Strike ballots under the 2016 Trade Union Act: Unions mobilise to counter the latest legal onslaught

Abstract

The 2016 Trade Union Act (TUA) added ‘draconian’ restrictions to the already tortuous postal balloting regime for holding lawful strikes. The government predicted that 29–35% of ballots would lose. Using data from trade union returns to the Certification Officer, the first detailed account of ballots under the TUA shows that unions have, generally, mobilised successfully to ‘get the vote out’. Far fewer ballots now fail to win a simple majority; the 50% turnout barrier has led to only half the predicted losses; the 40% yes-vote rule in ‘important public services’ has limited independent effect. To avoid reballoting under the 6-month ballot mandate, unions often launch into longer (mainly discontinuous) strikes. Judged on these criteria, the TUA has failed, which suggests further legislation will follow. Some national ballots have been lost, but the tactic of disaggregated ballots has seen unions strike (associated) employers where threshold turnout has been achieved.