Postal Workers and the Law
Whatever view may be held about the claims of Civil Service trade unions to be allowed affiliation to the Trades Union Congress, nothing can justify an attempt to jump their claims in defiance of the existing law. In deciding to apply for affiliation the National Union of Post Office Workers are taking a step contrary to the Trade Disputes Act, clause 5 of which prohibits the affiliation of Civil Service trade unions to the T.U.C. Last year the Trades Union Congress did not respond to Mr. Churchill's request that revision of the Act should not be pressed in war-time ; but in spite of its attitude it certainly was not contemplating illegal unilateral• action. Its attitude to constitutional questions in recent years has been so correct that it will clearly be embarrassed by the Post Office Workers' desire to implicate it in a violation of the law. It must be emphasised that the ethics of the precipitate action of the Post Office Workers have nothing whatever to do with the right- ness or wrongness of their claim to enjoy fuller trade union rights. At this time of day there is little to be said for the denial of the
rights of organisation to workers simply because it happens that State is their employer. The whole conception of modern indus tends more and more to assume a system in which the organ unions play an indispensable part, and the acceptance by the Sr. union movement of obligations as well as rights has been grad conferring on it a constitutional status in the working of indus It is simply to set back the clock to insist on excluding import sections of workers from its sphere of activity. There are otti clauses in the Trade Disputes Act which amply safeguard the S against improper direct action by the unions ; the ban on affiliation of Civil Service unions could quite safely and reasona, be lifted. But this is a matte; for negotiation, not for the jilt and discreditable measures contemplated by the union. Op defiance of the law at a time like this—and the defiance is admit! —is a grave matter.
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