UK Parliament / Open data

Employment Bill [Lords]

Debate on bills on Tuesday, 4 November 2008, in the House of Commons, led by Pat McFadden. The answering member was Jonathan Djanogly.
Employment Bill (HL). Report stage. New clauses debated and negatived. New clauses debated and withdrawn. Third reading debate. Agreed to on question. Bill passed with amendments.

About these Parliamentary proceedings

Reference

482 c151-226 

Session

2007-08

Department

Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Legislative stage

Third reading and Report stage

Procedure

New clauses

Chamber / Committee

House of Commons chamber

Related items

Employment Bill (HL) 2007-08. As amended in Public Bill Committee.
Thursday, 16 October 2008
Bills
House of Commons

Proceeding contributions

Pat McFadden | 482 c211 (Link to this contribution) Although I wish to concentrate on new clause 6, let me first speak briefly to new clause 4. I agree ...
Pat McFadden | 482 c212 (Link to this contribution) Provided that certain processes are followed and certain safeguards are kept to, the Bill will give ...

Show all contributions (222)
Pat McFadden | 482 c212 (Link to this contribution) I cannot accept the verdict that my hon. Friend read out, which says that clause 19 is totally inade...
Graham Stuart | 482 c208 (Link to this contribution) A Labour Member mentioned that Communist party members were driven out of trade unions in the 1950s....
Ian McCartney | 482 c207-8 (Link to this contribution) I rise to support clause 19. My hon. Friend the Member for Dagenham (Jon Cruddas)—he has unfortunate...
Stephen Crabb | 482 c206-7 (Link to this contribution) I am not giving way. In Committee, the hon. Member for Broxtowe (Dr. Palmer) was kind enough to giv...
Speaker | 482 c210 (Link to this contribution) Order. Interventions must be brief.
Evan Harris | 482 c210 (Link to this contribution) I have only a couple of minutes—
Ian Stewart | 482 c210 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has just explained, in terms as clear and concise as any I have heard, that no un...
Evan Harris | 482 c209-10 (Link to this contribution) One cannot but admire the speech that we have just heard. I agree with everything that was said by t...
Baroness Burt of Solihull | 482 c223-4 (Link to this contribution) Liberal Democrat Members welcome the Bill in general—it certainly improves employment law. I should ...
Speaker | 482 c221 (Link to this contribution) Order. May I just remind the hon. Gentleman that on Third Reading we are discussing the contents of ...
Simon Hughes | 482 c220 (Link to this contribution) There are many good things in the Bill—I do not argue with that. However, does the Minister accept t...
Pat McFadden | 482 c220-1 (Link to this contribution) We thought that it was right to give ACAS a power to offer conciliation so that it can use these inc...
Pat McFadden | 482 c219-20 (Link to this contribution) I will, of course, be happy to meet my right hon. Friend and my hon. Friend the Member for North-Eas...
Ian McCartney | 482 c219 (Link to this contribution) I thank my hon. Friend for his kindness towards me in today's debate and previous ones. Will he meet...
Pat McFadden | 482 c219 (Link to this contribution) I pay tribute to the tremendous contribution made to the minimum wage legislation by my right hon. F...
Pat McFadden | 482 c218-9 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. The Bill covers a number of significant is...
Speaker | 482 c214 (Link to this contribution) I ask the Serjeant at Arms to investigate the delay in the No Lobby.
Rob Marris | 482 c198 (Link to this contribution) May I kindly suggest that my hon. Friend should not get too bogged down in what the Opposition are s...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c197 (Link to this contribution) With great respect, these are interesting debating points, but they are not serious debating points....
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c197 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman not agree that not having a definition of a political party will lead to a l...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c197 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend knows that he and I have great mutual respect, admiration and all the rest of i...
Ian McCartney | 482 c196-7 (Link to this contribution) Sometimes in the trade union movement we are in danger, if we are not careful, of taking an opinion ...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c196 (Link to this contribution) It could indeed be a lobbying organisation if, as in the case of ASLEF, it is a membership organisat...
Graham Stuart | 482 c195-6 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way, and he is making a persuasive argument, but I pu...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c196 (Link to this contribution) Yes, except for the fact that, as my hon. Friend knows, some good legal opinion says, ““We do not kn...
Andrew Dismore | 482 c196 (Link to this contribution) I would like to back up the point of my hon. Friend the Minister. I do not see any reading of clause...
Brian H Donohoe | 482 c205 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give away?
Stephen Crabb | 482 c204-5 (Link to this contribution) I should like to speak to amendments Nos. 10 and 11, tabled in the name of my hon. Friend the Member...
Mike Penning | 482 c201 (Link to this contribution) But political parties can decide to exclude someone. If someone brought our party into disrepute, th...
Baroness Burt of Solihull | 482 c201 (Link to this contribution) I am not sure that I get the hon. Gentleman's drift. My point is that any party or trade union shoul...
Andrew Dismore | 482 c201-4 (Link to this contribution) I rise to speak primarily to new clause 6, but I also want to say a few words about new clause 4, to...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c200 (Link to this contribution) My question is, why should there be compensation at all in the case that we are considering? However...
Ian Stewart | 482 c200 (Link to this contribution) I agree with my hon. Friend, but does he know that the average award to employees who have successfu...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c198 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman will make his own speech.
Ian Stewart | 482 c190 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has demonstrated his lack of understanding of the real world and, in particular, ...
Speaker | 482 c190 (Link to this contribution) Order. Perhaps the House could moderate its language a little. I am sure that the remarks were not d...
John McDonnell | 482 c190 (Link to this contribution) On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I think that allegations are being made that may relate to ...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c190 (Link to this contribution) Yes. Perhaps the payroll has become so big that they now think they can—[Interruption.]
Graham Stuart | 482 c190 (Link to this contribution) On that point, my hon. Friend knows that more than 90 per cent. of the funding of the modern Labour ...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c195 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I know that part of the difference between us is how this is interp...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c192 (Link to this contribution) I do not mean to be unkind, but I can help the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Djanogly)—I think he ...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c191 (Link to this contribution) Mr. Deputy Speaker, may I come back in at a later stage of the debate?
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c191 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that trade unions can make constructive comments and talk with management and other third ...
Pat McFadden | 482 c180 (Link to this contribution) I thank my hon. Friend—and neighbour—for his intervention. His interventions are always helpful. I r...
Pat McFadden | 482 c180 (Link to this contribution) I have given way to everybody else, so I will give way to my hon. Friend.
Pat McFadden | 482 c180 (Link to this contribution) That is not a decision for me. That would be how the law would apply if somebody took up a complaint...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c178-9 (Link to this contribution) I listened carefully to what my hon. Friend said about new clause 2 and the ills put before him. I t...
Pat McFadden | 482 c179-80 (Link to this contribution) Regulation 7 already contains provisions prohibiting employment businesses from supplying temporary ...
John McDonnell | 482 c189-90 (Link to this contribution) Can we just take one step back to respond to that statement? I outlined how a trade union was acting...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c189 (Link to this contribution) Looking at new clause 4, I wonder whether its promoters actually understand the meaning of work. The...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c190 (Link to this contribution) I appreciate the hon. Gentleman's clarification of the position regarding the letter, but it is stil...
Speaker | 482 c187 (Link to this contribution) With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 6— Right not to be excluded or ...
John McDonnell | 482 c187 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
Speaker | 482 c182 (Link to this contribution) I ask the Serjeant at Arms to investigate the delay in the No Lobby.
John McDonnell | 482 c165-6 (Link to this contribution) It is my view that the provisions are a tidying-up exercise, closing loopholes in legislation. It wo...
David Drew | 482 c167 (Link to this contribution) I understand that Mr. Richard Balfe has been talking to trade unions on behalf of the Conservative p...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c167 (Link to this contribution) My interest is clearly stated in the Register of Members' Interests. It forms no part of the debate ...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c168 (Link to this contribution) The trade unions have not personally approached me to discuss the new clause, but it seems as though...
Baroness Burt of Solihull | 482 c170 (Link to this contribution) Following that speech, I hope to throw a little more light than heat on our proceedings. Unlike som...
Ian McCartney | 482 c175 (Link to this contribution) An important aspect lies in ensuring that a tribunal has the capacity to take a decision other than ...
Ian Stewart | 482 c177 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is correct to say that the Government have introduced legislation in the interests of...
John McDonnell | 482 c177 (Link to this contribution) That was my point: 36 hours elapsed between the receipt by the general secretary of the ballot resul...
Andrew Dismore | 482 c178 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend says that unions organise legal ballots, but most employers do not challenge the ball...
Baroness Burt of Solihull | 482 c170-1 (Link to this contribution) One man's wishy-washy might turn out to be another person's honest attempt to take a balanced view. ...
Baroness Burt of Solihull | 482 c170 (Link to this contribution) From a sedentary position, the hon. Member for Blyth Valley (Mr. Campbell) describes my position as ...
Speaker | 482 c170 (Link to this contribution) Order. We must not have these continued interruptions. They seriously disrupt the debate. If the hon...
Baroness Burt of Solihull | 482 c171 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman probably knows the answer to that question better than I do. Perhaps he will be a...
Baroness Burt of Solihull | 482 c171 (Link to this contribution) I certainly did not intend to imply that strike action does not have serious consequences for employ...
Mike Penning | 482 c172 (Link to this contribution) No. As for new clause 2, I am astonished that so many of the trade union members and former trade u...
Speaker | 482 c172 (Link to this contribution) Order. The hon. Gentleman must remember that they are not my members.
Hywel Williams | 482 c173 (Link to this contribution) I am pleased to express my support for the new clauses. If there is a Division I shall support new c...
Pat McFadden | 482 c174-5 (Link to this contribution) Let me begin by thanking the many hon. Friends who have turned up to support this important Bill, wh...
Nick Palmer | 482 c155-6 (Link to this contribution) The new clause does, however, say that"““if…one of the reasons was…industrial action””," so the emp...
Andrew Dismore | 482 c156 (Link to this contribution) As my hon. Friend knows, I am one of the signatories to new clause 1. What it proposes is modest. Gi...
John McDonnell | 482 c156-7 (Link to this contribution) I shall come on to the percentages of current cases; at present, they are minuscule, which demonstra...
Rob Marris | 482 c158 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that, as regards burdens on business, the state of UK law arguably leads t...
John McDonnell | 482 c157 (Link to this contribution) That demonstrates how the law currently fails to protect workers undertaking lawful industrial actio...
Hywel Williams | 482 c157 (Link to this contribution) Friction Dynamics was located in my constituency. Seven years on, the workers involved have had no c...
John McDonnell | 482 c157-8 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman, who came into the debate slightly late, makes a valid point that I made in my in...
Andrew Pelling | 482 c157 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman highlights the weaknesses in the current legal situation. His figures are from 18...
Baroness Hoey | 482 c159 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend was talking about the souring of relations. Does he remember the national dispute las...
Andrew Mackinlay | 482 c159 (Link to this contribution) The Minister wants my hon. Friend to give way.
John McDonnell | 482 c158 (Link to this contribution) Various Members will have their own experiences of this situation, but for most trade unionists, let...
Andrew Dismore | 482 c158 (Link to this contribution) As my hon. Friend knows, I used to practise in this area of law, and once those rules were introduce...
Stephen Crabb | 482 c159 (Link to this contribution) Hang on a moment. Elsewhere in the Bill trade unions are being given the right to discriminate again...
John McDonnell | 482 c160 (Link to this contribution) I shall deal with the detail of new clause 2 shortly, but it seeks to ensure co-operation between th...
Andrew Miller | 482 c160 (Link to this contribution) Is not that the core of the problem? My hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, South-West (Rob Ma...
John McDonnell | 482 c160-1 (Link to this contribution) The problem is that the current system encourages the rush to litigation. It undermines normal indus...
Andrew Dismore | 482 c161 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is being very generous in giving way. It should be emphasised that when a ballot is c...
John McDonnell | 482 c162 (Link to this contribution) That description might have applied 10 or 15 years ago, but I am not sure that it does now. For inst...
John McDonnell | 482 c165 (Link to this contribution) I could not have said it more eloquently myself. I would add that abuse of the system by attempts to...
Rob Marris | 482 c163 (Link to this contribution) May I underline just how modest my hon. Friend's proposal is? The balloting procedures exist so that...
Baroness Clark of Kilwinning | 482 c163 (Link to this contribution) We have been talking about the complicated nature of the changes taking place in the workplace, in t...
Baroness Hoey | 482 c165 (Link to this contribution) I want to add to my hon. Friend's point about the bitterness that has been caused in the unions. The...
Anne Moffat | 482 c211-2 (Link to this contribution) My union has the ability, on the basis of behaviour, to expel people by means of the rule book if th...
David Winnick | 482 c212 (Link to this contribution) Two hon. Members have justified clause 19, as the Minister will do. The GMB, of which I am a long-st...
Rob Marris | 482 c212 (Link to this contribution) May I caution my hon. Friend and neighbour in interpreting that judgment and backing clause 19? Clau...
Ian McCartney | 482 c208-9 (Link to this contribution) I think that the hon. Gentleman is about my age. He should have realised what was happening in the 1...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c221-3 (Link to this contribution) I thank you for that guidance, Madam Deputy Speaker. With that in mind, I would now like to discuss ...
Speaker | 482 c223 (Link to this contribution) Order. My father was a merchant seaman all his life and I have some sympathy with what the hon. Gent...
John McDonnell | 482 c223 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the elements of the Bill that deal with dispute resolution, and especially the provisions ...
Pat McFadden | 482 c220 (Link to this contribution) I do not believe that we have missed opportunities in this Bill. We have taken the opportunity to do...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c221 (Link to this contribution) This Government have so far introduced some 18 Acts and more than 280 statutory instruments dealing ...
Baroness Burt of Solihull | 482 c220 (Link to this contribution) Does the Minister not regret, like me, the passing of the opportunity that the Bill offered? We coul...
Pat McFadden | 482 c214 (Link to this contribution) Of course, as with all legislation, we will monitor how the Bill operates, but we believe that this ...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c198 (Link to this contribution) I do not think that I shall comment on the point of my right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield, ...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c197 (Link to this contribution) I hope that the hon. Gentleman will clarify the Conservative party's position.
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c197 (Link to this contribution) I am simply going to qualify the hon. Gentleman's remark on what he thinks I believe, which is not a...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c197 (Link to this contribution) That is not relevant in this case.
Tony Lloyd | 482 c196 (Link to this contribution) Let me answer that simply. I do not think that what the hon. Gentleman refers to is different from a...
Stephen Crabb | 482 c205-6 (Link to this contribution) I will not give way. Too many advances have been made since 1992 for us to return to that position....
Andrew Dismore | 482 c204 (Link to this contribution) I am not sure that it is the best possible wording that we could get, but, in practical terms, the r...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c204 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend has mentioned problems that would arise from the new clause with respect to members o...
Andrew Dismore | 482 c204 (Link to this contribution) There is a catch-all provision in proposed new subsection (4G) relating to circumstances in which"““...
Evan Harris | 482 c204 (Link to this contribution) What the hon. Gentleman says is fair, but we on the Committee recognised that this was going to be a...
Baroness Burt of Solihull | 482 c200-1 (Link to this contribution) I welcome new clause 4, which the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) tabled. The ...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c199 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman said that we opposed clause 19—that is not the case. The Conservative party appre...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c199-200 (Link to this contribution) We are at one about that, but I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman's definition of refinement an...
Lord Mann | 482 c198-9 (Link to this contribution) The Government do not seem to understand that the critical principle is not about membership of a po...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c199 (Link to this contribution) I agree, and stress that the Government share that objective. We are not disputing objectives, but I...
Richard Shepherd | 482 c224-5 (Link to this contribution) I, too, am in some difficulty, in the sense that when one weighs up a Bill, as amended, on Third Rea...
Simon Hughes | 482 c225-6 (Link to this contribution) This is an important area of legislation and, as the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Djanogly) said,...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c190 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman will allow me, I shall make some little progress. We need to look at whether ...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c190-1 (Link to this contribution) I shall come to the difference in my later comments. There are several problems with the new clause...
Ian Stewart | 482 c190 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c190 (Link to this contribution) Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We will return to the new clause.
Pat McFadden | 482 c195 (Link to this contribution) I am reluctant to intervene on my hon. Friend, because I am conscious that I am going to get my chan...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c194-5 (Link to this contribution) I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman is disagreeing with me, but perhaps that is because I did n...
Mike Penning | 482 c194 (Link to this contribution) The problem is that picking on a specific party—I do not want to give it too much oxygen—does not pr...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c192-4 (Link to this contribution) I shall not come to that point immediately, but if the hon. Gentleman bears with me I shall certainl...
Mike Penning | 482 c192 (Link to this contribution) We have to be very careful. The hon. Gentleman is talking specifically about the BNP, but this is a ...
Speaker | 482 c191 (Link to this contribution) Order. I am not sure that we are dealing with clause 19 at the moment.
Rob Marris | 482 c180 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend—and neighbour—accept that the UK is currently in breach of some parts of interna...
Baroness Hoey | 482 c180 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend mentioned the strengthening measures in clause 15, which would mean that people could...
Pat McFadden | 482 c179 (Link to this contribution) A couple of my hon. Friends have tempted me to give undertakings, but I am afraid that I cannot do t...
Speaker | 482 c179 (Link to this contribution) Order. Conversations are breaking out throughout the House. The House must listen to the Minister wh...
John McDonnell | 482 c187-9 (Link to this contribution) First, I pay tribute to the Public and Commercial Services Union. The new clause had its genesis in ...
Speaker | 482 c187 (Link to this contribution) Order. Would hon. Members who are not planning to listen or take part in the debate please leave the...
John McDonnell | 482 c180-1 (Link to this contribution) I shall be brief, because there is much important business that we need to reach tonight. I am disap...
John McDonnell | 482 c187 (Link to this contribution) I shall briefly speak on new clause 4. I am conscious of the time; there is important business to di...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c167 (Link to this contribution) It is nice to hear the hon. Gentleman make clear the support of his party's paymasters.
John McDonnell | 482 c167 (Link to this contribution) I shall send the hon. Gentleman a copy of my speech when it appears in Hansard. I referred early on ...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c167 (Link to this contribution) I appreciate what the hon. Gentleman says. Indeed, the Bill is reforming the law in relation to ACAS...
Ian Stewart | 482 c166 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman clearly does not understand industrial relations or the law. What he refers to wa...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c166 (Link to this contribution) The Bill has wound its way between our two Houses for some time now—I believe since 7 December last ...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c167 (Link to this contribution) The purpose of the debate is not to go through our private discussions with trade unions. However, w...
Rob Marris | 482 c167 (Link to this contribution) I rise to declare my interest as a long-term member of Unite and a member of the GMB. Will the hon. ...
Brian Binley | 482 c169 (Link to this contribution) Let me declare an interest. I have been the managing director of a company employing 140 people who ...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c168-9 (Link to this contribution) I simply disagree. The hon. Gentleman is not right. Proposed new section 238AA(2) and (4) would mea...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c169 (Link to this contribution) I think that my hon. Friend's point is very arguable, and is of huge concern in the context of the r...
Ian Stewart | 482 c168 (Link to this contribution) If the Opposition have been talking to the trade unions, have the trade unions never explained why t...
Parmjit Dhanda | 482 c168 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman not in any way consider that what he has just said could change the mood of ...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c170 (Link to this contribution) The new clause would hamstring businesses and prevent them from continuing their business during suc...
Pat McFadden | 482 c177 (Link to this contribution) I appreciate my hon. Friend's point, but I disagree that it is almost impossible. Ballots are organi...
Andrew Miller | 482 c176 (Link to this contribution) Surely my hon. Friend realises that cases cited in this debate provide examples of when judges have ...
Pat McFadden | 482 c176 (Link to this contribution) Some of those cases have been quoted to me, but I am not sure that new clause 2 would answer those c...
John McDonnell | 482 c176 (Link to this contribution) I shall try to be as constructive as I can. Does that mean that the Government have set in motion so...
Pat McFadden | 482 c176 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is over-interpreting what I am saying; I am saying that we have received representati...
Michael Clapham | 482 c176 (Link to this contribution) The Minister will be aware that there are 274,000 companies in the construction industry and that an...
Pat McFadden | 482 c176 (Link to this contribution) As I said, representations have been made to us about the difficulty that the law imposes on trade u...
Andrew Miller | 482 c177 (Link to this contribution) Before my hon. Friend took that intervention, I think that he was about to say that he was not sure ...
Ian McCartney | 482 c178 (Link to this contribution) Employers, such as the Post Office, rightly have the opportunity to write to their employees about w...
Pat McFadden | 482 c178 (Link to this contribution) I respect what my right hon. Friend says; he has significant experience in such matters. As I said, ...
Pat McFadden | 482 c178 (Link to this contribution) The new clause deals with something different: the employer helping the union organise the ballot. T...
Pat McFadden | 482 c178 (Link to this contribution) Twice my hon. Friend has said that it is almost impossible, but I disagree. Unions manage to organis...
Ian Stewart | 482 c171 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady says that strike action can have an onerous effect on employers. I was an officer for ...
Mike Penning | 482 c172 (Link to this contribution) I will not detain the House for long. Many of the old Labour Members who are present will know that ...
Gordon Marsden | 482 c171 (Link to this contribution) I am listening carefully to the hon. Lady's speech, and I understand the balance that she is trying ...
Mike Penning | 482 c172 (Link to this contribution) No, I will not give way. Under this proposed measure, an unlimited sum of compensation could be imp...
Rob Marris | 482 c172 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way on that point?
Iain Duncan Smith | 482 c172-3 (Link to this contribution) For the avoidance of doubt, my hon. Friend should know that for a number of years now one of the lar...
Mike Penning | 482 c173 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend highlights the complete chaos that still exists within the trade unions. Perhap...
Brian Binley | 482 c175 (Link to this contribution) The Minister will know that I welcomed the Bill in Committee, specifically because it placed more re...
Pat McFadden | 482 c175 (Link to this contribution) Elsewhere in the Bill we are strengthening the role of ACAS in dispute resolution, as is right. We h...
Nick Palmer | 482 c155 (Link to this contribution) I have a lot of sympathy for my hon. Friend's new clauses, and I am inclined to vote for the one on ...
John McDonnell | 482 c154-5 (Link to this contribution) This is now a time-limited debate, and I am anxious to ensure that we deal with all the important is...
Speaker | 482 c153-4 (Link to this contribution) With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 2— Employer’s duties in relatio...
John McDonnell | 482 c153 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
John McDonnell | 482 c155 (Link to this contribution) In normal dismissal cases, the employer would need to bring forward evidence that demonstrated the g...
John McDonnell | 482 c156 (Link to this contribution) All this is destroying my revolutionary credentials. Let me be clear: we are trying to reach a conse...
Brian Binley | 482 c156 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman tell us what assessment he has made of the additional tribunal cases that mi...
John McDonnell | 482 c156 (Link to this contribution) The employer would have to demonstrate that its decision to dismiss on other grounds had not been co...
John McDonnell | 482 c158 (Link to this contribution) That is a good point. When Tony Woodley, who was general secretary of the T&G and is now joint gener...
Andrew Dismore | 482 c160 (Link to this contribution) A good example of my hon. Friend's point is that, when people change their address, they almost alwa...
John McDonnell | 482 c159 (Link to this contribution) No; I hope that the Minister will give us the reason why he can accept it. I cannot see any reason w...
Ian McCartney | 482 c162 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is being somewhat unkind about the history of such matters. As someone who dealt with...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c162 (Link to this contribution) On the public-private issue, is my hon. Friend aware that, when Unison has to conduct a ballot in sc...
John McDonnell | 482 c161 (Link to this contribution) I do not know of any incident where the decision of a ballot has been reversed after a subsequent ba...
John McDonnell | 482 c163 (Link to this contribution) The new clause is simply seeking to ensure the co-operation of the employers who hold that informati...
John McDonnell | 482 c162 (Link to this contribution) The fact that there is now such a variety of public institutions complicates matters—do not get me g...
John McDonnell | 482 c165 (Link to this contribution) I believe that the Government legislated with good intent to close that loophole in 2003. Let us be ...
Gwyn Prosser | 482 c165 (Link to this contribution) May I provide my hon. Friend with a more up-to-date example, in that a dispute is brewing in the por...
Andrew Dismore | 482 c165 (Link to this contribution) As my hon. Friend knows, I have signed up to his new clauses. If the Government are not minded to ac...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c214 (Link to this contribution) The Minister has made his case. I know that the Bill will be passed unamended tonight, because there...
Pat McFadden | 482 c213-4 (Link to this contribution) I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention, but I do not believe the clause is unworkable. If he al...
Evan Harris | 482 c210 (Link to this contribution) I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker. The hon. Gentleman is right, but there need to be additional saf...
John McDonnell | 482 c223 (Link to this contribution) On that basis, I simply say that the provisions are not strong enough to deal with such abuse of wor...
Pat McFadden | 482 c175-6 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend makes a strong point about discretion for tribunals in this situation and about...
Pat McFadden | 482 c178 (Link to this contribution) These debates are always enriched by union lawyers who have practised in this area, and I take all t...
John McDonnell | 482 c159 (Link to this contribution) I thought that it was a Government acceptance—a message from the front. In practice, this situation...
John McDonnell | 482 c159 (Link to this contribution) I appreciate the hon. Gentleman's point, but I am trying to explain the difficulties that exist. I a...
Evan Harris | 482 c210-1 (Link to this contribution) I had better not. I find it hard to decide whether the Conservatives just pick and choose their hum...
Jonathan Djanogly | 482 c196 (Link to this contribution) Is not the more fundamental problem that there is no definition of what a political party is? It doe...
Alan Simpson | 482 c191 (Link to this contribution) The Conservative party gave their support to the Climate Change Bill, in which it was spelt out that...
Pat McFadden | 482 c177 (Link to this contribution) I do not want to put myself in the position of judges in such cases, but, if my hon. Friend will bea...
Ian Stewart | 482 c178 (Link to this contribution) I accept totally what my hon. Friend says about the union modernisation fund and the attempt to mode...
Mike Penning | 482 c172 (Link to this contribution) If you were a member, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I am sure you would know where your office was and where y...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c198 (Link to this contribution) I think that the hon. Member for Huntingdon wants to make another speech—if he is able to catch your...
Tony Lloyd | 482 c198 (Link to this contribution) How interesting. In that case, I shall give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (John Man...
John McDonnell | 482 c162 (Link to this contribution) Any laws that undermine union members' democratic participation in and control of that union need to...
David Drew | 482 c161-2 (Link to this contribution) I hear exactly what my hon. Friend is saying and I totally support him. Does he agree that there is ...
John McDonnell | 482 c163-5 (Link to this contribution) We would then be on a par with European law, because the right to strike is in place in most Europea...

Subjects

Complaints
Contracts
Ballots
Climate change
Employment
Industrial relations
Industrial disputes
Information
Employment agencies
Leave
Protection
Membership
Minimum wage
Political parties
Redundancy
Tribunals
Trade unions
Strikes
Unfair dismissal
British National Party
Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen

Legislation

Employment Bill (HL) 2007-08

Link

View this Parliamentary proceeding on www.publications.parliament.uk
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