Clause 43 - Union learning representatives
Employment Bill
4:30 pm
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge, Conservative)
The hon. Gentleman's contribution is very interesting, and perhaps he will expand on it in a moment in a speech of his own. Then the Minister will be able to deal with the issue. I am being studiously neutral in the way in which I am presenting the matter. It is a probing amendment only, and the Minister has explicitly said that there will be no additional right to bargain. The question that I am posing is whether that means that the trade union learning rep, who might be expected to be the union side expert on training matters within a workplace, will not be able to have paid time off work as a union learning rep to take part in negotiations. That would be the common-sense interpretation of what the Minister has said, and I invite him to clarify that.