Labour Act 1980

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After being swept into office with a comfortable majority of 30 seats, the government introduced a series of laws to gradually take away the unions power. They had learnt from Edward Heaths government and did this gradually over many years.

This started with the ‘Employment Act of 1980’. This act was the first step towards the decline of strong unionism. Its purpose was to protect workers from dismissal if they objected to joining unions, force unions to hold secret ballots to decide to strike and restrict ‘picketing’ (11). Following closely was the ‘Employment Act 1982’, which broadened the 1980 act and allowed employers to sue unions for damages, limited immunity for political strikes and further restricted closed-shop agreements by forcing …show more content…

Generally, New Labour decided to distance themselves from the unions that had brought down governments before. Government legislation continued to limit unions under Blair and many of Thatcher’s original acts haven’t been repealed. Some have been replaced with superseding legislation. The 1997 Labour manifesto indeed said that “key elements of the trade union legislation of the 1980s will stay – on ballots, picketing and industrial action” (). Although not a direct endorsement of her policies, it does suggest that trade unions no longer play a vital role in the British working world. At the very least, Labour is no longer as dependant on the unions as they used to be (). The centrism of two main political parties certainly suggests that trade union legislation is to remain as it is for quite a while longer.

The Labour government published a white paper regarding trade union legislation which was published in 1998 named ‘Fairness to Work’. It also stated that “days of strikes without ballots, mass picketing, closed shops and secondary action are over” ().

Trade …show more content…

Under his government, the Industrial Relations Act 1971 was introduced. The Act had similar aims to Thatcher’s policies, including legal registration of unions (Registrar of Trade Unions) and restricting power to strike against the government (2). Although it seemed like a step towards control, the unions pushed back and refused to co-operate with the government. A new National Industrial Relations Court was temporarily introduced but little was made of it. The Acts aims were largely ignored and were almost impossible to implement (3). After Labour returned to power in 1974, the act was repealed. The Trade Union & Labour Relations Act 1974 broadened some of the original powers of the unions including their immunity

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