HC Deb 14 January 2004 vol 416 c784W
Mr. Hancock

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her policy to ensure that the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry is made mandatory. [145490]

Mr. Sutcliffe

The Government believe that voluntary collective agreements should not be legally enforceable unless all the parties covered by such agreements want it. To do otherwise would undermine the voluntarist nature of collective bargaining in this country and dissuade parties from entering voluntary agreements.