Today the government launched its latest anti-strike moves with the introduction of legislation that will enforce minimum service levels in the public sector during industrial action. The bill, which had its first reading in parliament today, has been met with hostility from Labour, with Angela Rayner saying “Labour is united against this attack on fundamental British freedoms. We will oppose this bill and repeal these restrictions on the right to strike”.
This legislation is hugely controversial, not least because of its timing. But then, this is a government that courts controversy. One of the biggest concerns is that the bill could give employers the right to sack workers who go on strike, and take legal action against trade unions. The Guardian reports that unions are warning “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”.
Government seeking to extend strike restrictions
Yesterday, Health Secretary Steve Barclay told union representatives that “NHS staff would need to ‘justify’ a payment through increased productivity”. Unite negotiator Onay Kasab told Nursing Notes that it was clear he wanted NHS workers “to give more in order for it to consider a payment” despite them already working “well beyond their contracted hours”.
Only an idiot, or someone who does not use the NHS, would not know that nurses are already on their knees and there is no spare ‘slack’ in the profession. But let’s face it, the government is not blessed with intellect.
Whoever thought announcing this legislation at a critical point in strike negotiations was a clever move needs their bumps feeling.
According to Sam Francis at the BBC, a bill was introduced to parliament in October requiring a minimum level of service during industrial action for public transport, but today’s announcement extends this to five other areas – the NHS, education, fire and rescue, border security, and nuclear decommissioning. Crucially, Francis also states that “employees named on the work notice would lose their right to protection from unfair dismissal if they then went on strike”.
Legislation may prove to be illegal
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Jonathan Ashworth took to the airwaves this morning telling Sky News “The government are effectively saying to a nurse… if you exercise your right to withdraw your labour because your pay is inadequate, then they’re going to sack you”.
This is indeed a red rag to an already raging bull. TUC general secretary Paul Nowak thinks it’s also more than likely illegal. But since when has that stopped this government from embarking on something that is truly stupid?
It is true that other European countries such as Spain, Italy and France already have statutory minimum service levels in place. And according to the government the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and France all “balance the right to strike with ensuring continuity of public services”. But this is hugely disingenuous. On the one hand the government cannot move us away fast enough from replicating EU rules and regulations. Unless of course it suits them. This is the worst sort of cherry picking
And you can bet your bottom dollar that other countries arrived at minimum service levels through negotiations and agreement. Not by holding a gun to workers’ heads.
13 years of austerity
Neither should anyone be hoodwinked into thinking that this is about protecting the public and “their access to vital public services, and help them go about their daily lives” (their words, not mine). If the government cared one jot about that then they would not have run down the NHS for the last 13 years, cut firefighters by 20%, or allow the continued cuts to school funding.
Nope, this is a government that has truly lost the plot. And seems to be made up of ministers who don’t seem to have any knowledge of what it’s like to be a worker in the public sector, despite having them as their constituents.
The reality is that 13 years of austerity has left public sector workers reeling. According to the TUC “real average weekly earnings aren’t expected to go back above 2008 levels until 2027”. That’s a 19-year pay squeeze that’s hitting workers hard. The public sector continues to endure the biggest consistent austerity squeeze.
From October 2021 to October 2022, public sector wages increased by just 2.7% (according to the Guardian) whilst the headline rate of inflation reached over 10%. The result is a pay cut. For police officers there has been a real-terms cut of 13% since 2009, prison officers 10.4% and primary school professionals 11.8% (Guardian, July 2022).
Assault on workers’ rights
This latest legislative wheeze is an assault on the fundamental rights of workers to strike. But it’s part of the bigger picture of what increasingly looks like an assault on workers, especially those who belong to a union. Consider what the government is already doing with employment rights via the retained EU law bill.
Sure, it was great to clap the nurses during the pandemic, but then clapping is free. And it’s a cheap gesture from the government. But it was a distraction. The real motive behind the government is to curtail the public purse as much as possible by cutting services, and keeping wages as low as possible.
The reason? Because the Tories cannot manage the economy.
Someone has to pay for the £30bn wasted on track and trace and unusable PPE kit – and it looks like it is us, the workers.
So good luck to those Conservative MPs who are sitting on small majorities. Let’s hope the unions can do their job whilst they still can and consign this legislation to the dustbin. And let’s hope there are enough public sector workers in these key marginals to consign this government to the same bin.
