Are Conservatives ‘now the party of work’? A Policy Bristol blog about the Trade Union Bill suggests not…

Tonia Novitz, Professor of Labour Law, specialising in labour law, international trade and human rights

Michael Ford QC joined the Bristol law School in 2015 and specialises in labour law, human rights and public law

Press release issued: 11 November 2015

A blog by university of Bristol Professors of Law, Tonia Novitz and Michael Ford QC, suggests the Trade Union Bill considered by MPs yesterday demonstrates the hollowness of a claim made by George Osborne last month that the Conservative are ‘now the party of work, the only true party of labour’.

The blog claims that the proposed legislation promises to place alarming restrictions on UK trade unions and poses major threats to the protection of workers, their organisations and their civil liberties.

The measures in the Bill include changes to the already very strict balloting requirements set out in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. The proposals include:

new restrictions on peaceful picketing
new rules on the political activity of trade unions
restrictions on trade unions’ facility time in the public sector
greater controls on trade unions by the Certification Office (CO)

The Policy Bristol blog, originally posted on 12 October, draws on international and European law, as well as comparative studies of industrial relations in other Commonwealth and European countries. The amended version takes into account recent amends to the proposals. Tonia stated;

Whilst the government has now abandoned proposed restrictions on unions’ freedom of protest away from the workplace, probably because even the police did not identify a problem with the existing legal framework, it still wishes to amend the Code of Practice on picketing to cover with uncertain legal effect. It is no wonder the Trade Union Bill has been opposed not only by trade unions, such as Unison and Unite, but also by human rights NGOs.

MPs considered the Bill at report stage and third reading yesterday, Tuesday 10 November 2015. MPs can table amendments at report stage, but not at third reading. The amendments considered at report stage are selected by the Speaker.

Further information

For further information see M. Ford QC and T. Novitz, ‘An Absence of Fairness: Restrictions on Industrial Action and Protest in the Trade Union Bill 2015’ (2015) 40(4) Industrial Law Journal (forthcoming December 2015).

In October this year, Professor Michael Ford QC received the accolade of ‘Employment Silk of the Year’ at the Chambers UK Bar Awards