Trade unions: Tory lie: We support industrial democracy: our legislation has returned the trade unions to their members
Labour Briefing1980sTranscribed by hand from the printed page.
Editor's note. This section of the election special's "15 Tory lies exposed" is unsigned. The issue credits its writers only together, and Alan Thornett is among them. Its subject and argument (the anti-union laws, ballots, Wapping, "management by fear") are his, and it is placed here as likely his; it is not printed under his name.
This is a bit much from a government which came to office with a plan designed to break the power of the trade unions and restore the undisputed authority of the employers — through the creation of mass unemployment and its use as a big stick with which to beat the unions.
Particularly in manufacturing industry, the employers grasped the opportunity created for them by Thatcher, and introduced what has become known in many industries as "management by fear" — where trade unionists are victimised for any challenge to management authority and workers are sacked for failing to meet management imposed work norms.
Result
As a result of Tory measures, workers in this country have less rights in law than they have had for almost a century, and far less than workers in any other West European country.
Thatcher "supports" free trade unions in Poland, yet we no longer have free trade unions in Britain. This is not a cliche — it is absolutely true! Legislation introduced since 1972 is entirely designed to back the employers against the shop floor.
New laws have taken away immunities from prosecution which are essential for the operation of free trade unions, and which were established as long ago as 1906! They have restricted the right to strike and to picket and given the courts wide powers to intervene in industrial disputes; yet the right to strike is fundamental to industrial democracy.
The government claims that the cornerstone of their industrial democracy is their measures to require the election of union executives and secret ballots before strikes! Yet they were very selective about the union officials they have made subject to ballot. Full-time officials, for example, who hold the real power in most unions, are not covered by the measures — since this could actually enhance the democratic control of the unions from the base.
Legislation already passed requires secret ballots before strikes; but the results are only recognised if they go the right way. If they go the "wrong way" the result is attacked and undermined — or simply ignored. A prime example of this was Rupert Murdoch's sacking of 6,500 printers at Wapping. The fact that the printers repeatedly voted to continue the dispute was ignored, and there were no protests when the dispute was called off by the unions with no ballot. In fact they never call for a demcoratic vote to call a dispute off — providing the decision goes the right way!
Legislation
Now the latest batch of Tory industrial legislation is designed to give strike-breakers the legal right to cross a picket line in defiance of the result of a legally required ballot.
The law demands a ballot before a strike — but individuals are only required to abide by the decision if it goes against a strike! This is the reality of "industrial democracy" in Thatcher's Britain!
The Tories are not "giving the unions back to the members" — they are strengthening the power of the state and the employers against the unions, to ensure that trade union members have no collective rights and no power at all!