HC Deb 02 May 1978 vol 949 cc68-9W
37. Mr. Bulmer

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will review the law on the immunities given to trade unions in furtherance of a trade dispute, in the light of the practice of certain unions in threatening to put out of business employers whose employees decline to join the union.

Mr. Harold Walker

The immunities from certain types of legal action accorded to trade unions under current legislation are in very large part the same as those contained in the Trade Disputes Act 1906. Their restoration was debated at some length in the course of the passage of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act, and, particularly in the light of the experience of the Industrial Relations Act, the Government reject the idea that new restrictions on these immunities would be helpful in resolving satisfactorily any industrial disputes which may arise.