A body of the United Nations has urged the UK government to review some of the most controversial aspects of the trade union bill to ensure that they do not contravene international labour law.
The bill, which is currently going through the House of Lords, represents the biggest crackdown on trade union rights for 30 years and could result in the Labour party losing an estimated £8m in funding every year.
It includes plans to introduce a threshold of 50% turnout for industrial action ballots and, for important public sector services, a requirement that at least 40% of all eligible voters vote in favour of action. It also proposes to lift the ban on using agency workers to replace permanent staff during strikes.
In an annual report from the International Labour Organisation, the body calls for the government to review proposals to allow agency workers to replace strikers and asks that it only permits the use of replacements in industrial action in “essential services”.
Last month, the government announced that fire, health, education, transport, border security and nuclear decommissioning sectors would be deemed essential public services in the bill and therefore be subject to the 40% requirement. However, the ILO is asking the government to modify the bill to ensure that this rule does not apply to education and transport services.
The ILO, which has 186 member states, also called on the government to modernise the procedural rules for balloting set out in the bill, which include the requirement that voting must be done by post only. The Conservatives have claimed that electronic voting is a security risk, while unions argue that postal voting is expensive and time consuming.
It has requested further information from the government on plans to require union members to opt in to the political fund, the only source from which unions can give money to Labour.
The bill will change the way trade unionists pay into their union political fund, meaning that each union member will have to agree in writing every five years to opt into paying the political levy, as opposed to opting out via the current system.
Labour has estimated that this could result in the party losing up to £8m a year in funding. It has argued that the change means the trade union bill is in effect party funding legislation and goes against the long-established understanding that such reforms should be done on a cross-party basis.
The report said the committee has raised other issues in a “request addressed directly to the government” and that it has asked for a detailed reply before the end of the year.
A primary role of the ILO, which was established in 1919 as an agency of the League of Nations following the first world war, is to coordinate principles of international labour law. Although it registers complaints against bodies that are violating international rules, the ILO does not impose sanctions on governments.
Commenting on the report, the shadow business secretary, Angela Eagle, said it was becoming increasingly clear that the Conservative government had drawn up the bill “for reasons of political self-interest and vindictive spite” and that it was time the proposals were dropped altogether.
“The trade union bill is a divisive and partisan piece of legislation which Labour opposes in its entirety,” she said. “Not only is it an attack on the rights of working people across the UK, it is also an attempt to sneak through partial party funding reform through the back door, in a move that will hit the Labour party hard while leaving the Tories’ own funding base untouched.”
The bill, which is currently going through the House of Lords, represents the biggest crackdown on trade union rights for 30 years and could result in the Labour party losing an estimated £8m in funding every year.
It includes plans to introduce a threshold of 50% turnout for industrial action ballots and, for important public sector services, a requirement that at least 40% of all eligible voters vote in favour of action. It also proposes to lift the ban on using agency workers to replace permanent staff during strikes.
In an annual report from the International Labour Organisation, the body calls for the government to review proposals to allow agency workers to replace strikers and asks that it only permits the use of replacements in industrial action in “essential services”.
Last month, the government announced that fire, health, education, transport, border security and nuclear decommissioning sectors would be deemed essential public services in the bill and therefore be subject to the 40% requirement. However, the ILO is asking the government to modify the bill to ensure that this rule does not apply to education and transport services.
The ILO, which has 186 member states, also called on the government to modernise the procedural rules for balloting set out in the bill, which include the requirement that voting must be done by post only. The Conservatives have claimed that electronic voting is a security risk, while unions argue that postal voting is expensive and time consuming.
It has requested further information from the government on plans to require union members to opt in to the political fund, the only source from which unions can give money to Labour.
The bill will change the way trade unionists pay into their union political fund, meaning that each union member will have to agree in writing every five years to opt into paying the political levy, as opposed to opting out via the current system.
Labour has estimated that this could result in the party losing up to £8m a year in funding. It has argued that the change means the trade union bill is in effect party funding legislation and goes against the long-established understanding that such reforms should be done on a cross-party basis.
The report said the committee has raised other issues in a “request addressed directly to the government” and that it has asked for a detailed reply before the end of the year.
A primary role of the ILO, which was established in 1919 as an agency of the League of Nations following the first world war, is to coordinate principles of international labour law. Although it registers complaints against bodies that are violating international rules, the ILO does not impose sanctions on governments.
Commenting on the report, the shadow business secretary, Angela Eagle, said it was becoming increasingly clear that the Conservative government had drawn up the bill “for reasons of political self-interest and vindictive spite” and that it was time the proposals were dropped altogether.
“The trade union bill is a divisive and partisan piece of legislation which Labour opposes in its entirety,” she said. “Not only is it an attack on the rights of working people across the UK, it is also an attempt to sneak through partial party funding reform through the back door, in a move that will hit the Labour party hard while leaving the Tories’ own funding base untouched.”
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