HC Deb 21 December 1976 vol 923 cc439-41
3. Mr. Gow

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what inquiries have been made by his Department into the circumstances in which the British Railways' Board has dismissed 31 of its employees for refusing to join a trade union.

The Minister of State, Department of Employment (Mr. Harold Walker)

I do not regard it as appropriate for my Department to make such inquiries.

Mr. Gow

Does not the Minister think that it should be of concern to his Department that on 29th November 31 employees in the public sector were dismissed from their jobs, many after a lifetime of service, for no other reason than that they refused to join a trade union? Does he not think that it is a sinister development that the right to work is dependent increasingly on whether a person is prepared to join a union?

Mr. Walker

Far from this being a sinister development, I understand that in British Rail there has been the resurrection in part of a moribund agreement, due to the perverse influence of the Industrial Relations Act. We regard these as matters primarily to be dealt with by the employers and trade unions concerned.

Mr. Cohen

Does my hon. Friend agree that serious disputes have arisen because of the dismissal of employees by Victorian-minded employers just because those employees have had the audacity to join trade unions? Does he further agree that the fact that no Questions have been asked by the Opposition on this subject shows a lack of sincerity when they talk of trying to defend the freedom of the individual?

Mr. Walker

I agree with my hon. Friend. Some of us had to sit through an all-night sitting this week discussing the dispute at Grunwick Processing Laboratories which involved the persecution of those who sought to exercise their right to join a trade union. I wish that some Conservative Members, including the right hon. Member for Lowestoft (Mr. Prior), would attack those employers with the same vigour as they tend to attack trade unions.

Mr. Adley

Would the Minister tell his hon. Friend that, unfortunately, Queen Victoria is dead and that times have changed? Does he not accept that it is the duty of any Government, in a democratic and free society, to protect freedom of choice and the liberty of the individual?

Mr. Walker

I wish that the hon. Gentleman would bear in mind the effects of the Industrial Relations Act, which was enacted by his own party and which provided for the closed shop in certain specified circumstances and at the same time attempted to define the rights of the majority. The majority have some rights too.