The government’s latest attempt to prevent workers from campaigning for better pay and working conditions is set out in the recently published Trade Union Bill. Here are some of the things it will do:
- Impose such high turn out levels for strike ballots that if they were applied to elections would see most MPs not being able to be elected.
- Allow employers to break strikes by bring in agency workers. As well as making strikes ineffective this could have safety implications where untrained staff are used to carry out work.
- Make peaceful picketing a potential criminal offence.
- Put restrictions on the right to hold a demonstration in connection with a trade dispute.
- Require unions to register any social media accounts to be used during the strike and tell the employer in advance what will be posted on them.
- Remove the right of employers and unions to make agreements for the deductions of union subs from salaries, even if the unions pay for the service. Employers will still be allowed to deduct donations to charities from salaries (“payroll giving”) and will still be required to make deductions such as those demanded by the Child Support Agency.
- Allow government ministers to arbitrarily remove facility time from union reps.
The government are currently consulting on the provisions of the bill. UNISON wants to know your views so we can tell the government just what you think of their proposed anti-trades union legislation.
Click here to tell us your views.