20.04.16
Government back down on public sector membership fees in Trade Union Bill
Automatic deduction of trade union membership from public sector workers’ wages will no longer be abolished by the Trade Union Bill after the government added a clause in the House of Lords.
Lord Bridges, parliamentary secretary to the Cabinet Office, said that the government had agreed to integrate an amendment into the Bill, proposed by Conservative peer Lord Balfe, which allows public sector employers to continue with the membership fee ‘check-off’ if they agree with the trade union and if the union meet the administrative costs.
The move was hailed by peers who had backed the amendment, saying that the proposed changes, which would require members to pay their fees via direct debit, would discourage workers, especially low-paid workers, women and those on payday loans, from paying and so receiving union protection and benefits.
Lord Bridges said that although the amendment was intended to “modernise” the relationship between unions and their members, he accepted that it was not seen that way in the House, adding: “I fear that my trying to convince your Lordships of our case this afternoon may simply add grist to the mill of those who see this measure as a means of undermining the trade unions themselves. That is certainly not—and never has been—the government’s intention.”
Lord Bridges added that the government have developed a list of around 21,000 publicly funded bodies, based on the Freedom of Information Act and excluding charities, that will be covered by the new regulations.
Lord Kerslake, president of the LGA, who had been preparing to support the amendment, welcomed the government’s decision, saying: “I am in the happy position of finding that the speech I wrote over the weekend is now entirely redundant. I think we are all agreed about the importance of the role of trade unions in this country. They are a part of British life. It was clear to anyone who looked at the detail that the government’s proposals on check-off stood to do considerable damage both to the unions themselves and to their members and potential members.”
Lord Kerslake added that he hoped the Lords debate will produce “equal progress on some of the other contentious issues in the Bill”.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission had previously warned that the Bill could breach the human right to strike.
Trade union leaders remain opposed to the Bill in its entirety, but welcomed the amendment.
Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the Trade Unions Congress, said: “We are delighted the government has listened and backed away from ending check-off in the public sector.
“Banning workers from choosing to pay union subs in a convenient way through their payroll would, as many have warned, damaged industrial relations and morale in key services.”
Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, added: “It was absurd that the government was seeking to interfere in the private and amicable arrangements between workers, their employers and their unions.”
The House of Lords have already introduced a select committee to look at the impact of the Bill on party funding.
(Image c. Tim Goode)