5. Union and collective organisation 


Most union and collective organisation rights are found in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA), as amended. The equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland is the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (TULRO), as amended. 


These laws lay down the status of a union and its duties in respect of keeping accounts, submitting returns and the conduct of elections, and set out rights of trade unions and their members. Some of these rights are only available in a workplace where the union is recognised by the employer, or seeking recognition. Most recognition is voluntary, but TULRCA also provides a mechanism for unions to secure compulsory statutory recognition where the employer is opposed. 


New duties in relation to union membership records were imposed on unions by the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 (the Lobbying Act) which has amended TULRCA in several important ways, explained later in this Chapter. 


The Trade Union Act 2016 (TUA16) will make further amendments to TULRCA, increasing the levels of state interference in internal trade union administration and funding and imposing new restrictions on the right to take strike action to protect terms and conditions of employment. The changes to industrial action law in the TUA16 are examined in Chapter 6. The TUA16 received Royal Assent on 4 May 2016, but it will require a statutory instrument to bring it into force.


In February 2016, the Bill was condemned by the Committee of Experts of the International Labour Organisation for breaching key ILO Conventions ratified by the UK government, including Convention 87 (on the fundamental right of Freedom of Association and Protection of Right to Organise), and Convention 151 (on Labour Relations in Public Services). 


The Welsh and Scottish governments both fiercely oppose the new legislation, but the government in Westminster maintains that it has the right to legislate on these issues in England, Wales and Scotland. Some form of judicial challenge from the devolved nations seems likely if the government imposes the legislation beyond England. The TUA16 will not be implementedin Northern Ireland.