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| From order-order.com |
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| letter to The Evening Standard |
Yesterday in the Commons, there was an attempt by my Conservative Colleague Jesse Norman MP, to bring through legislation to compel trade Unions to refund employers for hours spent on so-called 'faciltiy time'. The Bill aimed to:
"provide that pay for hours worked on behalf of trade unions by trade union officials during hours when they are paid by an employer should be refunded to the employer by the trade union; and for connected purposes."
The underlying premise of the Bill was designed to curtail abuse on facility time - i.e. time spent by union officials on union matters, whether it be political or on representation, and paid by their employer to do so.
After listening to the short debate, I decided to vote against the proposals for a number of reasons:
First; I do not believe it should be the duty of the state to dictate to intermediate, independent institutions, whether it be trade unions or charities in this way. It should be up to employers to decide whether or not to fund trade union activities.
Second; some facility time is useful, in that union representatives have the time and ability to look after union members and offer constructive advice when there are disputes between workers and management. Again, employers should decide if they want to pay for this and judge themselves whether there is a cost/benefit.
Third; As I have written before, I strongly believe that Conservatives should move away from 'union bashing' and work constructively with moderate Trade Unions. Behind every Militant, so often Unions on the ground embody the big society, are community institutions and offer invaluable services to their members. It is worth noting that one of the first political organisations Margaret Thatcher ever joined, was the Conservative Trade Unionists (CTU).
In 1975, Mrs Thatcher said to the CTU:
"As you well know, for over 100 years, ever since Disraeli's day, since before the Labour Party existed, it has been the belief of the Conservative Party that the law should not only permit, but that it should assist, the trades unions to carry out their legitimate function of protecting their members".
Of course, lets get to grips with the Union extremists, and crack down on political abuse - and there will be other ways of doing this - but its no good complaining that Union leaders are extreme, if Conservatives don't attempt to get involved. That is why I joined Prospect (not affiliated to Labour) - even if the Union campaigns for many policies I disagree with.
You can read the full debate HERE.
by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com
I find the idea of public sector employees being paid to do work for unions really very irritating and I cannot fathom why any school, hospital, or other institution would permit such a practice for any reason other than incompetence.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on point 3 though that doesn't change my opinion of this activity.
Point 2, I'll concede there may be some benefit to a employer but I still feel unions should be paying for people to work for unions. The benefits to the union of free full time staff outweigh the benefits to the employer.
Point 1 is the the one that convinces me of your position. Can't disagree with it. It should be up to the individual institutions how they deploy their resources. Even if I do find their decisions abhorrent.
A most sensible approach, we need less Government interference in our lives. Time to remember we still live in a Democracy, thankfully.
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