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BOOK REVI EWS
A Guide to the Industrial Relations Act 1971
by
C. G.
Heath; London, Sweet and Maxwell, 1971; 8vo; xx plus
256 pp.; £3 (paperback).
An Introduction to Individual Employment Law
by
B. A. Hepple and Paul O'Higgins; London, Sweet and
Maxwell, 1971; 8vo; xxiii plus 203 pp.; £2.25 (paper-
back).
Industrial Relations
by R. J. Harvey; London, Butter-
worth, 1971; 8vo; xvi plus 448 pp. (bound).
As has been shown recently by the fine of £55,000
imposed upon the Transport and General Workers'
Union by the Industrial Court for not preventing
dockers in Liverpool Docks from refusing to handle
container traffic, there is undoubtedly some element of
sanctions in the new British Industrial Relations Act
1971. The trade unions have endeavoured to suggest
that voluntary agreements between employer and wor-
ker were at all times satisfactory. Yet there have been
far too many frivolous strikes which have seriously
affected the British economy, and this induced the
Tory Government to pass this legislation, which is more
in accord with continental practice. It is difficult to see
why the Act produced such a hullaboloo amongst some
unions who refused to register and why some of
the larger unions have endeavoured quite unsuccessfully
not to recognise the Industrial Court. Another useful
function which the Court performed was to enforce a
fourteen day cooling off period in the recent railway
strike in England.
It will be useful to summarise the English Industrial
Relations Act 1971 which is complex, and contains 170
sections, and 9 schedules. The four guiding principles
of the Act which will receive general approval are :
(1) that collective bargaining ought in general to be
freely conducted; (2) that there should be orderly pro-
cedures for settlements of disputes; (3) that workers
and employers should be able to associate freely in
organisations effective to regulate relations between
them; and (4) that workers should be secure, and pro-
tected from unfair treatment at the hands of employers
or anyone else. These principles will be elaborated in
an industrial code, which will be admissible in evidence.
Workers may or may not belong to a trade union and
must pay contributions, if not to a union, then to a
charity. No one can be refused employment on the
ground that he is not a member of the union. In an
agency shop situation, every member must be a member
of the union, or pay a contribution in default. The
Commission on Industrial Relations may arrange for a
ballot to be taken to establish an agency shop, which
will be set up if two-thirds vote in favour. Later on, in a
second ballot, the agency shop agreement can be re-
voked, if two-thirds subsequently vote againt it.
A worker may now challenge what he considers to
be an unfair dismissal before an Industrial Tribunal
who must give an equitable award. Lack of capability
or qualification, misconduct or incompatibility would
be the main grounds justifying dismissal but only after
a minimum employment of two years. An aggrieved
party may also complain to the Industrial Court of an
alleged unfair industrial practice like a strike or a lock-
out. At present most collective agreements are binding
in honour only, but not in law. Henceforth
all
collec-
tive agreements made in writing after the Act are
binding as a legal contract unless the contrary is ex-
pressed. There is an obligation on the parties to see that
the terms are carried out, otherwise it will be for the
Industrial Court to remedy any unfair industrial prac-
tice. Where a procedure agreement is for any reason
ineffective, the Minister of Employment, or the em-
ployer or the trade union can make
one
or other of the
following applications to the Court: (1) to have the
procedure agreement imposed upon the parties, or (2)
to set up a trade union—or a panel of trade unions—
as a "bargaining agent" having sole negotiating rights
with a specified employer. The Minister must first con-
sult the parties and, if need be, refer the matter to the
Court. The emphasis throughout is on conciliation, and
the parties are encouraged to make effective voluntary
arrangements. If conciliation fails, the Industrial Court
can impose a legally enforceable procedure agreement,
or name a union to have exclusive bargaining rights.
Once an organisation is on the Register, it has to
undergo the scrutiny of the Registrar. To be registered
the rules of Natural Justice must apply to the discip-
linary procedures of the unions and members should be
entitled to take part in its affairs. No one should be
penalised for not taking part in an unfair industrial
action; specified details as to the rules are set out.
Proper accounting systems must be employed, and the
accounts must be audited annually. If these regulations
are not complied with, the Registrar has power to ask
the Court to remove the union from the Register.
All organisations who register—employer and trade
union—must be completely independent of outside
control.
The range of unfair industrial practices is consid-
erably widened. One of these would be to induce a
person to break a contract to which he is a party—or
threaten him to do so. Another would be to take indus-
trial action in support of an unfair industrial practice.
Another would be to induce a third party not in a
dispute to break a contract with someone who is in
dispute.
The Industrial Court can sit in divisions in any
place it chooses. Each division will consist of a Lord
Justice, and not more than four other independent per-
sons experts in industrial law. As a superior Court of
Record, it can commit for contempt. It will be an
informal Court governed by rules of procedure but not
by rules of evidence. In cases of discretion, the Court
will make such orders as seem just and equitable. The
remedies it can give are (1) a declaration of the parties'
rights, (2) an award of compensation, and (3) an injunc-
tion. Appeals on points of law will come before the
Court of Appeal. The maximum amoung that can be
awarded for compensation is £100,000, provided the
union has a membership of more than 100,000 mem-
bers. The Commission on Industrial Relations is an
advisory body of from six to fifteen experts on industrial
law who will advise the Minister and the Court if
requested. It is asserted that no one can be made to go
to work or to take part in industrial action if he does
not want to do so. The Industrial Court has exclusive
jurisdiction over collective agreements. Any actions
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