John Woodcock: We are defeating the Tory caricature of trade unions but the battle goes on

Of all the petty and partisan pieces of legislation brought forward by this Government, their new Trade Union bill is perhaps the most blatant. A cynical attempt to break the link between the unions that represent people at work and the Labour party that represents them in Parliament.

A lot of attention has focused on the highly political attacks on check-off and the political funds, clearly meant to work for the narrow advantage of the Tory party. But I am just as concerned by other measures that would undermine the vital work that unions do in workplaces up and down the country.

One such measure is the destructive new powers the Government wants to acquire to intervene to cap the amount of money spent on facility time in the public sector. Not only does it undermine the Government’s warm words about devolving power away from central government; it misunderstands the constructive role that trade union representatives play at work.

Facility time is what allows union reps to carry out their functions effectively, negotiating with management and finding solutions that benefits employees and employers alike. It is a vital part of the workplace co-operation that underpins all trade unionism. Negotiating this time is up to unions and employers, the Government has absolutely no business getting involved and disrupting important relationships.

Thankfully there are a lot of people who agree. Last week when the House of Lords voted on amendments to this Bill they rejected the Government’s plans by a huge margin. Another humiliating defeat for ministers in a chamber which may be unelected, but is proving a doughty champion of democracy and rights at work.

The majority in the Lords was built on the votes of crossbenchers, neutral peers who do not belong to a party but listen to the arguments before making their minds up. And it just shows that when the party politics is taken out of the equation, the case in favour of proper responsible trade unionism speaks for itself.

Speaker after speaker got up to tell stories of excellent workplace co-operation, based on the availability of union reps on facility time and how this had led to better efficiency, a happier workplace and had helped to manage difficult transitions and reorganisations. The Tory narrative, the union reps were somehow bunking off at the taxpayer’s expense, was totally discredited.

In fact, the Government spokesman in that debate was reduced to pleading that the powers they were so desperate to give themselves would probably never be used anyway. Now that is what losing an argument really looks like. It was the cowardly squirming of a Tory party that know they don’t have a leg to stand on.

Last week was an important victory from which all of us who care about defending our rights at work should take lessons. The Tory caricature of trade unionists can be defeated if we show people the reality of how our members and their representatives work constructively with employers to improve outcomes for everyone. We should take heart at this win, marshal our arguments, and fight this Bill again when it returns to the floor of the House of Commons.