Keith Ewing poses the rhetorical question in an article reviewing prospects for the Lawful Industrial Action (Minor Errors) Bill, to be introduced as a private member’s bill by John McDonnell MP on 22 October.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/keith-ewing/coalition-faces-challenge-to-restore-trade-union-rights?
Brendan Barber pledged the TUC’s support for the bill at the recent TUC Congress. It presents a welcome opportunity for trade unionists to lobby MP’s about the legal provisions which led to the draconian court rulings over the past 12 months and which have all but neutered the right to strike.
As Professor Ewing concludes: “The conduct of the Coalition in that debate on McDonnell’s Bill, and its willingness to support this extremely modest measure to address the worst features of the current law will be a revealing indication of the partisan nature of the government’s commitment to freedom, civil liberties and human rights. The response of the new or New Labour leadership will be equally revealing.”
