Chilling common theme to Government legislative agenda
Commenting on the Trade Union Bill, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers union in the UK, said:
“The provisions of the Bill come as no surprise. The deep hatred of the Government for those who fight for the rights of working people and stand up for fairness and equality is writ large in the Bill.
“It is not only the provisions of the Trade Union Bill which should be a cause for deep concern but what the Bill represents.
“This Bill follows hot on the heels of the Lobbying Act, introduced shortly before the election, to restrict opposition and introduce state supervision of trade union membership.
“Attacks are planned by Government on the Human Rights Act, which includes the right of freedom of association and the right to education.
“The renegotiation of the UK’s membership of the EU focuses almost entirely on the treaty provisions which affect the rights of working people.
“The Education and Adoption Bill not only removes parents’ fundamental rights to have a say in the type of school in which their child is educated, it abolishes any mechanism through which they can raise legitimate concerns.
“The extensions to the legislation on extremism give breath-taking powers to Government further to trample the rights of individuals.
“The Trade Union Bill and all this other legislation have a chilling common theme, to restrict, stifle and silence opposition and attack our fundamental democratic rights and freedoms.
“Now is the time for all those who value the hard fought for democratic rights and freedoms to expose and oppose the Government’s real agenda.”
