§ [Nos. 10 and 11]
§ After Clause 2 insert the following new clause:
§ Freedom of the press
§ ". After section 1 of the principal Act here shall be inserted the following section: —
§ "Charter on freedom of the press
§ 1A.—(1) If, before the end of the period of six months beginning with the passing of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Amendment) Act 1975, there is agreed among parties including employers of journalists, or employers associations representing such employers, editors or editors' organisations, and trade unions representing journalists, a charter containing rules of conduct for employers, trade unions, editors and other journalists on matters relating to the freedom of the press, the Secretary of State shall lay before both Houses of Parliament a draft of that charter.
§ (2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above, matters relating to the freedom of the press include
- (a) the rights of editors and other persons exercising editorial responsibilities to discharge their duties free from any obligation to join a trade union;
- (b) the rights of journalists to join a trade union of their choice;
- (c) the rights of editors to commission, publish or not to publish any article free from pressure by industrial action;
- (d) the rights of journalists not to be arbitrarily or unreasonably excluded or expelled from membership of a trade union.
§ (3) If no such charter has been agreed as mentioned in subsection (1) above, the Secretary of State shall, after consultation with the Press Council and such of the parties referred to in that subsection, such organisations representing workers, and such organisations representing employers, as he thinks fit, prepare in draft a charter containing rules of conduct designed to secure the rights mentioned in subsection (2) above together with such other matters as may have been agreed among the parties mentioned in subsection (1) hereof, and shall lay the draft before both Houses of Parliament.
§ (4) If a draft laid under subsection (1) or (3) above is approved by resolution of each House of Parliament, the Secretary of State shall issue the charter in the form of the draft.
§ (5) A charter agreed as mentioned in subsection (1) above, or prepared by the Secretary of State in accordance with subsection (3) above, may be revised from time to time by agreement between such parties as are referred to in subsection (1) above, and the Secretary of State shall lay a draft of the revised charter before both Houses of Parliament.
§ (6) If a draft laid under subsection (5) above is approved by resolution of each House of Parliament, the Secretary of State shall issue the revised charter in the form of the draft.
§ (7) On issuing a charter or revised charter under subsection (4) or (6) above the Secretary of State shall make by statutory instrument an order specifying the date on which the charter or revised charter is to come into effect.
§ (8) No criminal proceedings shall lie against any person on account of a contravention of the charter but the obligation to comply with the charter is a duty owed to any person who may be affected by a contravention of it and any breach of that duty by industrial action or otherwise is actionable accordingly subject to the defences and other incidents applying to actions for breach of statutory duty.
§
(9) In this section—
article" means any matter printed or intended for printing or broadcast or intended for broadcasting by television or radio;
industrial action" means—
(a) a concerted stoppage of work by a group of workers, whether (in the case of all or any of those workers) the stoppage is or is not in breach of their terms and conditions of employment and whether it is carried on during or on the termination of their employment, or
§ (b) any concerted course of conduct which—
- (i) is carried on by a group of workers with the intention of preventing, reducing or otherwise interfering with the production of goods or the provision of services, and
- (ii) in the case of some or all of them, is carried on in breach of their contracts of employment or (where they are not employees) in breach of their terms and conditions of service.")
§ The Commons agree to this Amendment but propose the following Amendment thereto:—
§ In subsection (1) of the new clause, in line 1, leave out ("six") and insert ("twelve.")
§ 3.49 p.m.
§ Lord SHEPHERDMy Lords, I beg to move that the House doth agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 11 to Lords Amendment No. 10. The House will remember that in Committee my noble friend Lord Houghton of Sowerby, when he moved his Amendment which is now referred to as the Houghton Amendment, provided there should be a period—
§ Lord HAILSHAM of SAINT MARYLEBONEMy Lords, if I may interrupt the noble Lord, Lord Shepherd, the Commons made, I think, three separate Amendments. I hope I am on the right one; I must apologise if I am on the wrong one. If I am right, they made three separate Amendments to No. 10—namely, Nos. 11, 12 and 13. They raised rather separate points. Perhaps we can take them separately in one sense, if the noble Lord would not find it inconvenient to do so, because they are rather separate debates.
§ Lord SHEPHERDMy Lords, I am surprised, because that was in fact what I was doing. I was speaking to Amendment No. 11, to leave out "six" and to insert "twelve". As the House will remember, the Amendment tabled by my noble friend Lord Houghton of Sowerby provided for a period of six months for both sides of industry to agree to the terms of a charter. In the event of them not so doing it was required of the Secretary of State himself to produce to Parliament the terms of a charter. I explained on that occasion that I was loath to involve the Secretary of State because, in matters of the freedom of the Press, I should have thought one of the essential freedoms is that Government should not be too closely involved in any working agreement. But, as a result of various discussions, it was agreed that we should extend the period of six months to twelve months. That is the purpose of Amendment No. 11 and I commend it wholeheartedly to your Lordships' House. I beg to move.
§ Moved, That this House doth not insist on Amendment No. 10 to which the Commons have disagreed for the Reason numbered 11.—(Lord Shepherd.)
§ Lord HAILSHAM of SAINT MARYLEBONEMy Lords, I do not know whether the noble Lord, Lord Houghton of Sowerby, who was responsible for the original Amendment to which this is an Amendment, or the noble Lord, Lord Goodman, who is responsible for certain Amendments to that Amendment, wish to accept this Amendment. But if they, or either of them were to do so, I think noble Lords on these Benches would not be disposed to argue the matter.
§ Lord HOUGHTON of SOWERBYMy Lords, when I remain silent in your Lordships' House, your Lordships can take it that I am reasonably satisfied.
§ Lord GOODMANMy Lords, the controversy in this matter arises on a later clause. So far as we are concerned, whether the Secretary of State makes a code for the Press in six months, 12 months or six years, it is an obnoxious provision.
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.