit the rules relating to access to workplaces and we must ensure that during a dispute either side can refer to the mediation service ACAS. It is a real shame that so few people in the private sector are trade union members. I want to see that change.