The issue of the unions and strikes is back in the political arena.
I have lost count of the number of times in recent years that the Tories have called for participation thresholds in industrial action ballots before they can be considered legal. Indeed I commented on similar Tory proposals for Lib Dem Voice back in 2011. This time the figure they are proposing is 40%.
Once again they are focusing on the public sector; this is clearly an attempt to throw some red meat to their supporters.
It is too early to say if this going to be a big issue in the coming General Election. The winter of discontent is a distant memory, and union membership has fallen dramatically since its height in the late 1970s. However all democrats should be opposed to measures that restrict the rights of working people to withdraw their labour.
The Lib Dem policy of employee involvement at work is well established and I would like to see this promoted vigorously by party spokespeople, not least because if employees had a genuine say in how their workplace was run there would be less conflict.
The response of union leaders is interesting though. They have criticised the Tory call for the 40% threshold by pointing out that many politicians are elected on low turnouts. The irony is that the majority of union leaders themselves are elected by very small proportions of their members often on the recommendations of local officials. In my own union turnouts are regularly below 20%.
If unions are to remain relevant they need to look at improving participation in their own organisations, recruiting in new areas and becoming much less tribal in their political affiliations. Failure to address these issues makes them an easy target for the Tory attack dogs.
* David Warren is a former NEC member of the Communication Workers Union and a regular reader of Lib Dem Voice.