Crofter Hand Woven Harris Tweed Co Ltd v Veitch [1942] AC 435 is a landmark UK labour law case on the right to take part in collective bargaining

Collective bargaining

Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...

. However, the actual decision which appears to allow secondary action may have been limited by developments from the 1980s.

Facts

In the Harris tweed

Harris Tweed

Harris Tweed is a cloth that has been handwoven by the islanders on the Isles of Harris, Lewis, Uist and Barra in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, using local wool....

 industry on the Island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides

Outer Hebrides

The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...

, several independent producers of tweed cloth were in a dispute with the Transport and General Workers Union over working conditions. The TGWU called on dockers in Stornoway

Stornoway

Stornoway is a burgh on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.The town's population is around 9,000, making it the largest settlement in the Western Isles and the third largest town in the Scottish Highlands after Inverness and Fort William...

, also TGWU members to refuse to handle the yarn imported to the island by the producers.

Judgment

The House of Lords held that there was no actionable conspiracy in this case. Lord Chancellor Simon said,
Lord Wright affirmed that the union had a right to take part in collective bargaining and more than that said,