The government has made what is being described by media commentators and unions as a significant ‘climb down’ and ‘U-turn’ over its controversial Trade Union Bill which is currently progressing through Parliament. Following the closing of the public consultation on the proposals in the Bill on picketing and intimidation of non-striking workers, and the ending of committee scrutiny in parliament, the government has announced that it will table an amendment to its own Trade Union Bill.
The effect of this amendment is threefold.
- First, the government has now dropped its proposal to make unions publish a protest and picketing plan 14 days in advance. This would have made unions spell out in great detail how they planned to campaign during a strike. It would have given employers and the police two weeks’ notice of everything the union planned to do – where and when pickets would be held, how many would attend, even whether megaphones would be used. It would also have made unions
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