Unfettered power.
Page 2
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
AS THE Royal Navy and Royal Marines prepared to sail last Monday for the Falkland Islands other preparations were taking place in London for an event with less laudable intentions. The TUC held a conference at Wembley to prepare a plan of attack on the Government's new Employment Bill.
The spearhead of the TUC attack is to be aimed at an employer's right to sue a union for damages resulting from certain types of strike action.
Throughout the TUC "war cabinet" meeting reference was constantly made to "our members". Surely the time has come for the TUC to recognise that their members are first and foremost someone else's employees? That person pays the wages.
The TUC must also recognise that unlike the men sailing for the Falklands, not all of their members are volunteers. The closed shop has done much to bolster trade union membership.
What state would we have been in today if John Cousins, a former TGWU officer, had been supported in his maniacal idea that servicemen should belong to TGWU?
Trade unions have great power but like all power it must be harnessed for the common good. The Falkland Islanders are today suffering from unfettered power.
All but the most militant trade unionist must give support to the Employment Bill. It is designed to bring order out of industrial chaos, by taking the power out of the hands of a few frustrated politicians and putting it in the hands of the country's legally elected representatives.