Day 313 - 13 Dec 96 - Page 06
1 takes us to the laws on the right to contact with a trade
2 union official, the activities of the trade union which are
3 protected by the Employment Protection Act 1978 and
4 incorporated, so far as I understand, in the Trade Union
5 Labour Relations Consolidation Act 1992.
6
7 It goes through various authorities about that. You may
8 feel it helpful, the second page outlines some of the
9 activities the trade union may wish to carry out. It makes
10 the point that trade union activity is something that is
11 self-defined by a trade union. So, our general submission
12 will be that McDonald's employment contract is an
13 incitement to their store managers throughout the UK to
14 break the law regarding the protection of people's rights
15 to contact trade unions and carry out trade union activity.
16
17 There are copies of the Act, the relevant section of the
18 Act.
19
20 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
21
22 MR. MORRIS: Which you can-----
23
24 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I will read that in my own time.
25
26 MR. MORRIS: When the Act describes -- obviously, we are not
27 bound by the law in a libel case, we are not bound by the
28 law in terms of evaluating when something is unfair or
29 fair, but, for example, we would certainly say that trade
30 union activity and that kind of activity, people are
31 entitled to carry on that activity at any time at work
32 whenever they feel it is appropriate, but the law defines
33 it as outside working hours. But that would certainly mean
34 that when they arrive at work, before they start their
35 shifts, after they have finished their work after their
36 shifts, they are entitled to meet with others, to put up
37 posters, give out leaflets, collect subscriptions, discuss
38 working conditions, and during lunch breaks as well.
39
40 Then there is reference to a case Discount Tobacco and
41 Confectionery Limited v Armitage. It does not give the
42 date for that, it is reported in 1990 Industrial Relations
43 IRLR, Industrial Relations Labour Reports.
44
45 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is set out in the second page.
46
47 MR. MORRIS: Yes. It is said that if the basic drift of that is
48 that -- well, I mean, you can read it for yourself.
49
50 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
51
52 MR. MORRIS: I mean, the purpose of the laws would be
53 meaningless if it did not mean that you could carry out
54 some kind of activity, including contacting a trade union
55 official to negotiate and elucidate terms of employment;
56 and that is the very thing which is a summary sackable
57 offence at McDonald's, discussing details of terms of
58 employment and conditions with a trade union official.
59
60 Just in terms of finishing off this point, the other two
