Undemocratic unions
Sir: I was much interested by Peregrine Worsthorne's excellent article (28 January) in which he drew attention to the oligarchical nature of trade unions.
There can be no doubt about their undemocratic principles. However, he failed to mention a logical corollary of his argument. If libertarians freely grant the right to associate they cannot in the same breath carp at the existence of a post-entry closed shop. Essentially, the former is as undemocratic as the latter.
The Pavlovian howls of fury can easily be rebutted. There exists the simple expedient of making those who do not wish to join a union responsible for their own conditions of work. Whether employers would be happy to deal with such individuals is another matter. Short of dismembering the pluralist society this is the only rational solution.
It is time that pragmatic Tories grasped this nettle and faced up to the radical right. Charles Lumsden 49 Oxberry Avenue, London SW6
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