Trade Unions Have Enough Power Already, says the CBI

The Confederation of British Industry is urging Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt to resist using the law to bolster unjustifiably the role of trade unions in UK industrial relations.

The move comes ahead of key government decisions on the Employment Relations Act and the EU directive on information and consultation.

The Government is reviewing the Employment Relations Act 1999, which gave employees new rights to trade union representation. It is also deciding how to implement the EU directive, which requires companies to communicate and consult with staff.

John Cridland, CBI Deputy Director-General, said: "The government would be making a big mistake if it legislated further for more union power. Trade union representation should be driven by employee demand, not regulation."

The CBI says TUC proposals for radical reform of the Employment Relations Act could destabilise labour relations in the private sector by giving unions disproportionate influence.

Citing research showing direct consultation is most effective, Mr Cridland said the EU directive over-emphasises indirect consultation through employee representatives. The vast majority of UK firms do not work through unions, which represent about 19 per cent of private sector employees.

The TUC, on the other hand, asserts that if workers in small companies were given a voice, individual disputes would be much more likely to be resolved within the workplace. They add that most claims that end up in tribunals come from small firms, where there are few trade unions.

On implementation of the directive, the CBI says firms must remain free to use their own consultation procedures provided they have staff backing. It also wants a requirement that employees show support for any new consultation mechanisms.

On the review of the Employment Relations Act, the CBI proposes measures to help the legislation work more effectively. It wants:

- employers to have a say over the most appropriate bargaining units, which often reflect the structure of union membership rather than the business
- applications for union recognition to always be subject to ballots.

But on redundancy law, the employers' organisation says there is already extensive legislation. It says instances of the law being broken make the case for better communication and enforcement, not stricter requirements.

At the moment managers must consult "with a view to reaching agreement" when a firm has concrete proposals for making more than 20 people redundant.
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