And it looks nothing like the government’s original bill
The Trade Union Act received Royal assent on 4 May but a whole raft of measures the government wanted to bring in that would have had the potential to weaken trade union organising are not in the Act.
Gone are the abolition of DOCAS in the public sector, the need for members to opt back in to political funds, restrictions on facility time, additional powers to the Certification Officer (who regulates trade unions), restrictions on our right to picket and protest. The government also agreed to a review of the use of electronic voting in industrial action ballots. Full details are here.
Regional secretary Glyn Hawker said “I want to thank all those members who wrote to and lobbied their MPs, councillors and members of the House of Lords and spread the word on social media. Your campaigning was vital in getting our message across that the bill was a dangerous piece of legislation that would have removed the civil rights of millions of workers. We can all be pleased with what we have achieved. It shows that when we stick together and campaign together we can achieve great things”.