§ 37. Mr. WinnickTo ask the Minister for the Civil Service when he last met representatives of trade unions in the civil service to discuss the role of trade unions within the civil service.
§ The Minister of State, Privy Council Office (Mr. Tim Renton)We have not yet met to discuss civil service issues, but I intend to follow the practice of my predecessors and meet civil service trade union representatives whenever necessary.
§ Mr. WinnickThe Minister used to enjoy baiting trade unions when he was a Conservative Back-Bench Member. Is he aware that the continued ban on trade union membership at GCHQ is entirely unacceptable to Opposition Members? We shall never accept that British people should be denied their right to belong to a trade union. Will Tory Members have the guts to oppose my ten-minute Bill, which I shall introduce next week, the purpose of which is to attempt to reverse the present position?
§ Mr. RentonThe hon. Gentleman does me a disservice and his memory a considerable error. I have never baited a trade unionist in my life. I have been a member of the Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff, like the right hon. Member for Leeds, East (Mr. Healey), for about 10 years. From time to time I have asked the right hon. Gentleman whether he would lend me his APEX tie so that I could wear it on suitable occasions. There is no change in the Government's position on GCHQ. I doubt, therefore, whether any of my colleagues will support the Bill that the hon. Gentleman intends to introduce next week. Affiliation by the Government Communications Staff Federation at Cheltenham to any outside bodies would not be acceptable to the Government.
§ Mr. BatisteDoes my right hon. Friend agree that when a civil service union affiliates to an organisation such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, it is giving a clear signal to all its members, and especially to those who work 16 in the Ministry of Defence, that it is putting the interests of the discredited dogma held by a minority of left-wing activists ahead of the need to represent the legitimate interests of all its members?
§ Mr. RentonMy hon. Friend advances his argument extremely well. I am sure that the leaders of the union concerned will carefully consider his remarks.