Clause 18
Employment Bill [Lords]
9:25 am
John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley, Liberal Democrat)
I am not sure that is a point to which I should respond as it is not necessarily in order.
The amendment mentions material financial disadvantage. It being an amendment proposed in the other House by my noble Friend Lord Lester, we obviously continue to support it here. Materiality is quite straightforward. There is a fee to be a member of a trade union. It does not all go to the Labour party. Therefore it is quite feasible to identify a material disadvantage where it exceeds the fee that would have been paid to the trade union had one been a member of it. That is quite a reasonable argument. Otherwise, we are pleased with the solution identified by Lord Lester.
Freedom of association is important, and not to be discounted when one has what are effectively voluntary associations. If there is no material financial disadvantage, that is a reasonable action to permit under the rules.