"Unions guarantee access to justice" – Bare
13 September 2009
‘When protection is enshrined by law, the less the union is required to fight the battle. The paradox of labour law is that it hollows out trade unionism.‘ – The Times editorial, 12 September 2009
Saturday’s editorial in The Times, “State of the Unions”, has a rather one-dimensional view of the trade unions of today. As a specialist trade union law firm acting nationally for many diverse unions, we encounter on a daily basis the real and significant services that are routinely required of trade unions by their members. These are not always headline news reported far and wide, although those too are a necessary fact of life in modern trade unions. The true lifeblood of the union support comes from the fact that, although ‘protection’ of employees is enshrined in law, it is habitually ignored by employers.
For instance, it is widely recognised that employees have a right to a safe work environment, and that workers should be able to come home from work unharmed. Yet statistics show that unionised workplaces have half the number of workplace injuries of non-unionised workplaces.
Similarly, it is widely recognised that employees have a right to fair treatment in the workplace, and yet the employment tribunal schedules are full, showing the difficulty people and businesses have adhering to that simple guiding benchmark.
If you ask any number of union members why they joined a union, their answers will be many and varied. But if you ask them why they stay in the union, the resounding response is that the union gives them a voice in the workplace.
The simplistic view that the raison d’etre for trade unions of today is mere ‘protection’ ignores the grim reality that, without a voice in the workplace, employees are vulnerable and always will be. Unions, and the voice they give their members, guarantee employees equal access to justice.
Sincerely
Martin Bare
Partner, Morrish Solicitors LLP, Leeds
Member, The Times Law Panel
