§ Lord BOYD-CARPENTERasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will list the countries other than the United Kingdom in which trade unions enjoy immunities or privileges in respect of the bringing against them of proceedings in courts of law.
Lord WALLACE of COSLANYParliament has traditionally provided for the right to take industrial action by creating immunities from categories of civil action which—from time to time—the courts, acting on common law principles, have found to exist. It also, in the 1906 Trade Disputes Act repealed in 1971, provided trade unions and employers associations with a general immunity from tort; currently Section 14 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act provides a more qualified immunity for trade unions and employers associations. Some other countries guarantee a right to strike in their constitutions, although this right may be circumscribed by other provisions or by rulings of their respective courts. Other countries introduce tests of "social adequacy" or "unfair labour practices" unknown to English law on which legal liability might be based. The legal status of collective agreements and the machinery for enforcing these also varies. In respect of criminal law, trade union officials or members in Britain may be liable for acts which threaten or disturb the public order, obstruct the highway, or threaten or inflict damage or violence to persons or property. Similar criminal provisions are thought to exist in other countries. To provide more detailed information on the legal provisions of other countries on this very general question could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.