Tory leaders reject bid to tighten union curbs

Press, 24 April 1980, Page 9

Tory leaders reject bid to tighten union curbs

NZPA-Reuter London Britain’s Conservative Government has rejected pressure from its own supporters for stricter controls on trade unions. A group of 48 Right-wing Conservatives defied party orders and voted against the Government in Parliament in an attempt to strengthen the Employment Bill, which would reform trade-union law. ... .

They proposed a new clause compelling a union to hold a secret vote on a strike if 15 per cent of the workforce called for one. It was defeated by 491 votes to 48, many Opposition Labour members joining the Government in voting against it. There have been disagreements in the Cabinet over the legislation, some Ministers calling for firmer measures against unions. But the Employment Sec-

retary (Mr James Prior) has urged that milder reforms which have wide support would be more effective than a bill forced through Parliament that could prove unrealistic and provocative. The bill would provide Government subsidies for secret union ballots, without making them compulsory. It would also curb picketing, and protect workers if they fell foul of their union.