§ Q7. Mr. Bidwellasked the Prime Minister if he will discuss the working of the Industrial Relations Act when he next meets the CBI and the TUC.
§ The Prime MinisterIn my meetings with the CBI and TUC this year, I have made it clear that I am ready to discuss this matter with them on any appropriate occasion.
§ Mr. BidwellWhether or not the right hon. Gentleman discusses the working of the Industrial Relations Act, does he not now realise that the sequestration of the political funds of the AUEW, which is really attacking the funds of the Labour Party, and the latest NIRC verdict on the Transport and General Workers' Union, arising from the dispute at Heathrow Airport, have turned back the clock by three-quarters of a century? Is it not even now dawning on the right hon. Gentleman that the Industrial Relations Act is utterly useless in bringing about the harmony in industry which the nation so desperately requires?
§ The Prime MinisterNo, Sir. I cannot accept that. The two cases which the hon. Gentleman mentions had nothing in common. In the first case the union refused to take any part in the proceedings before the court and did not state its case, though it was perfectly open to the union to do so. In the second case the union did state its case, and the matter is still open to appeal.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsWill my right hon. Friend confirm that no fewer than 15,000 cases of unfair dismissal have been dealt with under the Act?
§ The Prime MinisterYes, Sir. I think that the figure now is rather larger than that. But this shows that individual trade 1551 unionists have had absolutely no doubt about resorting to the court where they thought that they had a grievance. A very large proportion of these cases has been settled by conciliation. Only in a minority of cases has a judgment been necessary.
§ Mr. SkinnerIs the Prime Minister aware that only a few days ago he said from the Dispatch Box, in relation to the AEUW problem of the political fine, that the union would be well advised to follow the Transport and General Workers' Union in defending itself in court? Is that sound advice now?
§ The Prime MinisterI have never made a reference in the House to a political fine. [Interruption.] I do not now see how right hon. and hon. Members of the Opposition can carry out what they claim to be observance of the law if they accuse one of the High Courts of this country of being a political institution.