The Right to Strike: from the Trade Disputes Act 1906 to a Trade Union Freedom Bill 2007

Organised by the Institute of Employment Rights in association with the TUC and North West TUC and sponsored by Thompsons Solicitors

The Trade Union Freedom Bill has caught the imagination of the labour movement. For the past two years the Institute of Employment Rights has been working with a Group of Legal Experts, trade unions and the TUC to develop the contents of the Bill. On 8th December 2004 Jim Mortimer gave an IER Annual lecture on the historical significance of the Trade Disputes Act 1906. Then on 9th May 2006 the Institute held a consultative conference to discuss how our history might inform our proposals for a Trade Union Freedom Bill. In December 2006, on the anniversary of the Trade Disputes Act,the Institute published a major report examining the Trade Disputes Act and proposing a Trade Union Freedom Bill.

The five main principles of the Bill are simple but significant:

• Better protection for striking workers
• Simpler and fairer industrial action balloting and notice procedure
• Restricted use of injunctions by employers
• Allowing solidarity action in certain circumstances
• Preventing the use of replacement labour during strikes

To celebrate the launch of the publication, the Institute is holding a launch conference in Liverpool. Our platform of speakers involve academics, lawyers and trade unionists. The aim is to update trade union members on the latest developments in the drafting of the Bill and explain why we believe the time is right for this important piece of legislation.

Registration starts at 9.30am and the conference will finish at 4.15pm.

Speakers

• Professor Keith Ewing, IER President
  and Editor of the Book
• Gregor Gall, co-author of the chapter on the Trade Union Freedom Bill
• Bernie Wentworth, Thompsons Solicitors
• Ruth Winters, FBU
• Hannah Reed, TUC
• John McDonnell, MP
• Brian Caton, POA
• Carolyn Jones, IER
• Alan Manning, North West TUC
• Tony Kearns, CWU
• Jerry Bartlett, NASUWT