§ EXCLUSION AND EXPULSION FROM TRADE UNIONS ATTRIBUTABLE TO CONDUCT
§ Lords amendment No. 44.
§ Mr. SutcliffeI beg to move, That this House agrees with the Lords in the said amendment.
§ Mr. Deputy SpeakerWith this, it will be convenient to consider Lords amendment No. 45.
§ Mr. SutcliffeDuring the Standing Committee stage of the Bill, I brought forward a new clause to give unions 1480 the latitude to deal adequately with political activists who pursue a racist or xenophobic political agenda. At that time, I indicated that the Government and the TUC were giving further consideration to the drafting of the remedies provisions.
I am glad to be able to say that we brought forward amendments on this point in the other place that expressly refer an employment tribunal to the union's objectives, as well as its rules, when determining whether the minimum award should apply. That was a key issue for the TUC, which was worried by the fact that many unions do not refer to their equality or anti-racist policies in their rule books.
The provisions affected by these amendments operate where a person is excluded or expelled from a union mainly because he or she is a member of a political party but partly because of other conduct. In combination, the amendments disapply the minimum award where the other conduct in question is contrary to the union's rules or objectives, provided that it was reasonably practicable for the person concerned to have ascertained the objectives in question.
The amendments give the degree of transparency that we have been aiming for, and improve the practical implementation of this clause. They satisfy the TUC's concerns on this point and, for these reasons, I hope that the House will agree to them.
§ Mr. BellinghamThese amendments were proposed when trade union legal eagles decided that the Bill needed to be improved. Opposition Members have had discussions with the trade union movement about the Bill, and I have met TUC general secretary Brendan Barber. We may not agree about much, but we do agree about some things. We are pragmatic and practical when it comes to improving the Bill, and common sense is our watchword. We support the amendment.
§ Mr. SutcliffeI thank the hon. Gentleman, and welcome his optimism about the relationship between the Conservative party and the trade union movement. I know that he has met Brendan Barber, and I encourage other Opposition Members to do the same.
The matter at issue here was important, and had the potential to open up a legal minefield. Again, I ask the House to support the amendment.