Introducing the 2nd Reading, The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade, Sajid Javid began by saying,
"Since the industrial revolution, Britain’s trade unions have done much to help to deliver that fairer society that I was describing. They have helped to secure higher wages, safer workplaces and stronger employee rights. They have fought for social justice and campaigned for freedom and democracy, and they have supplied the House with some of its most eloquent and influential Members, including Leaders of the Opposition."
Anyone hearing that would assume that what was to follow would be fair and reasonable, but no, it is not. The Bill will seek to inflict devere restrictions of how strikes may be called, especially in certain industries, and even more severe penalties for non-compliance, making a striker into a criminal in a way we have not seen since the days of the Tolpuddle Martyrs!
The Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Angela Eagle, said in her response,
"... it saddens me beyond words that we are here today dealing with the most significant sustained and partisan attack on 6 million trade union members and their workplace organisations that we have seen in this country in the past 30 years. With the number of days lost to strike action down 90% in the past 20 years, there is no need whatsoever to employ the law in this draconian way."It saddens me too. This planned legislation is so badly thought out, it will cause untold damage to the relationship between employers and employees, and will have a knock on effect on the productivity and profitability of those employers who invoke it. There needs to be a mutual respect and understanding between both sides, a proper contract based on trust, which cannot exist if employers are permitted to use temporary workers or agency staff to break strikes.
Employers need to understand (and although some do, sadly many still do not) that no worker will go on strike until they are pushed too far. A strike is always the action of last resort and should be seen as a failure by the employer when it happens, as they have not managed to reach an understanding with their workforce.
Emily Thornberry MP asked,
"Does my hon. Friend agree that it is remarkable that 77% of the public believe that trade unions defend important aspects of workers’ rights and that we need them?"To which Angela Eagle responded,
" It is wise to remember that trade unions defend not only their own members. Over the years, trade unions have created a process that has given us holidays, weekends and reasonable working hours. It is right that the benefits that trade unions bring to our society are recognised and extended to those who are not members of trade unions but happen to be at work. Any attack on those rights that weakens those powers threatens the progress made over many years in democracy at work."That the legislation will weaken trades unions is also irresponsible, as the support of the TU movement has also helped to bring in much needed safety and equality laws which benefit all workers and the businesses in which they work, and help to prevent the sort of horrendous accidents we see reported in countries where workers do not have such protection.
Ms Eagle also stated that,
"The Bill is draconian, vindictive and counterproductive. It is: 'very provocative, highly ideological and has no evidence base at all'. Those are not my words; they are the words of Vince Cable, the right hon. Gentleman’s predecessor as Business Secretary in the previous Government."We are a modern civilised nation and our legislation needs to treat employees and employers equally, not maintain a hierarchy or return to the days when employers could hire and fire at will and families could be made destitute at an employer's whim. That is not civilisation, it is feudalism and has no place in the 21st century!
