§ 31. Mr. Rentonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received relating to protection against the unreasonable expulsion of trade union members from their unions.
§ Mr. WaddingtonWe receive such representations regularly and in substantial numbers. In particular, we recently received some 50 letters from individuals and groups of individuals following the TUC's so-called day of action on 22 September, complaining that they had been threatened with expulsion—and thus, in a closed shop, with the loss of their jobs—if they refused to take industrial action on that day. We have also received a number of similar complaints from employees of British Telecom arising out of the one-day strike on 20 October. Protection against unreasonable explusion from a union in a closed shop is already provided by section 4 of the Employment Act 1980 and will be further strengthened by the proposed changes to the provisions of the code of practice on the closed shop as set out in the draft revised code published on 8 December.