I just ask the Minister: are the Government still attached to the role that the Conservative Party has traditionally seen for trade unions in maintaining social harmony? Do they see trade unions as an essential component of a harmonious society, by providing a platform for workers to express their concerns and negotiate with employers, thereby contributing to social cohesion and stability?
5.15 pm
If those continue to be the views of the Government, it is odd that they introduced an Act which mandates a particular element of industrial relations. I would have thought that undertaking industrial relations through legislation was, manifestly, a bad thing to do because employers within the public sector—anywhere on the list—could already implement this requirement. Indeed, it has been enforced in some areas of employment. These regulations require public sector employers to not pay for check-off, even where it is clear to the local management of that company that it contributes to good industrial relations. Why are the Government legislating for a particular approach which is more properly and better dealt with employer by employer?
Oddly, this is not necessarily an issue of one way being better than the other; some trade unions indeed favour doing it through direct debits, but the issue should be resolved between the employer and the trade unions within that organisation—and not be enforced by a mandate from the Government. It is quite clear why the Government are doing this. I do not really need to spell it out, and will not, but I very much enjoyed and endorse the remarks of the noble Lord, Lord Wallace of Saltaire. My first question is: why are the Government interfering in a matter that should be best dealt with at the level of industrial relations?
Secondly, this is all based on the cost pressure. Maintaining good industrial relations has a cost. That goes to the central issue here: are this Government still interested in good industrial relations? Some stress was placed on the modernisation of industrial relations, so my third question is: if the Government are interested in modernisation, why do they not let trade union ballots be undertaken through the internet? Clearly, the Government are not allowing participation through the internet because they wish to place a burden upon trade unions and to minimise participation.
Those are my three questions. Why are they interfering in industrial relations? Do they accept that good industrial relations involve a cost? If they are interested in modernisation, why not have ballots through the internet?