By Evarist Baimu Nyaga Mawalla - Home

c.c.s.u v, minste for civil service (H.L.E)information vital to national security Since 1947 staff employed at GCHQ hadbeen permitted to belong to national trade unions and most had done so Therewas a well established practice of consolation between the official and tradeunion sides about imparting alteration in the terms and condition of service of thestaff. On 22 December 1983 the minister for the civil service gave an instructionpurportedly under article 4 of the civil Service order in council 1982 for theimmediate variation of the terms and condition of service of the staff with theeffect that that would no longer be permitted to belong to national trade unionsthere had been no consultation with the trade union or with the staff at GCHQprior to the issuing of that instruction. The applicants a trade union an sixindividuals sought judicial review of the ministers instruction on the ground thatshe had been under a duty to act fairly by consulting those concerned if oreissuing it In an affidavit. The secretary to the cabinet deposed to disruptiveindustrial action in support of nation trade unions that had taken place at GCHQas part of a national campaign by the unions designed to damage governmentagencies and that it had been considered that prior consolation about theminister instruction would have involved a risk of precipitating further disruptionand would moreover have indicated vulnerable areas of GCHO’s operations331