§ Mr. Gwilym JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received about the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians' conduct of its affairs; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ForthMy right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment has received no such representations. However, deficiencies in the register of members of the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians have been widely reported. These include the listing of people who are not union members. The Government intend to introduce legislation to strengthen the rights of union members against electoral fraud arising from such deficiencies in trade union registers.
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer of 25 February,Official Report, column 457, what representations he has received about the conduct of the elections for (a) officials and (b) other bodies of the former National Union of Seamen in 1984, 1985 and 1986; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ForthMy right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Employment has received no representations about any of the elections mentioned. Statutory requirements covering elections for members of trade unions' principal executive committees first came into effect in October 1985. The current requirements, together with the additional proposals in the Green Paper "Industrial Relations in the 1990s" (Cm. 1602), are intended to ensure that the basic right of union members to free and fair elections is effectively protected.