British labor Law Reforms:
The Thatcher-Major Era, 1979-1997
Yonatan Reshef
School of Business
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
T6G 2R6 CANADA
| Law |
Summary and Provisions |
| 1980 -
Employment Act |
- Required secret ballot (by at least 80% of those entitled to vote) prior to establishing
a closed shop
- Removed immunity from tort damages in cases of secondary picketing and actions
compelling union membership
- Provided public money to cover the costs of secret ballots
|
| 1982 -
Employment Act |
- Provided that all existing closed shops have to be approved in a secret ballot every 5
years
- Provided for punitive compensation for workers unfairly dismissed because of
non-membership in union
- Narrowed the definition of 'trade dispute' -- immunity was only available in disputes
between workers and their employer (politically motivated disputes no longer enjoyed
immunity)
|
| 1984 -
Trade Union Act |
- Secret ballots with majority support required prior to all industrial action, for
election of union executives (every 5 years), and to determine if members continued to
support spending union funds on political matters (every 10 years)
|
| 1988 -
Employment Act |
Protects individual worker's rights:
- Made it unfair to dismiss an employee for non-membership in all circumstances
- Gave union members the right not to be disciplined by their union for not supporting
industrial action
- Made it unlawful to organize industrial action to establish or maintain a closed shop
|
| 1990 -
Employment Act |
- Made it unlawful to refuse employment upon grounds related to trade union membership --
job advertisements cannot specify union membership
- Made union responsible for unofficial strikes, unofficial strikers can be summarily
dismissed, and there is no immunity for industrial action in support of dismissed strikers
|
| 1993 -
Trade Union and Employment Act |
- Established a Commissioner for Protection against Unlawful Industrial Action to advise
and finance individuals claiming to have been affected by unlawful industrial action
- Required unions to provide all members with annual statements of financial affairs
including pay and benefits of union leaders
- Gave individuals the right to join the union of their choice
- Required employers to seek individual written consent to the check off of trade union
subscriptions from pay every three years
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