The Trade Union Bill, introduced by the UK Government in 2015, has received Royal Assent and is now the Trade Union Act.
The Bill was introduced after the Government announced a series of reforms last year that it said aimed to ensure strikes would only be able to go ahead as a result of a clear and positive democratic mandate from union members. Under the Trade Union Act, industrial action will only be able to take place when there has been a ballot turnout of at least 50%.
In important public services, including in the health, education, transport, border security and fire sectors, an additional threshold of 40% of support to take industrial action from all eligible members must be met for action to be legal.
The Trade Union Act will also improve union practices and increase transparency by:
- setting a six-month time limit (which can be increased to nine months if the union and employer agree) for industrial action so that mandates are always recent,
- requiring a clearer description of the trade dispute and the planned industrial action on the ballot paper, so that all union members are clear what they are voting for,
- creating a transparent process for trade union subscriptions that allows new members to make an active choice of paying into political funds,
- giving more powers to the Certification Officer to ensure new and existing rules are always followed by unions,
- reducing the burden on taxpayers by ensuring that payroll deductions for trade union subscriptions are only administered where the cost is not funded by the public, and
- ensuring transparency and greater accountability relating to the use of public money for facility time.
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