The Bridlington Principles are a set of rules aimed at resolving conflicts among

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s. in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The principles form the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

(TUC) code of practice that unions in England and Wales must adhere to as a condition of continued affiliation. First adopted in 1939 at the TUC's 1939 Congress meeting in

Bridlington Bridlington (previously known as Burlington) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is on the Holderness part (Flamborough Head to the Humber estuary) of the Yorkshire Coast by the North Sea. The town is ...

, the principles initially required that unions did not attempt to "poach" each other's members, in the interests of a cohesive, non-conflictual atmosphere of

industrial relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor union, labor/trade unions, employer organ ...

. In trade union branch meetings, membership applications from members of other unions are often "accepted subject to Bridlington". The principles have been updated over time by TUC, and have been published in a booklet called ''TUC Disputes Principles and Procedures'' since 1976. In May 2000, an update took into account the then new statutory recognition scheme. In September 2007, TUC agreed to changes to Principle 3 recommended by the TUC Executive Committee in the Annual Report to Congress. References to situations where a union is currently engaged in organising activity were added. The most recent update to the booklet and principles was published in March 2019. This and the previous 2016 update "strengthened the provisions regarding union conduct towards sister organisations, and reinforced the responsibility of unions to positively engage when members transfer their employment," including provisions against undercutting sister unions' membership rates. The 2019 update also set out principles for joint working arrangements on industrial campaigns in multi-union environments. The four principles cover: # Co-operation and the prevention of disputes # Membership # Organisation and recognition # Inter-union disputes and industrial action

References

{{Reflist United Kingdom labour law 1939 in the United Kingdom 1939 in labor relations

See also

References