Labour peers press govt to halve ballot thresholds in public services

03 February 2016

Lords Mendelsohn and Collins of Highbury have proposed an amendment to the Trade Union Bill to halve the support threshold for industrial action ballots in “important” public services from 40% to 20%.

In our response to the government’s consultation on 40% support thresholds, we argued that better dispute resolution would be a more effective way to balance the safety of the population with workers’ right to strike than to impose such limits.

The Labour peers also amended the Bill to permit e-balloting and workplace ballots for unions, as are used in other important votes, including to nominate the Conservative candidate for the London mayoral race. They join the Tory’s Lord Balfe and Labour’s Lord Kerslake in amending the Bill to support e-balloting.

Other developments today include amendments by Baroness Morgan of Ely and Lord Hain, who propose that Welsh public services are not affected by the new public service threshold, the ban on ‘check-off’, or the requirement to publish facility time usage and costs.

The Welsh Assembly last week voted not to provide consent to Westminster to change regulations affecting Welsh public servants through the Trade Union Bill.

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