T.U.C. opts for secret ballots

Press, 3 September 1986, Page 8

T.U.C. opts for secret ballots

NZPA-Reuter Brighton Britain’s organised labour movement voted yesterday to abide by controversial legislation passed by the Conservative Government requiring secret ballots before strike action. It was the first time the Trades Union Congress had voted to accept any union reform laws introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s Government since it came to power in 1979.

T.U.C. officials said the decision at the start of their 118th annual conference was the first hard evidence that the 9.5

million-member movement was serious in its bid to close ranks behind the Opposition Labour Party, led by Neil Kinnock, and help oust Mrs Thatcher. A General Election is widely expected next year, though Mrs Thatcher’s second term does not run out until June, 1988. The Labour Party has been urging the T.U.C. to accept the principle of secret ballots to restore unity to the trade union movement. The legislation was passed two years ago.

The T.U.C. came close to a serious split at its

annual meeting last year when the moderate engineering union approved of secret ballots and accepted money from the Conservative Government to finance the cost of the ballot. Trade union leaders urged their members yesterday to unite and deny Mrs Thatcher a third term in office. But the conference was marred by a noisy demonstration by print union members who gathered outside the conference room.

Opening the conference at Brighton the T.U.C.’s president, Mr Ken Gill, appealed to members to

ensure a Labour victory at the next General Election. Outside the hall several hundred print workers shouted for revenge against the right-wing electricians’ union, which concluded an agreement with the Australian-born publisher, Rupert Murdoch, to produce his four British national newspapers.

Mr Murdoch sacked 5000 print workers in January when they refused to agree to his newspapers’ being published using fully computerised editing and type-setting gear.