Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Ratification: 1950)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s report.

Articles 1 and 4 of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee had raised concerns with respect to insufficient protection for workers against anti-union discrimination, with such lack of protection having harmful implications for the promotion of collective bargaining, and had requested the Government to indicate any steps taken to review and amend section 146 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRA), which did not include protection for making use of the essential services of the union (e.g. collective bargaining), and section 13 of the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993 (which had amended section 148 of the TULRA), which allowed an employer to wilfully discriminate on anti-union grounds, so long as another purpose was to further a change in the relationship with all or any class of employees.

The Committee notes with satisfaction some legislative amendments, which are developed below.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that section 31 of the Employment Relations Act 2004 amends section 146 of the TULRA, so that it is unlawful to subject a worker to detriment short of dismissal for making use of trade union services at an appropriate time and that the phrase "trade union services" is defined to mean services made available to an employee by an independent trade union by virtue of his membership of the union, including an employee consenting to the raising of a matter on his behalf by an independent trade union of which he or she is a member.

The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that section 31(5) of the Employment Relations Act repeals subsections (3)-(5) of section 148 of the TULRA so that detriment to employees by employers is prohibited even if the employer’s purpose was to further a change in the relationship with all or any class of his or her employees.