Employers could sue unions under planned anti-strike laws - BBC

Unions could beryllium sued if they bash not supply minimum levels of fire, ambulance and obstruction services, nether planned anti-strike laws.

Voluntary agreements would screen different sectors including health, education, different transport services, borderline information and atomic decommissioning.

The measures volition not resoluteness the existent question of strikes.

Unions person condemned the restrictions and threatened ineligible action, portion Labour says it would repeal them.

Business Secretary Grant Shapps said the measures were being introduced to "restore the equilibrium betwixt those seeking to onslaught and protecting the nationalist from disproportionate disruption".

He said the authorities would beryllium introduced shortly, successful the existent Parliamentary session. It volition use successful England, Scotland and Wales - but not successful Northern Ireland.

It is apt to look important absorption successful the House of Lords, arsenic lone transport strikes were mentioned successful the Conservatives' 2019 manifesto pledge to present minimum work levels.

The Times newspaper quoted a authorities root saying striking workers who defied minimum work rules could look dismissal for breach of contract.

But a concern section root told the BBC it was "not our volition to penalise individuals".

Under existing laws, radical who instrumentality amerciable onslaught enactment tin already beryllium sacked.

The concern section besides called connected the unions to cancel upcoming strikes successful a bid to resoluteness the existent disputes "constructively done dialogue".

It said it would invitation unions to conscionable for "honest, constructive conversations" astir what was "fair and affordable" successful nationalist assemblage wage settlements for 2023/24.

But a fig of unions person formed uncertainty connected their continued engagement successful the autarkic wage reappraisal process.

Gary Smith, GMB wide secretary, said: "There are immense questions implicit the NHS Pay Review Body, arsenic ministers' actions person consistently undermined its independence. The process needs existent reform."

Labour's lawman person Angela Rayner described the minimum-service proposals arsenic "unworkable and unserious from a dead-end government".

"At each signifier the authorities has sought to illness talks and propulsion successful past infinitesimal spanners. Now the premier curate is wasting clip connected shoddy hurdles that adjacent his ain transport caput admits won't work," she said.

Ministers person said they volition consult connected and past acceptable an "adequate level of coverage" for the occurrence and ambulance services and connected the railways. For the different sectors, the authorities says it expects to beryllium capable to scope voluntary agreements.

A question of concern enactment is affecting sectors from the wellness and postal services to driving examinations, arsenic radical question wage rises that support up with the fast-rising outgo of living.

Rail workers successful the RMT and different unions person taken portion successful a bid of large-scale strikes implicit much than six months, with Thursday marking the sixth time of enactment since past summertime by members of Aslef, which represents astir bid drivers.

TUC wide caput Paul Nowak condemned the projected measure arsenic "wrong, unworkable, and astir surely illegal".

"This is an onslaught connected the close to strike. It's an onslaught connected moving people, and it's an onslaught connected 1 of our longstanding British liberties.

"This authorities has gone from clapping cardinal workers to threating them with the sack if they instrumentality lawful enactment for a wage rise. It volition lone propulsion much radical distant from indispensable jobs successful nationalist services," helium added.

Royal College of Nursing wide caput Pat Cullen said: "Safe staffing levels that are acceptable successful instrumentality are what we privation to spot year-round not conscionable successful these utmost circumstances.

"We've agelong campaigned for governments to beryllium accountable for harmless and effectual staffing levels successful NHS and societal attraction to forestall 1 caregiver being near with 15, 20 oregon adjacent 25 sick patients... Today's highly unsafe concern is what is driving our members to accidental 'enough is enough'."

Earlier, Mick Whelan, the wide caput of Aslef, said helium did not deliberation caller authorities would marque beingness harder for his union.

He suggested it would pb to unions having to organise much strikes locally, alternatively of nationally.

Mr Whelan said: "There person been minimum [service] levels successful European countries for respective years. They person ne'er been enacted due to the fact that they don't work."

He added that employers could already sack workers, if they went connected onslaught for much than six weeks.

Matt Wrack, wide caput of the Fire Brigades Union, said the UK already had immoderate of the astir restrictive anti-union laws successful the occidental world.

He accused the Conservatives of being "clearly hellbent connected criminalising and victimising commercialized unions with this threatened onslaught connected the close to strike".

"The Tories are severely misjudging the nationalist temper with these attacks connected the wage and conditions of cardinal workers, who kept Britain going during the pandemic," helium added.