§ 28. Mr. Thurnhamasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied with the effectiveness of the operation of section 17 of the Employment Act 1980 in stopping secondary picketing.
§ Mr. GummerSection 17 of the Employment Act 1980 is concerned with secondary action of all kinds, including blacking and so called sympathetic strikes. Section 16 deals specifically with picketing away from a picket's own place of work and removes immunity from civil law actions from any unlawful acts committed during such picketing. Since the passage of the Act there has been a considerable diminution of indiscriminate secondary blacking and of secondary picketing and employers have been able to secure civil law remedies when they have found it necessary.