Fact Service January 2010

Issue 2

Cameron threatens new union laws

Before you put your cross on your election paper, consider the following report from the Conservative party's friend in Fleet Street, the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

“David Cameron would be prepared to toughen trade union laws if strikes threatened any attempts to impose a pay freeze in the public sector.

"The Conservative leader said that, if he became prime minister, he would be “very happy” to strengthen laws to stop unions staging walkouts over his plan to freeze wages for at least a year as part of efforts to get to grips with the public deficit.

"He warned union leaders that they faced “a very determined, robust, sensible, reasonable group of people”.

"Mr Cameron said one million of the lowest paid workers would be spared the freeze and, in a noticeable hardening of his attitude towards the unions, he made it clear that he would have no hesitation in strengthening laws.

“The trade union laws that were passed in the 1980s have withstood the test of time,” he said. “If ever they needed to be strengthened I would be very happy to strengthen them. But I think there’s a set of rules that work very well.”

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/david-cameron/6953882/David-Cameron-ready-to-take-on-unions.html