The role of trades unions is important. They form a powerful voice for workers and as a result of their activities, in part through finding their voice in Parliament with the Labour Party, that workers conditions have improved immeasurably. The EU has responded by creating many important regulations to create a safe environment for workers (although I do concede that some of these regulations are occasionally interpreted with a little too much zeal). At a local level, I engage constructively with the Community Union, who represent the carpet trades and it is, I believe, a worthwhile relationship with a very sensible group of people.
However, from time to time, the unions do create hardship for the wider population through strikes. These strikes push their point and there is no better way of making a point than removing the right for other people to get to work, as with train strikes. The problem is, in far too many cases, the vote of those who want to strike is a relatively small number of those eligible to vote. So whilst it is important to keep the right to strike, it is important that the union members really do want to strike.
That is why the Trade Union Bill seeks to secure a new 50% participation in strike ballots, and a 40% threshold of support (of all eligible to vote) for important public services. Of course, there is an argument that many MPs don’t get that level of support, but parliamentary elections are not simply a two way vote (in Wyre Forest we had 6 choices). However, much more importantly, in a general election, everyone can vote: in a strike ballot, those being affected by the strike – the commuters, the patients, the students and parents – don’t get a vote so it is right that the threshold is set higher.
The bill has other measures, such as removing the automatic charging of Labour Party membership through union subscriptions. No other political party automatically collects membership and subscriptions by these slightly opaque measures. But if people want to be a member of the union and the Labour Party, they can opt in.
These changes – and others – are intended to resolve hardship suffered by third parties affected by, in many cases, a small number of unionists who want to strike. It isn’t fair and the costs on us all are high. It is time to act.