. Dear Harriet. Trade Union Bill 2015-16 ... strikes, the aim of which will be to u
Trades Union Congress
Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP Chair Joint Committee on Human Rights House of Commons London SW1A 0AA
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3 November 2015 Hannah Reed 020 7467 1336
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Dear Harriet Trade Union Bill 2015-16 I wanted to write to congratulate you on your appointment as Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights and to wish the Committee the very best in its future deliberations. I would also like to draw your attention to the Trade Union Bill which was published in July 2015. The Bill received its second reading in the House of Commons on 14 September 2015 and completed its Committee Stage this week. The Bill will introduce substantial additional regulations for unions seeking to organise lawful industrial action in the UK. It will further regulate picketing activities by trade unions. The government also plans to introduce regulations removing the ban on agency workers during strikes, the aim of which will be to undermine the effectiveness of industrial action. The Bill provides the government with wide-ranging powers to limit the amount of paid time provided to union representatives to perform trade union duties in the public sector and prohibits public sector employers from deducting trade union subscriptions direct from wages, often referred to as check-off arrangements. It also creates extensive, new administrative regulations for unions and substantially extends the remit and investigatory powers of the Certification Officer. As you will be aware, the Bill has attracted widespread criticism from trade unions, politicians, lawyers and civil liberties groups on the grounds that it contravenes human rights standards safeguarded by the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Social Charter (1961) and ILO Conventions, all of which have been ratified by the UK government. Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS telephone: 020 7636 4030 fax: 020 7636 0632 www.tuc.org.uk General Secretary: Frances O’Grady Assistant General Secretary: Kay Carberry CBE Assistant General Secretary: Paul Nowak
The TUC would therefore request that the Joint Committee on Human Rights scrutinises the Bill in detail and carries out a full inquiry to assess whether its provisions conflict with the requirements of the Human Rights Act and comply with the UK government’s international obligations. The TUC has written to the ILO Committee of Experts detailing our concerns that the provisions of the Trade Union Bill are not consistent with the requirements of ILO Conventions. A copy of the TUC submission is attached for the Committee’s consideration. In summary, the TUC is profoundly concerned that the Bill will create unnecessary, unjustified and disproportionate restrictions on the right to strike in the UK. The TUC believes that the proposed statutory thresholds are undemocratic and breach ILO principles that only votes cast in ballots should be taken into account. The TUC agrees with the European Social Rights Committee’s assessment that the existing procedural obligations in relation to industrial action in the UK are excessive and disproportionate and that the nature of these obligations will be compounded by the wide-ranging restrictions introduced by the Bill. We believe that the cumulative impact of these provisions, and the opportunity they provide for harassing and expensive litigation by employers, are wholly inconsistent with the government’s obligations to take all necessary and appropriate measures to ensure that workers and employers may exercise freely the right to organise. The Bill will also curb the rights of unions and their members to picket peacefully at or near union members’ workplaces. These provisions will undermine the basic civil liberties and democratic freedoms of ordinary working people, including rights to assemble and protest and the right to freedom of association. Of particular concern are measures which will substantially change the role of the police in overseeing picketing and protest activities, creating an increased risk of blacklisting of workers engaged in union activities. The Bill seeks to restrict the ability of trade unions to represent their members, particularly in the public sector. It would provide the government with wide-ranging powers to interfere with collective agreements and contracts of employment on trade union facilities and check-off arrangements which have been voluntarily agreed by employers and unions, thereby undermining fundamental rights to freedom of association. The Bill also provides the Certification Officer (CO) with far-reaching new investigative and enforcement powers. The CO will be able to initiate investigations even though no complaint has been received from a union member, to demand documentation at short notice, to call witnesses and cross-examine them, to determine whether there has been a breach and then to decide on the relevant penalty. The TUC believes these far-reaching powers are not consistent with the principles of natural justice.
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The TUC is also concerned by the limitations of the government’s assessment on the issues arising under European Convention on Human Rights in relation to the Bill. The Government Memorandum published in July 2015 fails to consider the human rights implications arising from the additional regulation of union political funds. The Bill will create onerous new obligations on trade unions and their members which do not apply to other organisations. The government has also failed to produce any assessment of the human rights implications of its proposed restrictions on check-off arrangements. Not only is the TUC concerned that much of the Bill is inconsistent with the European Convention on Human Rights, it also gives Ministers the power to require local authorities and other public bodies to take steps which are in violation of their own obligations under the Human Rights Act. The TUC is happy to provide the Committee with additional information should this be of assistance in relation to your scrutiny of this Bill. Yours sincerely
Frances O’Grady General Secretary
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