Trade Union Bill

Oliver Dowden Excerpts

Monday 14th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

The hon. Gentleman has moved on to an issue that I will cover later in my remarks.

[Oliver Dowden (Hertsmere) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that this is a simple matter of transparency? If people want to give money to the Labour party as union members, they should choose to do so. Indeed, if they do not actually choose to do so, the danger is that the unions are arguably guilty of mis-selling, because people do not know what they are buying when they join up for membership of a trade union.

[Sajid Javid]

My hon. Friend puts it very eloquently. This is an issue of transparency. It is about ensuring that when people, rightly, give money to any political party, they know that they are doing so and do it with their eyes wide open.

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[Oliver Dowden (Hertsmere) (Con)]

Like my right hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice and Howden (Mr Davis), I shall begin by declaring an interest. I also have a family link to trade unions: my grandfather was a trade union activist. He was known as Red Harry, and his obituary appeared in Socialist Worker. I mention him not only to declare an interest but to draw attention to what has changed in our industrial relations. When he was a trade union activist, during the first half of the last century, the principal conflict was between workers and capital. Much was achieved by the combined work of the Labour party and the trade unions in enhancing workers’ rights, but Labour Members, some of whom tend to use rather over-the-top language, should recognise that things have changed quite a lot in the past 50 or 60 years.

When trade unions choose to go on strike, it is often other workers who are adversely affected by the industrial action. The Conservatives are a party of workers, which is why we have committed ourselves to introducing a national living wage, to increasing the tax allowance for the lowest earners so that they can earn money tax-free, and to providing people with free childcare. As part of that commitment to workers, we also need to think about the impact of strikes on other workers.

Let me give the House an example from my constituency. If a teachers’ strike is called, it is other workers who feel the consequences. The working lives of the mums and dads are disrupted. They have to pay for alternative childcare and go through the stress and hassle of not being able to pick up their children from school and not knowing who will do so. It is right that we should balance the interests of the two groups of workers.

[Mhairi Black]

Saying that strikes are disruptive is not an argument against trade unions. They are meant to cause some kind of disruption, in order to show how strongly people feel and the lengths they are prepared to go to.

[Oliver Dowden]

Of course strikes are intended to be disruptive, but one of the fallacies that has been put forward by Labour Members is that the Bill proposes to take away people’s right to strike. It simply seeks to balance the interests of the workers in the trade union against those of other workers who are subjected to the effects of the strike.

[Kirsten Oswald]

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has suggested that the Bill is dealing with problems of the past and has nothing to do with the current situation?

[Oliver Dowden]

The hon. Lady might say that, but recent analysis shows that in the past four years, 3 million days have been lost to strike action. I am not content with the impact of that on my constituents. Hertsmere is close to London, and when there is a tube strike or a train strike, my constituents are massively adversely affected. I am not saying that that should never happen, but the Bill will rightly set a balance in three important respects.

First, the Bill states that if a strike is to be called, there will have to be a vote of at least 50% in favour of it. If the strike action is to be taken by those working in core public services, such as transport or education, four out of every 10 people in that union will have to vote in favour of it. Contrary to the assertions of Labour Members, this will not stop strikes happening. Indeed, the latest analysis shows that between 50% and 60% of strikes would still go ahead under the new legislation, but we must rebalance the interests of the workers who are trying to serve their communities with those who are going on strike.

The second important principle relates to workers in my constituency and elsewhere who are members of trade unions but who do not necessarily share the goals of the Labour party.

[Grahame M. Morris]

Many of the hon. Gentleman’s colleagues have made that same point about strike ballots, using the transport strikes in London as an illustration. The truth is, however, that the legislation will not make any difference. The ballots held by ASLEF and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers have huge turnouts, and their members are expressing legitimate concerns about safety and manning levels that many of the travelling public share. I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman has used the tube recently, but the stations are being denuded of the human beings who used to be there to offer assistance. This measure will do nothing to help that position. In fact, it will make matters worse.

[Oliver Dowden]

Labour Members cannot have their cake and eat it. They cannot simultaneously say that this is an horrendous piece of legislation that will stop all strike action while also saying that it will have no effect. The hon. Gentleman should choose one line of argument or the other. Teachers would certainly be subject to the legislation, and their last strike would have been affected by measures such as these.

I was talking about people in my constituency who are members of trade unions. There are important reasons for being a member of a union. For people who are the subject of unfair dismissal, for example, a trade union can often be a good source of advice and information. People join unions for a variety of reasons, but they often do not wish to give money to the Labour party. There should be a simple principle that if a union wishes to give the party money, its members should be able actively to choose to do so, in much the same way as if they were making a direct donation to the party. I see no unfairness in that. I am simply saying that if people support the Labour party, they should be able to choose to give it money.

Thirdly, the Bill works to redress the balance between striking and non-striking workers through the proposals to minimise the disruption caused by strike action. It is perfectly sensible to require 14 days’ notice of a strike. It would also be sensible, for example, that if the teachers at my daughter’s school were to go on strike, agency workers could be brought in so that my children’s education would not be disrupted. Similarly, it would be sensible to bring in agency workers so that commuters from my constituency would not be disrupted by a transport strike. That would not be cost-free to the employer, who would have to pay high rates to employ agency workers at short notice. Interestingly, given where the Labour party is at this stage, Labour Members have a choice: are they going to embrace the modern world and be on the side of workers—people in their constituencies who go out to work every day and do not want to be disrupted —or are they going to go back to the same old arguments that we thought had been settled 20 or 30 years ago? Interestingly, the measures taken then have never been repealed by the Labour party. I am absolutely clear which side I am on and which side the Conservative party is on. We are on the side of ordinary, hard-working people, while maintaining the right to strike. That is why I shall be voting in favour of this legislation.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

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[Mr Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)]

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this important debate on reforming and modernising our trade unions and helping to secure Britain’s economic recovery.

Trade unions have an incredibly important and constructive role to play in terms of industrial relations, helping their members, and as a part of wider civil society. For generations, trade unions have played an important role at the heart of their communities and in many workplaces, offering services from education and training to legal and financial assistance. For that reason, there are trade union members in all parts of the House, including my own.

However, trade unions are also powerful, well-funded organisations that must accept that power, wealth and influence come with responsibility and accountability. We must therefore balance their rights with those of working people, communities and businesses that have the right to expect that the services they rely on day in, day out are not disrupted at short notice by strikes supported by only a small proportion of union members. Similarly, there must be clear and positive mandates for any disruptive union action, as well as reform of trade union practices such as funding, picketing and use of facility time. This Bill sets out those necessary reforms.

Equally importantly, these Government reforms strengthen Britain’s economic competitiveness on the world stage. Britain is in a global race for success, engaged in a big fight not only with established economies in Europe and north America but fast-growing economies in Asia, Latin America and Africa. To build a strong and growing economy and, in turn, a more prosperous and fair society, we need employers that are open for business, schools and colleges that are not closed by strikes, and transport systems that let our commuters, visitors and shoppers go about their business.

Last-minute strikes and poor trade union practices hurt Britain’s productivity and growth at home and hinder our competitiveness abroad. The reforms in this Bill are welcome, beginning with reform of balloting for strikes. Strikes should only ever be a last resort and held as a result of a clear, positive decision. I therefore welcome the measures in the Bill to provide more clarity and democracy. The Bill will improve trade union practices and increase transparency. I particularly commend three measures: first, time-limited mandates, which will improve clarity and democratic legitimacy; secondly, the requirement for a clear description of the planned industrial action, which is fair and reasonable; and thirdly, the proposal for a new, transparent opt-in system for political subscriptions, which is welcome.

A poll by the Federation of Small Businesses found that last year’s strike action on the London underground cost about £600 million in lost hours, lost business, and lost productivity. Across Britain this year, we have again seen the shut-down of the London underground, strikes on ferries in western Scotland, strikes on trains on the First Great Western network, and strikes on buses in Cardiff, with future strikes potentially affecting the rugby world cup.

[Oliver Dowden]

Does my hon. Friend agree that often it is not trade union members in general who cause these strikes to happen, but a very small, politically motivated number of union organisers, and that is why it is right to have the threshold in the Bill?

[Mr Mak]

I thank my hon. Friend for his positive intervention; I completely agree. It is members of trade unions, who are working people, that the Bill seeks to protect.

The cost of this last-minute, poorly supported industrial action is substantial. It hurts our economy at home and hinders our competitiveness on the world stage. If we are to run and win the global race for success in an increasingly competitive global market, we need our shops and businesses to be open, generating wealth; we need our students and apprentices at school or college learning and developing the skills to win; and we need our workers and communities on the move, not stuck at home. We simply cannot afford the lost wealth that poorly supported strikes cause.

Trade unions have a constructive role to play, but like all organisations they must modernise, move with the times, and accept that with power and influence comes the need for more accountability and more transparency.