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An impressive audience of trade unionists attended Thompsons' Human Rights Act seminar on Monday 9 October. The seminar focussed on the issues which will assist unions and members and blended policy developments and practice with legal theory.
David Lock MP, minister from the Lord Chancellors Department gave the keynote address and underlined the cultural significance of the Act, in terms of the creation of readily identifiable positive rights, not a lawyers' gravy train. But he confirmed that there are no plans for the Government to sign up to the new Protocol 12, the comprehensive anti-discrimination protocol.
Sarah Spencer, director of the Institute of Public Policy and Research and a member of the Government's Human Rights Task Force, argued for the creation of a Human Rights Commission, as originally promised by the Government and insisted that the position of the EOC and the CRE would not be undermined by such a body.
Helen Mountfield, a barrister specialising in human rights law at Matrix chambers, then gave an insight into the opportunities for legal challenge and bargaining presented by the Act. She emphasised the importance of Article 8 - the right to respect for privacy and family life - to discrimination on grounds of sexuality, (now confirmed in the McDonald v Ministry of Defence case reported in this issue of LELR) and the enforcement of family friendly policies. Also discussed was whether the new workplace communication regulations comply with Article 8. Article 6 will impact on disciplinary proceedings and unfair dismissal cases and Article 14 and the first protocol will influence pensions law.
A digest of the speeches is available from the Thompsons' Employment Rights Unit at Congress House as is a short guide to the Human Rights Act for trades unionists.