Unions will be allowed to expel racist activists under new legislation unveiled by the Government yesterday.

Several unions, including the GMB, Unison and Aslef, have complained the law restricted their ability to exclude racists from membership and some have been taken to employment tribunals after expelling British National Party members.

Officials voiced concern that compensation could exceed £5,000 which could encourage people to take a case to tribunal.

The Government said it recognised the concerns of unions regarding their ability to exclude or expel individuals whose political activities were offensive to fellow union members and were at odds with union policies.

"The law should not allow racists to hide behind their political party membership to avoid being expelled by unions," said a Government paper published yesterday.

The law will be amended to give unions greater latitude to make expulsions and the Government said it will re-examine the case for giving tribunals greater discretion when setting compensation levels.

The new Employment Relations Bill will be amended to allow unions to expel "racists activists".

Employment relations minister Gerry Sutcliffe said he was "very concerned" about what had been happening, adding that certain unions had been targeted by the BNP.

"It's wrong racists should be allowed to hide behind their political party membership to prevent unions from expelling them. "So we will amend the Bill to allow unions to expel or exclude those whose political activities constitute offensive conduct."

Mr Sutcliffe said the Bill would encourage employers and employees to work together.

Wednesday December 03, 2003