UK: GCHQ Federation not a Union
01 November 1996
The official Certification Officer, Ted Whybrew, a statutory official appointed by the President of the Board of Trade, has refused to grant the government authorised GCHQ Staff Federation the status of an independent Trade Union. The Federation was set up in 1984 when union membership was banned by the Thatcher administration on the basis that: "There is an inherent conflict between the structure of trade unions and loyalty to the state.".
The judgement, which confirms the banned GCHQ unions opinion that the Staff Federation is a nothing more than a "puppet organisation", gave six main reasons for the refusal:
*Its structure gives GCHQ management powers of discipline
*It cannot merge with another union or recruit elsewhere
*It has to satisfy conditions of service at GCHQ
*80% of funding is provided by the employer
*Members have limited access to industrial tribunals
*It has a ban on industrial action
His decision increases the likelihood that the International Labour Union, which is part of the United Nations, will denounce the government in the strongest terms. This action is normally taken against authoritarian regimes.
Independent 7.11.96.