GMB Yorkshire Region Trade Union Bill Binder Bansel Head of Employment 20 February

Trade Union Bill  Current progress  House of Lords  Reading of the Bill – January 2016  Committee stage – 8 February 2016  Will there be further amendments? 2

Ballot Threshold In addition to obtaining a majority in the ballot:  Minimum turnout: 50 per cent of those eligible to vote must have done so (clause 2(1))  Higher threshold in six industrial sectors  In addition to 50 per cent plus majority and 50 per cent turn out, at least 40 per cent of those eligible to vote must vote in favour (clause 3) 3

Ballot Threshold Specified industrial sectors Example: In a ballot of 1000  500 at least must have voted and a majority in favour of at least 400  If only 500 voted, the majority must be at least 80 per cent 4

What are “important public services” ? Important public services include:  Health services  Education of those aged under 17  Fire services  Transport services  Decommissioning of nuclear installations  Border security  See further detail in latest draft regulations 5

What are “important public services” ?  Regulations will determine “important public services”  Will this include private sector businesses arising from “important public sector services”?  IT?  Catering?  Maintenance? 6

What are “important public services” ? Areas of uncertainty:  Latest consultation removes services that are “ancillary” to important public services?  What does “normally engaged in” mean?  What group of workers will be treated as normally engaged in providing important public services?  Latest response suggests apply 40% threshold where the “majority” of workers are engaged in important public services 7

Impact of the 50% requirement?  Will turnout increase, due to member awareness?  Will unions have to spend more time and money to ensure the message is well understood by members 8

Is 50% requirement lawful?  Breach of ILO Convention 87 ILO 87 Article 11 “Each Member of the International Labour Organisation for which this Convention is in force undertakes to take all necessary and appropriate measures to ensure that workers and employers may exercise freely the right to organise. “ 9

Impact of the 50% requirement? Bulgaria Case  ILO condemned 50 per cent approval requirement in strike ballots  “Account should only be taken of the votes cast” and any “quorum and majority should be fixed at a reasonable level” 10

Is Public Services Provision Legal?  Additional requirement is that at least 40 per cent of those entitled to vote in the ballot answered yes to that question  Breach of ILO  Is any interference capable of being justified under Article 11(2) ECHR 11

Ballot Paper Information  Ballot paper to contain additional information  Reasonably detailed indication of the matters in issue in the trade dispute  Where workers are being balloted for action short of a strike, the nature of that action must be specified  Further information must be given of the dates of the proposed action 12

 Notice of ballot result must include information about whether the 50 per cent threshold is met  In cases of important public services must include information about whether the 40 per cent voter threshold was met 13

New Notice Provisions  The Union must give 14 days instead of 7 days notice to the employer before taking industrial action pursuant to a lawful mandate (clause 7)  The ballot mandate will only now be valid for 4 months  If dispute is not settled in that time and the Union wishes to continue with industrial action must hold a fresh ballot 14

Information to CO  Union will have to provide information about all industrial action in its annual report to the Certification Officer  Must include details about each dispute which the union has been engaged in in the year in question, the action taken and its duration  Union must provide to CO the same information as to ballot results as it provides to members in the ballot result notice  What will this information be used for? 15

Additional Proposals  Further proposals are requirement for the union to publish at the time of the notice of industrial action, their plans  To employer, the police and the CO  Failure to do so will allow the CO to fine the union or direct that it provides further information  Failure to publish plans will be taken into account in any civil proceedings 16

Picketing and Leverage  Current law already provides a number of civil and criminal liabilities  Public order offences/civil claims for damages/existing prescriptive format for lawful picketing 17

Picketing and Leverage New S220A TULRCA  Union will not have protection for peaceful picketing – unless requirements are met  Liable to injunctions not to picket/damages claim  Union appoints picket supervisor  Picket supervisor must be familiar with the code of practice – will there be a new code? 18

Picketing and Leverage Picket supervisor must:  Have taken reasonable steps to advise of his/her name, place of picketing and contact details  Have letter of authorisation from the union  Show the letter to the police or “any other person who reasonably asks to see it”  Wear a badge or armband readily identifying him/her as such 19

Picketing and Leverage CO to be provided with plans including:  When the union intends to hold a protest or picket  Where?  How many people will be involved?  Confirmation of people who have been informed of the strategy  Whether there be the use of loud speakers, props and banners 20

Picketing and Leverage  Whether social media will be used including the setting up of websites 21

Additional Proposals  Further proposals are requirement for the union to publish at the time of the notice of industrial action, their plans  To employer, the police and the CO  Failure to do so will allow the CO to fine the union or direct that it provides further information  Failure to publish plans will be taken into account in any civil proceedings 22

Picketing and Leverage Further measures will include:  Whether other unions are involved  Steps taken to liaise with those unions  Whether the unions have informed the members of the relevant laws  Any changes in the plan have to be published  Is this an unjustifiable invasion of privacy? 23

Collective Agreements New S172 TULRCA – Unilateral power to limit the duration and purpose for which time may be used:  Power for ministers to rewrite agreements for public sector employers  Power to modify collective agreements  Breach of ILO Conventions 98 and

ILO 151 – public sector trade unions have a right to workplace facilities  These facilities are to be the subject of collective bargaining (not by government mandate) 25

Political Funds Unlawful to require members to pay into the union’s political fund Member must opt in to pay into the union’s political fund and can withdraw this-clause 10 Union must provide CO with details of the recipients, nature and amount of expenditure Why is this required? 26

 New (and further) grounds for employers to claim injunctions to prevent industrial action or claim damages after the event  1970s – 12.9 million days per year lost  1980s – 700,000 days per year lost  ONS confirmed “a significant decline in the number of strikes since 1995 compared with previous years …” 27 Possible Effect?

 Days lost due to strikes in the last 10 years is generally lower than in previous decades  Necessity for measures?  Lack of evidence of necessity-scope for challenge by union movement? 28

Other matters Ban check off in the public sector Relevant public sector employers to provide information on TU officials Number, amount of facility time and cost Health and safety officials? What will this information be used for? 29

 Proposed change to labour rights, right to organise, right to bargain and the right to strike are bound up in new powers for CO  CO has power to order Union to produce document if he/she “thinks there is a good reason to do so” 30 New Powers of CO

 Power to appoint one or more inspectors  Investigate and to make a report as to whether union has complied with the obligations in both the Bill and TULRCA  CO can require information of third parties including employers, disgruntled members of public, MPs, media and others – regardless of whether member makes any such complaint 31 New Powers of CO

CO will therefore be able to act on behalf of State to:  Bring a complaint against the trade union  Make a decision about which he has brought his own complaint  Use other powers to impose a fine on the trade union  CO has power to impose a levy on trade unions for running his/her office  Article 6 ECHR rights? 32 New Powers of CO

 Final form of the Act?  Disputes may become more protracted  There will be more litigation  Many more matters will be referred to the CO  Co-ordinated political stance by the movement?  Co-ordinated move to challenge the matter before the ECHR? 33 Conclusions

34 QUESTIONS