Grant Shapps introduces controversial anti-strike legislation to curb public sector walkouts
10 January 2023, 14:09 | Updated: 10 January 2023, 15:12
Business secretary Grant Shapps has introduced a controversial new bill that would prevent some employees from being able to go on strike without fear of losing their jobs.
The proposed law would mean areas including the NHS, education, fire and rescue, border security and nuclear decommissioning would have to introduce minimum levels of service during strikes to provide a ‘safety net’ to the public.
Employers would have to set out the workforce they need, preventing some employees from being able to strike with protection from unfair dismissal.
The plans have been criticised as an ‘attack on human rights’.
If made law, some union workers would be required to continue working during a strike.
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Mr Shapps told the Commons the Government "absolutely believes in the right to strike" but that it is "duty bound" to protect the lives and livelihoods of people in the UK.
He thanked the Royal College of Nursing for working with health officials to ensure "safe levels of cover" during their strike, adding they showed they could protest in a "reasonable and mature way".
He said: “A lack of timely co-operation from the ambulance unions meant employers could not reach agreement nationally for minimum safety levels during recent strikes and health officials were left guessing at the likely minimum coverage, making contingency planning almost impossible and putting everyone's constituents' lives at risk.
"The ambulance strike planned for tomorrow still does not have minimum safety levels in place and this will result in patchy emergency care for the British people, and this cannot continue.
"It's for moments like this that we're introducing legislation, focusing on blue light emergency services and delivering on our manifesto commitment to secure minimum service on the railways."
Mr Shapps added: "We don't want to use this legislation but we must ensure the safety of the British public."
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said one of her constituents “waited over an hour for an ambulance, who died waiting for an ambulance, and that was not on a strike day".
She added: "That is because of the disastrous chaos we have in the system under this Conservative government."
Ms Rayner went on: "How he goes on with one breath thanking nurses to sacking nurses, not just insulting, but utterly stupid.
"There is no common sense about this at all. He says he recognises pressure faced by key workers, but he knows the NHS cannot find the nurses they need to work on the ward, he knows the trains don't run even on non-strike days such is their shortage of staff.
"So, how can he seriously think that sacking thousands of key workers won't just plunge our public services further into crisis?"
