Committee Ton 2348902x

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Tebbit's law - the 1982 Employment Act - received the Royal Assent on Thursday October 28.

It was greeted by a deafening silence from labour movement leaders.

As Tebbit cantered leisurely past the winning post Michael Foot's binocujars were firmly trained on the possibilities of stirring up internal nroblems in the UL Labour Party rather than on the possibilities of fighting the Tories.

After all the noise they had made earlier about Tebbit's law it was as if the TUC General Council had gone on prolonged retreat to a Trappist monastery.

Yet the provisions of this Act could affect the future of every single trade unionist in Britain.

Norman Tebbit said just before introducing his Bill into Parliament: "I use the word neuter because I've been told I must not use the vernacular when describing what I'm doing to the The central policies of Thatcher and Tebbit have one clear objective - to reduce your wages, worsen your working conditions and if needs be throw you to the back end of the four million long dole queue.

•Margaret Thatcher needs on her mantelniece.

f-ki Norman Tebbit wants you •.. as another statistic on the unemployment register, occupying a hard seat in the social security office, or tugging your forelock in a workplace without shop stewards where management's word is as absolute as it ever was in the 1920s or 1930s.

Your only protection against the Tories, your only protection against a return to the thirties is your trade union. But your union can only be an effective protection if it is strongly organised and has the ability to take successful industrial action.

In the last three years the Tories have mounted a legal offensive to which Tebbit is the most recent addition. Its aim is to undermine your union, weaken your bargaining power and erode your ability to take successful strike action.

Thair laure have rhanoed the rules of the game so that:

*You have every right to take industrial action against your employer. But if you do, he has every right to sack you.

If British Rail had carried out their threats to sack all the ASLEF strikers, the law courts would have supported them.

*If you picket at any workplace other than your own, you or your union can be sued. So if you picketed another. of your • boss's factories half a mile away you could be hauled before the courts.

*If you take industrial action to support other workers you or your union can be sued. So Sean Geraghty, the Branch Secretary of the Fleet Street electricians received an injunction against supporting. the NHS workers. When he ignored it, he was found to be in contempt of court.

*If you go on strike and you are entitled. to social security for your dependants the social security will tot up their entitlement and then knock off £13.

This is the amount of strike pay the-Tories think your union should give you. Your union may give you £6, tuppence-haitpenny or nowt. That's just too bad.

The Tories work out the absolute minimum that people need to avoid starvation ... and then tell them to get by on £13 less.

*Other trade unionists at your workplace who are not on strike who may be laid off can be disqualified if they stand to benefit by your dispute or are involved in it.

Workers laid off who might achieve a change in their terms and conditions as a result of your dispute, drivers sacked because they refuse to cross your pieket lines, workers who ar off because they black for your employer: could be disqualified receiving social sect they and their deper are expected to live on *If you have £2,0 more in the post office or building society savi redundancy money example you will rece social security until yo used that up.

*Even if you have closed shop in your place „for the last century it will now t lawed. - unless 80% o brothers and sisters v continue it in a secret Even then, those wh against have every rig to join.

The aim of the legal offensive is. o to make you think before you take action. And to severe: the efficiency of

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What is the purpose of the *Discrimination through lists of approved sub-contractors who employ only union members or inviting tenders for the supply of goods of services only from union employers.

*Workers organising or threatening industrial action to force employers to employ only trade unionists.