Rishi Sunak may limit right to strike for workers in the public sector : ukpolitics

Rishi Sunak is preparing to announce new laws to curb the rights of NHS workers, teachers, firefighters and border force officials to go on strike.

The government plans to bring forward legislation to introduce minimum service levels across the public sector to limit the impact of industrial action.

Ministers will announce a package of measures in the New Year which will also include increasing the threshold for industrial action and force unions to give more notice of strikes.

The government has also considered plans for an outright ban on ambulance workers and paramedics striking. A Whitehall source said, however, that the move was unlikely because it would be “legally complex” and could be subject to challenge.

The prime minister set out his approach in the Commons yesterday in a significant change of tone. He said: “The government has been reasonable. It has accepted the recommendations of a pay review body, giving pay rises in many cases higher than the private sector. But if the union leaders continue to be unreasonable, then it is my duty to take action to protect the lives and livelihoods of the British public.

“That is why, since I became prime minister, I have been working for new tough laws to protect people from this disruption.”

His announcement came a day after ambulance workers announced strike action on December 21. Ministers are increasingly concerned that industrial action will dominate the run-in to the next general election.

Unions have insisted that they will not back down. Sharon Graham, the general secretary of the Unite union, said: “We will not be intimidated by anti-trade union attacks. If they put more hurdles in our way, then we will jump over them. We are ready industrially and financially.”

The centrepiece of Sunak’s legislation will be plans to extend minimum service levels across the public sector. The government has already announced plans that would require 20 per cent of regular rail services to continue during strikes. This could apply to six sectors, including education, the NHS and the fire service.

Ministers also intend to increase the threshold for strike action. Under laws that took effect in 2017, unions in certain sectors can only strike if 40 per cent of all eligible members vote in favour of taking action.

The government is proposing to extend that provision to every part of the economy and to raise the threshold to 50 per cent.

Other measures include doubling the minimum notice period for industrial action from 14 days and reducing the six-month limit for industrial action after a successful ballot.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said government work on new measures was “ongoing” and that “we want to do it at speed”.

He said: “We keep the powers under review and obviously in light of what we are seeing with effectively rolling strikes, the prime minister thinks it is right to push ahead with new powers.”

Frances O’Grady, the general secretary of the TUC, accused Sunak of “attempting cheap political potshots” with his warning about new anti-strike legislation.

“Public sector workers would love to be able to deliver minimum service levels,” she said. “But 12 years of Conservative cuts and mismanagement have left our public services falling apart at the seams.

“Rather than attempting cheap political potshots, the government should be getting around the table and negotiating with unions about pay.”

Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, said earlier that ministers were looking into how they might prioritise special provisions for vulnerable children in the event of teacher strikes going ahead.

Three of the four major teaching unions are balloting members on possible industrial action. Keegan urged teachers not to walk out, stressing the need to keep children in school.

Asked if there were any plans in place to prioritise the most vulnerable pupils during any potential strikes, as the government did during the pandemic, she said: “There’s a lot of planning going on across government, actually, to mitigate the impact of harmful strike action.

“And that is, of course, one of the factors we’re looking at — how we can do that, relying on various other pools of people and staff. So yes, that’s something that’s part of the planning.”

• Labour has said that if it wins power it will rip up strike laws, making it easier for unions to take industrial action.

Sir Keir Starmer would repeal the 2016 Trade Union Act, which imposes conditions on unions that want to strike, a spokesman said.

The measures in the act include a rule that ballots must attract a 50 per cent turnout for their results to be legally valid. Workers in “important” public services — including healthcare, education and transport — have to reach an additional threshold of 40 per cent support among those eligible to vote. The law also dictates that unions must give two weeks’ notice before they walk out.

A Labour spokesman said the party would repeal the “archaic” act and added that there were “unnecessary elements” in trade union legislation that could be changed, too. “One example would be . . . not allowing online balloting,” they said. “We don’t think that’s practical, we think it’s costly and we think that’s unnecessary.”

They added that Labour will also oppose the government’s “unworkable” plan for legislation on minimum service levels during walkouts.

Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, said of Rishi Sunak yesterday: “Rather than dealing with . . . workers suffering pay cuts as prices rocket, he promises to attack the very organisations fighting for workers and putting more money in their pockets. If they put more hurdles in our way, then we will jump over them. We are ready industrially and financially.”

Trade unions have donated more than £15 million to Labour, its constituency parties and its MPs since Sir Keir became leader, according to Tory analysis of Electoral Commission figures. This includes over £3 million each from Unite, Unison and GMB, which represent ambulance workers, who are due to strike on December 21.