Political Legitimacy- In the Eye of the Beholder
That the Tories intended to legislate on Trade Unions was signalled in their election manifesto but the Bill that went through its second reading in the House of Commons in August has surprised all informed commentators and experts in industrial relations. Thus in a letter to The Guardian on 17th August more or less all of the leading experts on industrial relations in the UK denounced the Bill as ‘the most sustained attack on trade unions and workers’ rights since the Combination Acts of the early nineteenth century’ and argued that the Bill by setting minimum voting thresholds would seriously curtail the possibility of legitimate strike action. Their dismay was also supported amongst others by Liberty, Amnesty International, the British Institute of Human Rights and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. The previous Business Secretary from the Coalition Government Sir Vince Cable is reported as describing the Bill as ‘ a vindictive, counter-productive and ideologically driven’ attack on Britain’s trade unions which has ‘no evidence base at all’.
What the Bill does amongst other attacks on Trade Union rights is to criminalise picketing, permit employers to hire strike breaking agency staff and check the flow of funds to the Labour Party. Tory ministers apparently made proposals within the previous Coalition Government to change the mechanisms for party funding by trade unions but were prevented by the Lib Dems from implementing these. The core of the Trade Union Bill is to make strikes unlawful unless 50% of those being asked to strike vote in the ballot. It also will require that for key public sector workers that at least 40% of those asked to vote support the strike – thus in teaching if 100 are asked to strike then it is only lawful if 50 teachers voted and 40 of those backed the strike. In effect the Bill sets a double threshold for key public services. These draconian changes are according to the present Business Secretary Mr. Sajid Javid ‘ being introduced so that strikes only happen when a clear majority of those entitled to vote have done so....’.
