§ Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list instances since 1 November when and where, in accordance with employment legislation, secret ballots have been held to confirm the continuation of closed shop agreements; and what have been the results of these secret ballots.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe employment legislation imposes no specific obligation on employers to hold secret ballots on the continuation of closed shop agreements. However, if no ballot is held the effect is exactly the same as if a ballot is held and the required majority is not achieved; dismissal for non-membership of a trade union becomes automatically unfair. Details of ballots which have been reported in the press as having been held since 1 November are as follows.
It is clear that only a very small proportion of the 4 million or so employees covered by closed shops have so far been given the chance of a ballot and that the vast majority of closed shops have therefore lost all legal protection. In addition, a number of major employers—including the water authorities, the National Bus Company, United Biscuits — have terminated their closed shop agreements; and others, including British Gas, have made it clear that they are not prepared to dismiss employees on grounds of non-membership of a trade union.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyPress reports indicate that since the strike ballot provisions of the Trade Union Act 1984 came into effect on 26 September one ballot has been held as a direct result of legal proceedings brought under the Act. In that instance a majority of the union members 115W voting expressed their willingness to take part in industrial action. However, in three other reported cases —including Austin Rover — employers have obtained injunctions which required the trade unions concerned to desist from organising industrial action because they had failed to hold ballots in accordance with the Act.
§ Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Employment which trade unions have informed his Department of their acceptance of public money for postal ballots.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyI am informed by the Certification Officer that 26 trade unions have applied for public money since the inception of the funding scheme in 1980. Press reports suggest that for the first time a number of unions affiliated to the TUC are either intending to make applications for funding or are pressing the TUC to change its policy of boycotting the scheme. Unions mentioned in these reports include
The Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers, (Engineering Section)The Association of Scientific Technical and Managerial StaffsThe Electrical Electronic Telecommunication and Plumbing Union andThe United Road Transport Union.