TUC Congress last September.

Workers Press no. 754, 2 May 1972 · scan page 2

Topics: Trade union leaders and the TUC, Police and the courts

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It reverses the earlier decision under which unions who wanted to make a court appearance were instructed to see the TUC to explain why.

The surrender came at a half strength meeting of the TUC. Finance and General Purposes. Committee attended by. transport workers' leader Jack Jones and Sir Sidney Greene of the railwaymen.

The changes will have to be ratified by the TUC General Council which meets on Thursday. But TUC General Secretary, Victor Feather, explained that if any union, such as the Transport and General Workers, wished to appear before the court, it now had the right to do so.

Sir John Donaldson, head of the National Indastrial Relations Court yesterday postponed until tomorrow a new application against the T&GWU for ignoring an order to stop Liverpool dockers blacking container firms.

Donaldson said he was making the decision to give the union a chance to come to the court and offer an explanation for its action.

He said the court had seriously considered whether it should not exercise its power to require the attendance on Wednesday of the union's principal officers.

It is, however, aware that the relationship between the court and the trade union movement had been • under intensive study during the last few days. In the circumstances we are content at this stage to leave the question of representation of the union and its officers to their own sense of responsibility.' After the TUC meeting, secretary Victor Feather claimed the turn-about was not a change in policy, but merely a 'clarification of procedure'. He said that no vote had been taken, but that the consensus of opinion wast y unanimous.

Jack Jones, who accused TUC on Sunday of being disloyal to earlier policy, left meeting smiling and with no word of criticism.

This surrender to the Industrial Relations Act now opens the door for a number of trade union leaders to rush to the court and plead Tory 'justice'.

• Among those first will be Clive Jenkins of ASTMS and postmen's leader Tom Jackson.

In yesterday's "Times'— before the TUC even met— Jenkins declared in a signed article:

First leader in Court 'I shall be taking a major case of principle on unfair dismissal next Wednesday and it is clear that there is going to be a massive corpus of new case law established in this field.' By taking this action, Jenkins will gain the dubious distinction of being the first trade union leader to appear before the Tory court. Jenkins is a Labour Party member and described as a 'left'.