UK
Bill to ensure ‘minimum safety levels’
during industrial action being introduced
The Government will introduce new legislation to Parliament on Tuesday for “minimum safety levels” during industrial action.
The Bill would ensure vital public services maintain a “basic function” when workers go on strike, the Business Department previously said.
Business Secretary Grant Shapps has said the legislation will demonstrate “life and limb must come first” when strike action takes place.
He told GB News: “We don’t really ever want to have to use that legislation.”
The proposals have sparked threats of legal challenges, while Labour has said it would likely repeal the legislation.
The introduction of the Bill comes a day after crisis talks between ministers and unions failed to resolve industrial disputes involving nurses, teachers and rail workers.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay is considering backdating next year’s NHS staff pay increase as part of efforts to prevent further strikes, several reports have suggested.
Mr Barclay used a meeting with health unions on Monday to suggest that improvements in efficiency and productivity within the health service could “unlock additional funding” to lead to an increased offer for the 2023/24 pay settlement in the spring.
Sara Gorton, head of health at Unison, said there had been an “acknowledgement” from the Health Secretary during the talks that avoiding strikes over next year’s pay settlement would “involve a reach-back” into the current pay year.
It raises the prospect that the pay deal for 2023/24, which is due to be agreed in time for April, could be backdated and applied to the final quarter of the 2022/23 financial year.
Ms Gorton said the discussion represented a “tone change” from the UK Government, with pay discussions firmly on the table after months of ministers refusing to budge beyond what had been recommended by the independent pay review bodies.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s PM programme, the Unison official said: “There was an acknowledgement from the Secretary of State (Steve Barclay) that, to use his words, any resolution to the dispute now, or preventing further disputes for next year’s pay, would involve a reach-back into the current pay year.”
Unions said there was no “tangible offer” made, however, with Ms Gorton calling for “cold hard cash” to be offered so members can be consulted over ceasing industrial action.
Multiple reports have suggested that unions put forward the call for the 2023/24 pay deal to be backdated to January in order to create a bigger uplift for 2022/23.
The Daily Telegraph, citing a source close to Mr Barclay, said the Health Secretary had “agreed to consider both this idea and proposals for a one-off payment”.
On the issue of a one-off payment, an ally of Mr Barclay said he had “listened to what (they) had to say and agreed to take it away”.
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea, asked on BBC’s Newsnight whether a backdated pay offer was something she recognised, said: “That hasn’t been put to us.
“All of it would have to depend on what the actual figures were like when you take them over a year.
“If we were talking about a fairly low sum for 2023/24 and that being backdated, then no, I don’t think it would be enough.”
The Government had previously refused to discuss wages for nurses and other public-sector workers, insisting those were matters for the independent pay review bodies, but over the weekend Mr Sunak hinted at movement.
While there were positive noises about the talks in some quarters, other unions were incensed by the lack of perceived progress.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Unite criticised the meeting with Mr Barclay, accusing ministers of “intransigence”.
The discussions in Whitehall were not enough to prevent the likelihood of further strikes in the health sector.
Physiotherapists also said they would be announcing industrial action dates later this week despite the talks while the GMB union said ambulance strikes would go ahead as planned on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union will stage a strike in primary schools, special schools and early years sites, the DVSA driving examiners’ strike continues in London, the South East, South Wales and the South West, Rural Payments Agency (RPA) continue their walkout and London bus workers at Abellio go on strike.
On Monday it was not only health officials meeting with ministers, with Westminster hosting a series of cross-sector talks as the UK Government grapples with industrial action in the face of high inflation.
Teaching unions met Education Secretary Gillian Keegan ahead of announcements this week over whether their members will go on strike.
Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), urged ministers to come forward with “real and concrete proposals very quickly” to avoid possible strike action this year.
Rail minister Huw Merriman called in train workers after sustained action crippled services, with only one in five trains running between Tuesday and Saturday.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch dodged questions about progress in rail talks but said that further discussions would take place.
New anti-strikes law will ‘poison’ industrial relations, ministers warned
David Hughes and Sophie Wingate, PA
Tue, January 10, 2023
New laws requiring minimum levels of service from ambulance staff, firefighters and railway workers during industrial action risk triggering a fresh clash with the unions, ministers have been warned.
Business Secretary Grant Shapps has claimed the new legislation, being introduced in the Commons on Tuesday, is a “common-sense” response to the wave of industrial unrest.
But unions warned it could see key workers facing the sack if they exercise their right to strike, and that if it becomes law it could “poison industrial relations” and lead to more walkouts.
Mr Shapps said the new Bill would end the “postcode lottery” seen during the ambulance strike, when differing levels of service were agreed by striking unions with local NHS organisations.
“I don’t think any civilised society should have a situation where we can’t get agreement to, for example, have an ambulance turn up on a strike day for the most serious of all types of ailments,” he told Times Radio.
On Sky News, Mr Shapps said: “The problem we had in the recent strikes was that the Royal College of Nursing – that’s the nurses – did make that agreement at the national level so there was a guarantee.
“Unfortunately, the ambulance unions didn’t do that last time round, so there was a sort of regional postcode lottery. That’s the thing we want to avoid.
“That’s why today I’ll introduce minimum safety levels and service levels for key public services to make sure that we don’t end up in a situation where people’s lives are at risk, while still respecting the right to withdraw labour and strike.”
He played down the prospect of union members being sacked for refusing to work in line with the new law and insisted the Government is prepared for the legislation to be challenged in the courts.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak has hit out at the new legislation (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Mr Shapps also said the Government wants to end “forever strikes” on the rail network and argued that new anti-strike legislation would bring the UK “into line” with other European countries.
“Everyone knows we want to bring these strikes, which in some cases, railways for example, seem to have turned into sort of forever strikes,” he said.
“We want to bring this to a close and the Government is bending over backwards to do that.”
An impact assessment prepared by officials for earlier legislation aimed at imposing minimum service levels on the rail network warned that it risks a “potential increase in strike action”.
Mr Shapps said “I don’t think that’s likely” and said he hopes the legislation would not have to be used.
But Trades Union Congress general secretary Paul Nowak warned the legislation would risk further strikes.
“This legislation would mean that, when workers democratically vote to strike, they can be forced to work and sacked if they don’t comply. That’s undemocratic, unworkable, and almost certainly illegal,” he said.
“Let’s be clear: if passed, this Bill will prolong disputes and poison industrial relations – leading to more frequent strikes.”
Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack said: “This is an attack on all workers – including key workers, who kept our public services going during the pandemic.
“It’s an attack on Britain’s Covid heroes and on all workers. We need a mass movement of resistance to this authoritarian attack.”
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This Bill is another dangerous gimmick from a Government that should be negotiating to resolve the current crisis they have caused.”
Frank Ward, interim general secretary at the TSSA transport union, said the plans were “wrong, unworkable, and almost certainly illegal”, adding: “Our union totally opposes this move to bring in what amounts to further draconian anti-strike laws which are a clear attack on the rights of working people in our country.”
The introduction of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill comes a day after transport, health and education unions held a series of crisis meetings with Westminster ministers.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay is considering backdating next year’s NHS staff pay increase as part of efforts to prevent further strikes, a union involved in the talks claimed.
Mr Barclay used a meeting with health unions on Monday to suggest that improvements in efficiency and productivity within the health service could “unlock additional funding” to lead to an increased offer for the 2023/24 pay settlement in the spring.
(PA Graphics)
Sara Gorton, head of health at Unison, said there had been an “acknowledgement” from the Health Secretary during the talks that avoiding strikes over next year’s pay settlement would “involve a reach-back” into the current pay year.
It raises the prospect that the pay deal for 2023/24, which is due to be agreed in time for April, could be backdated and applied to the final quarter of the 2022/23 financial year.
The unions also raised the prospect of a one-off payment to ease the cost-of-living burden.
The GMB union said a strike by ambulance workers will still go ahead on Wednesday unless a “significant” pay offer is made by the Government.
National secretary Rachel Harrison told BBC Breakfast: “Yesterday was a real shift, because there was that willingness from the Secretary of State and from his team to listen to us, to talk to us about pay for next year specifically, but unfortunately the meeting wasn’t progressive enough for us to be able to suspend the strike action tomorrow because no offer has yet still been made.”
It came as NHS England urged people to still call 999 if their condition is life-threatening but to turn to NHS 111, pharmacies and GPs for non-urgent needs.
Meanwhile, primary schools around Scotland have closed after last-ditch talks failed to prevent strike action, with secondary school staff set to walk out on Wednesday.
'Shameful, Shameful, Shameful': Tory MP Slams Rishi Sunak's New Anti-Strike Law
Ned Simons
Tue, January 10, 2023
Rishi Sunak’s plans to crackdown on the right to strike have been branded “shameful” by a former Tory minister.
On Tuesday the government unveiled new laws requiring minimum levels of service from ambulance staff, firefighters and railway workers during industrial action.
Grant Shapps, the business secretary, said the legislation was a “common-sense” response to the wave of industrial unrest.
But Stephen McPartland, who served as security minister during Boris Johnson’s premiership, attacked the proposals.
“Shameful, shameful, shameful to target individual workers & order them to walk past their mates on picket line or be sacked,” the MP for Stevenage said on Twitter.
“By all means fine the unions, make them agree to minimum service levels, but don’t sack individual NHS staff, teachers & workers!!!”
Speaking in the Commons, Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, branded the new laws “insulting” to nurses as well as “utterly stupid”.
Shapps has also been condemned for accusing ambulance workers of “putting lives at risk” when they went on strike last month.
The business secretary has played down the prospect of union members being sacked for refusing to work under the new law.
But TUC general secretary Paul Nowak warned the legislation would risk further strikes.
“This legislation would mean that, when workers democratically vote to strike, they can be forced to work and sacked if they don’t comply,” he said.
“That’s undemocratic, unworkable, and almost certainly illegal. Let’s be clear: if passed, this Bill will prolong disputes and poison industrial relations – leading to more frequent strikes.”
The introduction of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill comes a day after transport, health and education unions held a series of crisis meetings with Westminster ministers which did not resolve the disputes.
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