Union communications with workers after acceptance of application
Employment Relations Bill
11:15 am
Mr Gerry Sutcliffe (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Employment Relations, Competition and Consumers), Department of Trade and Industry; Bradford South, Labour)
The employer has the names and the opportunity to give any material to the employees. A balanced, independent judgment will be made on whether individuals want to recognise the union. Employers have an unfettered right to write as many times as possible.
Amendment No. 3 concerns the power to widen the number of methods whereby the independent person can communicate the union's material directly to the workers in the bargaining unit. Employers have that power, too. This has been an important debate as it has highlighted the difference of attitude towards such processes between the Government and the Opposition. Amendment No. 23 is redundant because there is no direct communication between the union and the individual worker. As the debate has progressed, there seems to be some mistrust of the union's motives—it has recruited a number of members—in its consideration of the next stage. That is a fundamental difference that will scar our discussions. In the light of my explanations, I ask the hon. Member for North-West Norfolk to withdraw his amendment.