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Review published today is a “missed opportunity”, says TUC

The TUC has today (Monday) called on the government to stop ‘dragging its feet’ and allow electronic voting in strike ballots.

A review published this morning – carried out by Sir Ken Knight – has recommended that pilots are carried out before online balloting of union members is made legal.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Unions will engage with any pilots. But today’s review is a missed opportunity. 

“Union members should have access to the same modern balloting methods as other organisations. If it’s safe and secure for political parties to elect candidates and leaders online, why can’t unions have electronic ballots?

“It’s time to bring union balloting into the 21st century. The government must stop dragging its feet on this issue.”

Editors note
  • The Conservative Party elected its London mayoral candidate through online voting in 2016. And in 2015 and 2016 Labour balloted members electronically for its leadership contest.
  • Examples of membership organisations using online ballots to consult members and hold elections include the Federation of Small Businesses, the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Nationwide Building Society and the National Trust. 
  • Several private sector bodies have also used online voting for staff consultation purposes, including HSBC, EE, HTC and Shell. 
  • Unions are required to run postal ballots for all statutory ballots and elections, including industrial action ballots, general secretary elections, ballots on union mergers and political fund ballots. Many unions already use online voting for non-statutory elections, including seeking members’ views on pay offers and other elections.
  • The TUC has called for unions to be able to use online voting for all statutory ballots. 
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