Adrian posted
On Mon, 20 Jul 2015 11:13:16 +0100, dennis@home wrote:
It took a very brave or stupid man to put his hand up in a no vote at
many meetings.

It isn't just the risk of intimidation or ostracism; it is known to be
psychologically very difficult for ordinary people to publicly dissent
from their close colleagues' strongly expressed beliefs. There are
exceptions, but they are exceptions.

If you were lucky they just sent you to Coventry, things
could be much worse. Dave will deny anything ever happened if you voted
against a union show of hands and he should know he has been to every
union meeting ever held anywhere in the country.

Since show-of-hands ballots have been illegal for over thirty years...

Have they? Anyway, what is legal is not the same as what is actually
done. I was involved in a strike in 1989 in which no secret ballot was
ever held. Everything was done by a show of hands. And in the end we all
got sacked.

--
Les