Union Recognition Laws Will NOT Be Revamped

According to BBC Newsnight, ministers will next Thursday publish proposals for a review of the Employment Relations Act 1999, which gave rights to union representation.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has strongly criticised the Trades Union Congress (TUC) for putting forward "an enormous wish-list" of reforms when the Act has only recently been coming into effect.

The Government is reported to agree that major reform would be premature. It is thought to be limiting proposals to changes that would make the rules work more effectively. It is reported that the CBI has convinced the Government not to:

- scrap the requirement that in any recognition ballot that 40 per cent of relevant employees must vote for collective bargaining - not just a majority of those voting
- apply the Employment Relations Act to companies with less than 21 staff, where employee involvement is more direct
- repeal laws allowing companies to dismiss workers after eight weeks of a strike where an employer has taken all reasonable steps to resolve the dispute
- prevent employees from having the freedom to agree individual terms and conditions.

John Cridland, CBI Deputy Director-General, said: "Employers will breathe a sigh of relief if the government has not caved into union pressure and gone for a wholesale review. It would be deeply damaging if ministers tore up a fragile agreement that is currently working well.
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