Anti-strike law requiring 40% of trains to run during walkouts 'won't work'

07 November 2023 , 06:44

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The new rules will apply during rail strike days (Image: Getty Images)

Unions have warned that anti-strike rules requiring 40% of train services run during walkouts are unworkable. Minimum service levels, restricting rights to strike, will be introduced for ambulance staff, rail workers and Border Force employees.

The Tories have faced a wave of strike action as public sector workers fight to have their pay keep track with rising prices. Ministers will introduce the new rules thanks to powers in the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act passed earlier this year.

The regulations will apply to employees of Border Force and some Passport Office staff in England, Wales and Scotland. Under the rules for train operators, the Government said regulations will mean the equivalent of 40% of normal timetables operating as normal.

Minimum service levels for ambulance workers will apply in England only. The legislation has been designed to ensure that emergency services "will continue throughout any strike action".

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “These anti-strike laws won’t work. The crisis in our public services is of the government’s own making. Rather than engaging constructively with unions, they are attacking the right to strike. And they are punishing paramedics and rail staff for daring to stand up for decent pay and better services. These new laws are unworkable, undemocratic and almost certainly in breach of international law. The UK already has some of the most restrictive trade union laws in Europe.

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“It is already harder for working people here to take strike action than in any other Western European country. Now the Tories want to make it even harder for people to win fair pay and conditions. Unions will keep fighting this spiteful legislation. We won’t stop until it is repealed.”

Unison head of health Sara Gorton said: “This pointless move won't solve a single problem in the NHS. But it will create many more difficulties for everyone. Measures are already in place to protect patients during action. Sacking ambulance workers on strike won't get the millions awaiting hospital treatment any closer to the top of the list. It's just a desperate attempt to deflect attention from the government's appalling record on the NHS.”

John Stevens