Individual Case (CAS) - Discussion: 1997, Publication: 85th ILC session (1997)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Ratification: 1949)

The Government supplied the following information:

The Government has honoured its pledge to restore the right, which was denied in 1984, for staff at the Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham (GCHQ) to join a trade union of their choice. The conditions of service at GCHQ have been amended, with immediate effect, to remove all restrictions on union membership. The staff are now free to join any union they wish. The full details of these changes will be communicated to the ILO in due course.

In addition, a Government representative stated that the United Kingdom Minister of State for Employment had already announced formally the restoration of trade union rights at the Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham (GCHQ) in his speech to the plenary session of the Conference. He had emphasized the Government's full support for the ILO, the importance that it attached to restoring the United Kingdom's reputation for fulfilling its obligations in the ILO, and its full respect for the application of the ILO's core labour standards. He was therefore very pleased to put on record before the Committee his Government's prompt action to restore freedom of association at GCHQ. This was one of the very first acts of the new Government, after it was elected on 1 May 1997.

The speed with which his Government had acted on this commitment demonstrated the importance to the United Kingdom of upholding respect for freedom of association and basic trade union rights, the exercise of which it believed was crucial to balanced, humane, democratic and peaceful development. Referring to the wider questions raised about his Government's compliance with the provisions of the Convention, the speaker indicated that he was not in a position to give a detailed response at this point. He could, however, confirm that the Government had pledged to restore a fair balance between the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees at the workplace. The Government intended to consult later in the year on its proposals for fairness at work. Trade union organizations would, of course, play a full part in those tripartite consultations. Finally, he wished to confirm that his Government would, in due course, respond in full to the comments made by the Committee of Experts in its latest observation.

The Workers' members stated that on the basis of the observation of the Committee of Experts a long and difficult debate might have been needed on the application by the United Kingdom of the Convention. However, in view of the declaration of the Minister of Employment in plenary, and that of the Government representative in this Committee, it seemed that progress was being made at last. With regard to the issue of the dismissal of workers at GCHQ, it would appear that the situation had been rectified. This was a great victory for the supervisory bodies and the system. However, sight should not be lost of the fact that the Government would have to take several further steps before its legislation and practice were completely in line with the requirements of the Convention. But there were significant reasons to look forward to such further steps with some confidence, especially as the new Government was prepared to engage in real and meaningful consultations with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The Workers' members welcomed the Government's intention to introduce a White Paper to restore fairness in the workplace. The Workers' representatives in the United Kingdom were looking forward to proper consultations on the White Paper and subsequent legislation. Finally, the Workers' members welcomed the prospect of full participation by the Government in the ILO in line with the Minister of Employment's statement, and of its intention to ensure respect for the core ILO Conventions.

The Employers' members noted that this case was well known to this Committee since it had been discussed on several occasions. The written information submitted by the Government, as well as the explanations of the Government representative, showed that this case was essentially resolved. The actual contribution of the Committee with respect to this solution was difficult to evaluate and internal considerations had probably played a more decisive role than the discussions of the Committee. Instead of referring to historical considerations, it was enough to note with satisfaction that freedom of association had been reinstated at GCHQ. As was often the case with the discussions of this Committee, several points as well as the comments of the Committee of Experts were never discussed in detail but were just touched upon generally. Points 2 and 3 of this year's observation touched upon fundamental questions but since neither the Government representative nor the Workers' members had dealt with them the Employers' members were going to follow the same line while reserving the possibility of coming back during a forthcoming session of the Conference.

The Workers' member of the United Kingdom appreciated and welcomed the statement of the new Labour Government on bringing to an end a 13-year-old injustice. He also expressed the appreciation of the British TUC, his own union which had over 900 members banned from trade union membership at GCHQ, and of the 14 GCHQ staff who were dismissed for refusing to leave their trade union, to the ILO and all the delegates of this Committee for keeping the issue of GCHQ alive. He also thanked those Governments and Employers' members who had given their support and joined in the call for a resolution of this case over those 13 years. Moreover, he thanked the British civil servants who had presented this case 13 years ago, virtually all of whom had been members of the same union banned at GCHQ in 1994. Most of all he wished to thank the Workers' members of this Committee for their steadfast and total support for this issue.

The Government member of Switzerland, in his personal and official capacity, welcomed with great satisfaction the statement of the Government representative. The discussion of this case for several years made it a symbol touching the application of a fundamental Convention of the ILO. One could only express delight with respect to the measures taken in the case of GCHQ and note with satisfaction the measures that the Government had taken or was going to take on a tripartite basis to fully implement the Convention. Hope could be expressed that the Government would demonstrate the same goodwill regarding the other requests of the Committee of Experts. This was not only a case of progress but a case which had been resolved and therefore should no longer appear on the list of cases to be discussed.

The Government representative noted the welcome by the Committee of the restoration of trade union rights to the staff at GCHQ.

The Workers' members disagreed with the Government member of Switzerland that the case had been resolved. On the contrary, many steps had yet to be taken in order to bring national legislation and practice into conformity with the Convention. They trusted that these measures would be taken soon.

The Committee took note of the written and oral information provided by the Government. It noted with satisfaction that the Government had fulfilled its promise to re-establish the right of the staff at Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham to join organizations of their own choosing, which had been withheld since 1984. The Committee decided to mention this case of progress in the appropriate part of its General Report. The Committee expressed the hope that, in consultation with the organizations of workers and employers, the Government would examine the other points raised in the report of the Committee of Experts.