The Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1927 (
17 and 18 Geo V c 22) was a British
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...
passed in response to the
General Strike of 1926, introduced by the
Attorney General for England and Wales
His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney G ...
,
Sir Douglas Hogg MP.
Provisions
Restrictions on strike action
The Act declared unlawful
secondary action and any strike whose purpose was to coerce the government of the day directly or indirectly. These provisions were declaratory insofar as such strikes had already been ruled unlawful by Astbury, J in the ''
National Sailors' and Firemen's Union v Reed''. The Act reaffirmed his judgment and gave it the force of statute law. In addition, incitement to participate in an unlawful strike was made a criminal offence, punishable by imprisonment for up to two years; and the attorney general was empowered to sequester the assets and funds of unions involved in such strikes.
Intimidation
Section 3 of the Act declared unlawful
mass picketing which gave rise to the intimidation of a worker.
Political levy
Section 4 of the Act mandated trade union members to ''contract-in'' to any political levy which their union made on their behalf. This resulted in an 18% fall in the income of the
Labour Party, which was heavily reliant upon union funding.
Civil service unions
Section 5 of the Act enjoined civil service unions from affiliation to the
TUC and forbade them from having political objectives.
Repeal
The Act was particularly resented by the trade union movement and the Labour Party. Indeed, one Labour
MP described it as "a vindictive Act, and one of the most spiteful measures that was ever placed upon the Statute Book". The second minority
Labour government introduced a bill to repeal various provisions of the Act in 1931 which was not passed. The Act was eventually repealed by section 1 of the
Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1946
The Trade Disputes And Trade Unions Act 1946 (9 & 10 Geo. VI c. 52) was a British Act of Parliament passed by post-war Labour government to repeal the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1927.
Repeal
The Act was repealed by the Schedule 1 of the ...
.
UK Statute Law Database
/ref>
After the election of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
, the Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
reintroduced their ban on secondary action, first with restrictions in the Employment Act 1980 and finally banning it altogether in the Employment Act 1990. This is now codified in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992
The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992c 52 is a UK Act of Parliament which regulates United Kingdom labour law. The Act applies in full in England and Wales and in Scotland, and partially in Northern Ireland.
The law cont ...
.
See also
*UK labour law
United Kingdom labour law regulates the relations between workers, employers and trade unions. People at work in the UK can rely upon a minimum charter of employment rights, which are found in Acts of Parliament, Regulations, common law and equit ...
*''Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants v Osborne
''Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants v Osborne'' 910AC 87 is a UK labour law case, which ruled that it was unlawful (''ultra vires'' - beyond their legal powers) for trade unions to use funds raised from their subscriptions for political p ...
'' 910
Year 910 ( CMX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
__NOTOC__ Events By place Europe
* June 12 – Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under ...
AC 87
*Trade Union Act 1913
The Trade Union Act of 1913 was passed by the Liberal British Government under Prime Minister H. H. Asquith to remedy the situation caused by the 1909 Osborne Judgment, and gave unions the right to divide their subscriptions into a political and ...
*Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1946
The Trade Disputes And Trade Unions Act 1946 (9 & 10 Geo. VI c. 52) was a British Act of Parliament passed by post-war Labour government to repeal the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1927.
Repeal
The Act was repealed by the Schedule 1 of the ...
*TULRCA 1992
The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992c 52 is a UK Act of Parliament which regulates United Kingdom labour law. The Act applies in full in England and Wales and in Scotland, and partially in Northern Ireland.
The law cont ...
s 82
Notes
{{Reflist, 2
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1927
Trade union legislation
1927 in labor relations
United Kingdom labour law