A most important statement was issued on Monday by the
joint Board representing the General Federation of Trade Unions, the Parliamentary Committee of the Trade Union Congress, and the Labour Party. The Board, having considered the events which have followed the Osborne decision, finds that it (1) makes it impossible for Trade Union branches to join in the work of the local Trade Councils and strikes at the freedom of discussion always enjoyed by the Trade Union Congress when taking political action in the interest of wage-earners ; (2) denies the right of Trade Unions to carry out their nominal statutory purpose of regulating the relations between employer and employed by Parlia- mentary action ; and (3) deprives Trade Unions of a right enjoyed for nearly fifty years and only exercised with the approval of their members and to the advantage of the com- munity. They accordingly demand that these rights should be restored at once to enable Trade-Unionism to fulfil its statutory functions as the members of the respective Unions according to their rules shall decide.
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