The UK government is planning to introduce a new law that obliges workers in key public sectors, such as ambulance services, to maintain a basic level of service during strikes or risk of redundancy.
In a statement on Thursday, the government said it would introduce a bill to parliament in the coming weeks to set minimum levels of safety for fire, ambulance and railway services.
The new law, which would oblige a certain percentage of workers to continue working on strike days, could also affect nurses, teachers and immigration officials. Workers who go on strike after being instructed to report to work by their employer and union may be fired.
“In addition to protecting freedom to strike, government must also protect lives and livelihoods,” said Business Secretary Grant Shapps.
“While we hope that voluntary arrangements can continue to be made in most cases, introducing minimum levels of security – the minimum levels of service we expect to be provided – will restore the balance between those seeking to strike and protecting the public from disruption. disproportionate.” added Shapps.
The announcement follows the worst industrial unrest the UK economy has seen in years. Workers are facing a sharp drop in living standards and are demanding higher wages in the face of record inflation.
Rail worker stoppages this week have disrupted the post-holiday return to offices, with several major train lines without services on Thursday after drivers left.
The strike in recent months has disrupted railways, schools, hospitals and postal services. The Royal College of Nursing staged the first national strike in its 106-year history last month.
Critical care has been exempted from the nurses’ strike and unions have pledged to cover life-threatening emergencies during recent ambulance staff outages.
The new bill also covers health services, education, nuclear decommissioning, border security and other transportation services. The government has said it will only impose minimum levels of security in these areas if “voluntary agreements” cannot be reached.
The government said it would invite unions to discuss “what is fair and affordable” in public sector wage agreements for the next fiscal year from April, noting that inflation-matched wage premiums risk pushing prices up further. . He called on unions to call off upcoming strikes in the meantime in favor of “dialogue”.
But unions may be less receptive to the government’s offer of talks after Thursday’s announcement.
“Trade unions will fight this every step of the way,” the Trades Union Congress, which represents 48 UK unions, said on Twitter. He said the new “anti-strike legislation” is “wrong, impractical and almost certainly illegal”.
The opposition Labor Party also opposes the proposed legislation and has said it will reverse it entirely if it wins the next general election.
“We’ll see what they come up with, but if it’s more restrictions we’ll lift them,” Labor leader Keir Starmer said in response to questions from journalists in a speech on Thursday.
“I don’t think legislation is the way to end labor disputes. You have to step into the room and commit,” added Starmer.
Source: CNN Brasil

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