In a press release issued late Friday afternoon, 4th April the final crushing of worker’s rights and Trade Unions has been announced by a coalition government that hates trade unions and never blames employers for industrial disputes.
Hidden by a smokescreen of what the British workforce, most of whom are not in Trade Unions, will see as a reasonable approach; history of Thatcher-speak and now Cameron-speak, shows that the exact opposite of what they say they are doing is what they actually intend.
Many will be forgiven for referring to the sorry history of the last 4 plus years of annihilating health and safety protection at work and review after review of the HSE; as an example that not matter what any claimed independent and evidenced review comes up with, the Tories will ignore it and bring in what they want anyway.
Given that Cable and Maude in particular detest Trade Unions, and that in the case of Maude who was in Thatcher’s cabinet when she attacked the National Union of Mineworkers and brought in the most stringent Trade Union laws in Europe; it is clear that nothing less than the total destruction of workers rights and effective Trade Unionism is the final goal of this Tory-led coalition government.
The so-called independent review includes government and CBI officials, but as per usual throughout British history, those that any changes will effect the most are nowhere to be seen when it comes to being able to express their view.
Until British business decides to stop the ‘us and them’ attitude that most employers from the SME to the corporate giants have as their mantra when it comes to managing their workforce, the UK will remain as having amongst the sickest workforce and less productive than the majority of European countries as official figure3s which the Tories never mention, clearly show.
Using the excuse of so-called intimidatory tactics by Trade Unions, it makes no mention of the threats of sacking being metered out to workers on a frequent basis by bullying employers, the forcing of workers to ignore health & safety legislation and lose their lives as a result, and the work related stress that a great majority of the UK workforce suffers. Nothing can be more intimidatory than threatened with dismissal, irrespective of how illegal or irresponsible the employer’s attitude may be, and the risk to life it may pose.
The wording of the Government’s press release is reproduced below:
‘An independent review into the legal implications of alleged intimidation tactics, announced by the government in November, was launched by the government today. The review will examine the law around so-called ‘leverage’ tactics used by trade unions in industrial disputes, as well as the role of employers in such disputes.
The review will be led by leading industrial relations lawyer Bruce Carr QC and will make proposals and recommendations for change.
The government has a keen interest in the resilience of critical industrial infrastructure. Resilience cannot be guaranteed without effective workforce relationships. These relationships, and the law that governs them, have consequences both for the operation of particular, critically important, facilities, as well as more widely in the economy, at both a local and national level. Therefore, the government wants to assess whether the current legislation dealing with activities taking place during industrial disputes is fit for the 21st century.
The review’s Terms of Reference are to provide an assessment of the:
- alleged use of extreme tactics in industrial disputes, including so-called leverage tactics
- effectiveness of the existing legal framework to prevent inappropriate or intimidatory actions in trade disputes
The Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude said:
“This government’s long-term economic plan is building a stronger, more competitive economy to secure a better future for Britain.
Trade unions can play a constructive role in the modern workplace, but allegations of union industrial intimidation tactics – which include attempts to sabotage business supply chains – are very serious and may be damaging our economy’s competitiveness, which would make our future less secure.
That’s why it’s right to have this review to get to the bottom of these tactics and to determine whether the existing law is effective.”
Business Secretary Vince Cable said:
“Strong and effective relations between employers and workers were crucial in safeguarding British jobs during the worst of the economic crisis.
These strong industrial relations will continue to be at the heart of our economic recovery and I am keen to see balanced input from both sides on how to improve them further. This is especially important for sites that form part of our critical national infrastructure.
We are determined to make the UK the best place in Europe to start and grow a business. Good industrial relations and a flexible labour market are key strengths of our economy. We must safeguard these if we are to continue to attract business investment in the years ahead.”
Full terms of reference
Independent review of the law governing industrial disputes – terms of reference
The government has a keen interest in the resilience of critical industrial infrastructure.
Resilience cannot be guaranteed without effective workforce relationships. These relationships, and the law that governs them, have consequences both for the operation of particular, critically important, facilities, as well as more widely in the economy, at both a local and national level.
Therefore, the government wants to assess whether or not the current legislation dealing with activities taking place during industrial disputes is fit for the 21st century.
Terms of reference
The terms of reference of the review will be to provide an assessment of the:
- alleged use of extreme tactics in industrial disputes, including so-called ‘leverage’ tactics; and the
- effectiveness of the existing legal framework to prevent inappropriate or intimidatory actions in Trade Disputes.
The review will make proposals and recommendations for change.
The Review will be led by an independent senior lawyer from outside government. The senior lawyer will be supported by a Secretariat drawn from officials from BIS and Cabinet Office and across government.
The senior lawyer will report jointly to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Minister for the Cabinet Office. The government will consider the proposals and recommendations and its response and position will be agreed collectively in the normal way.’
Commenting on the Government aims as stated in their press release,
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said:
"This has nothing to do with good industrial relations and is simply part of the Conservative Party's general election campaign."
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond responded quite bluntly according to the BBC news website, telling them he had been consulted on the inquiry and that the way it had been announced suggested it was "entirely about seeking electoral advantage".
"There are of course legitimate issues that should be addressed in relation to industrial relations and the operation of our key national infrastructure.
However, to allow such an important matter to be presented as a political manoeuvre is foolish and irresponsible.”
He said Police in Scotland was "more than capable of administering the law" and there "must be no attempt to politicise their role".
As usual the Labour Party response was bland and noncommittal!
By the mere fact that the Government say the review will take at least 6 months, plays nicely into the Election timetable next year, making it quite obvious this is a political move by both coalition political parties.
It remains to be seen whether or not a responsible, factual and independent review takes place and if so, how the government respond.
Given their wish to abolish the Working Time Directive and the hallowed American way of working that many companies are trying to force through, it is clear that the Tories want a US-style industrial relationship landscape – the higher and fire at will principle.
If the Tory numerous reviews of the HSE are anything to go by, they will simply ignore any recommendations that doesn’t suit their ends, and as with the HSE and H&S legislation, will go much further than any recommendation made by those reviewing the current industrial law climate.
When it comes down to it, France Maude is nothing short of the Grim Reaper of employment law and worker’s rights.
Source: Gov.UK / BBC News / Unionsafety
