{"id":5675,"date":"2015-09-14T16:14:20","date_gmt":"2015-09-14T15:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=5675"},"modified":"2015-09-15T10:09:36","modified_gmt":"2015-09-15T09:09:36","slug":"mps-listen-to-public-on-trade-union-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=5675","title":{"rendered":"MPs: listen to public on trade union Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

As the second reading of the trade union Bill takes place this afternoon (September 14), mounting pressure against the Bill is revealed in a new YouGov\u00c2\u00a0poll showing the vast majority of the public to be against government proposals that would make strikes all but impossible.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Of those surveyed, 65 per cent were against bringing in temporary agency workers to break public sectors strikes, with more than half saying that this measure contained in the Bill would worsen services and have a negative impact on safety.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Only 8 per cent believed that hiring agency workers during strikes would improve services.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Almost three-quarters in the poll believed that enforcing another measure proposed as part of the trade union Bill \u00e2\u20ac\u201d which would make it compulsory for trade unions to give two weeks\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 notice if they intend to use social media campaigning during a strike \u00e2\u20ac\u201d would mean \u00e2\u20ac\u015bbad use of police time\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nearly 80 per cent of those surveyed \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and even 70 per cent of Tories \u00e2\u20ac\u201d thought that it would also be a \u00e2\u20ac\u015bbad use of police time\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 for police officers to monitor whether unions use a loudspeaker or carry a banner during a strike.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The government has moreover called for designated leaders of a picket line to give their name and contact details to their employer \u00e2\u20ac\u201d a move that 60 per cent of those surveyed felt would have a negative impact on their careers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On the eve of the Commons debate on the trade union Bill this afternoon, TUC general secretary Frances O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady explained why the right to strike was of utmost importance in a democracy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bStrikes are always a last resort,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bNo-one wants to go on strike \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and most disputes are settled long before it gets to that point. But the right to strike is crucial to bring employers to the negotiating table.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThreatening the right to strike tilts the balance in the workplace too far towards the employers,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd that will mean workers can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stand up for decent services and safety at work, or defend their jobs or pay.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI urge all fair-minded MPs across the House to vote against the second reading of the bill today,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey echoed O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s call last week as he urged ministers to modernise balloting instead of restricting working people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rights.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMinisters must scrap these plans,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bLegislation that makes it harder for unions to defend people, encourages employers to string out disputes and permits the authorities to demand to see workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Facebook posts will mean working people living on bended knee. This proposed legislation would be a bad, backward-looking law.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe appeal to the wiser counsels on the Conservative benches, who understand the importance of fundamental freedoms and personal dignity, do not allow these regressive plans to reach the statute book,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McCluskey added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey will further tilt power in this country and are simply a gift to bad bosses,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn \u00e2\u20ac\u0098One Nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Tory Britain one thing will be certain \u00e2\u20ac\u201c working people will be easier to exploit.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Write to your MP and urge them to oppose the bill here<\/a> — it takes only 30 seconds.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the second reading of the trade union Bill takes place this afternoon (September 14), mounting pressure against the Bill is revealed in a new YouGov\u00c2\u00a0poll showing the vast majority of the public to be against government proposals that would make strikes all but impossible.     Of those surveyed, 65 per cent were against […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4765,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[344],"wps_subtitle":"YouGov poll demonstrates vast opposition to Bill","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5675"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5675"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5710,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5675\/revisions\/5710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}