Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974

The Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974 (c. 52) (TULRA) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on industrial relations.

Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974^[a]

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to repeal the Industrial Relations Act 1971; to make provision with respect to the law relating to trades union, employers' associations, workers and employers, including the law relating to unfair dismissal, and with respect to the jurisdiction and procedure of industrial tribunals; and for connected purposes.
Citation	1974 c. 52
Territorial extent	United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent	31 July 1974
Commencement	16 September 1964[b]
Repealed	16 October 1992
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes	Industrial Relations Act 1971
Repealed by	Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992
Relates to	Employment Protection Act 1975 Employment Rights Act 1996
Status: Repealed
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted

The act contains rules on the functioning and legal status of trade unions, the presumption that a collective agreement is not binding, and immunity of unions who take strike action in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute. Together with the Employment Protection Act 1975,^[1] TULRA formed the basis of the Labour Party's employment law programme under the "Social Contract" initiative.

Background

The act was introduced by the Labour Government which succeeded Edward Heath's Conservative administration. TULRA both repealed and replaced the Industrial Relations Act 1971 which had been introduced by Heath's employment minister Robert Carr. The 1971 act had faced massive opposition from the trade unions, whose industrial action contributed to Heath's implementation of the Three-Day Week and ultimately to the defeat of the government.^[2]

The victorious Labour Party promptly repealed the Industrial Relations Act 1971, replacing it with their own legislation that was to incorporate the principles within Barbara Castle's 1969 white paper, "In Place of Strife". However, although the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974 scrapped the 1971 act's "offensive" provisions, it nevertheless effectively re-enacted the remaining bulk of Carr's statute.^[3]

The act was itself repealed, being replaced by the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, whose main provisions mirror its predecessor's, albeit now with more complexities and restrictions. It contains rules on trade unions functioning and legal status, the presumption that a collective agreement is not binding, and immunity of unions who take strike action in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute.

Notes

1. Section 31.(1)
2. The Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974 (Commencement) Order 1974.