Some non-members reluctantly went in to work yesterday, as they weren't clear that they were legally protected if they joined the strike.
The relevant legislation is the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, as amended by Schedule 5 of the Employment Relations Act 1999.
Membership or non-membership of a trade union has no bearing on the legal protection for striking employees.
Just to spell out what this means:
Fujitsu Services employees based at MAN05, including home-workers with a MAN05 admin base, are protected from dismissal in connection with the official industrial action, for a period of 8 weeks from Monday 15th September.
Pickets can lawfully ask everyone not to enter the site on strike days, and the union has immunity from being sued for damages arising from the action. People who aren't in the group above (Fujitsu Services employees based at MAN05, including home-workers with a MAN05 admin base), but who choose not to cross the picket line, do not have the same legal protection.
Posted by IA at September 16, 2003 06:09 PM