TUC welcomes Bruce Carr’s concerns over Trade Union Bill

The TUC has welcomed comments by Bruce Carr QC that the Trade Union Bill is a threat to industrial relations and civil liberties.

Mr Carr, who previously led a government review into trade union disputes which reported in 2014, making no proposals for changing the law, says he recognises concerns over the Bill’s impact on the right to protest and freedom of association. His article, for Jolyon Maugham QC’s blog, comes as the House of Lords debates the Bill.

The General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Frances O'Grady, said:“This is a very welcome intervention from Bruce Carr. The Carr Review has been used as a way to justify the biggest attack on unions in a generation. But today Mr Carr has highlighted the threat the Trade Union Bill poses to industrial relations and civil liberties.

“He rightly warns that this legislation will give too much power to employers, especially with unions being forbidden from using electronic balloting. It is becoming clearer by the day just how badly thought-through and dangerous this Bill really is.”

Bruce Carr’s comments come just a month after the former head of the civil service, Bob Kerslake, described the Trade Union Bill as “authoritarian” and “partisan”.

Former Business Secretary Vince Cable has also spoken out against the Bill, warning that it will harm industrial relations and civil liberties and that there is “no evidence base” behind it.

* TUC https://www.tuc.org.uk/

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