Unions will be barred from halting all trains on strike days under new laws to stop passengers ‘being held to ransom’
- New legislation will mean a minimum of services must run during strikes
- Just 11 per cent of trains ran during the RMT and Aslef unions’ strike on October 1
- The bill is restricted to transport, despite unions threatening a winter of walkouts
Union barons will be forced to run a certain number of trains and buses during strikes under laws to stop them ‘holding the country to ransom’.
The Government will today introduce legislation meaning a minimum number of services must run during walkouts.
It will ensure commuters, key workers, hospital patients and schoolchildren aren’t held hostage during bitter industrial disputes.
It sparked a backlash from the militant RMT union last night, which branded Prime Minister Liz Truss ‘despotic’ and the legislation ‘cynical’.
Just 11 per cent of trains ran when the RMT and Aslef unions joined forces to strike on October 1, with many rural areas cut off.
There have been 11 days of national strikes this year, and on Tuesday the RMT announced three more on November 3, 5 and 7.
Today’s measures are restricted to public transport, despite unions threatening a winter of walkouts across public services at the TUC conference in Brighton this week.
There have been 11 days of national strikes this year, and on Tuesday the RMT announced three more on November 3, 5 and 7
Ministers are understood to be continuing to explore how the minimum service legislation could be expanded to other public sectors. It does not include raising the minimum threshold of support for strikes from 40 per cent of eligible workers to 50 per cent, or doubling the notice period for industrial action to four weeks.
Miss Truss said she wanted to do both during the Tory leadership election. The Transport Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill will come into force in 2023, meaning it will not have any impact on strikes later this year. However, it means the PM has fulfilled her pledge to introduce it within 30 days of Parliament sitting after the summer.
Miss Truss went on the attack yesterday at Prime Minister’s Questions, telling Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer: ‘What’s the Honourable Gentleman doing about the fact that train workers are going on strike? The fact is he refuses to condemn them. He backs the strikers, we back the strivers.’
Labour has banked nearly £3million in little over a decade from the three unions wreaking havoc on Britain’s railways.
RMT boss Mick Lynch said: ‘This cynical piece of legislation outlaws effective legal industrial action on our railways’
Last night Miss Truss added: ‘This legislation delivers on our 2019 manifesto and will not only limit the unions’ ability to paralyse our economy, but will ensure passengers across the country can rightly continue to get to work, school or hospital.’ Writing in today’s Daily Mail, Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan says: ‘I urge unions to get around the negotiating table and agree a compromise.’
But RMT boss Mick Lynch said: ‘This cynical piece of legislation outlaws effective legal industrial action on our railways. It is an autocratic move from an increasingly despotic Prime Minister.’
The RMT, Aslef and TSSA rail unions are demanding pay increases for workers in line with inflation, which was 10.1 per cent last month. Talks have resumed and both sides are still hopeful of a breakthrough.
The new law will apply to trains, buses and London Underground services in England.
At last, a strike-busting move that makes common sense for the travelling public, writes Transport Secretary ANNE-MARIE TREVELYAN
After a summer of rail strikes which caused widespread disruption across the network, today the Government is taking action to keep Britain moving.
Workers will no longer hold passengers to ransom by bringing trains and buses to a standstill. From 2023, even during the most damaging of strikes, a certain number of services will still have to run to ensure the hardworking people and businesses in this country can go about their day to day lives.
It will mean a nurse will no longer have to cancel appointments caring for patients because there are no trains. It will mean a mum doesn’t have to keep her children off school because she can’t get them there.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan is the transport secretary
It will mean a builder no longer loses a day’s pay due to strikes called by those likely earning far more than them. It will mean the independent cafe at your local station doesn’t have to close because of a lack of footfall.
Far too often, people up and down the country have asked me to do something about these strikes, which are damaging every aspect of their lives and livelihoods.
Well, today, we are. Through legislation we will put forward this morning, this Bill represents common sense for the travelling public.
It’s also welcome news for our economy. Estimates suggest that the first wave of rail strikes in June alone cost the UK economy nearly £100million, just when we needed transport to drive our recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
This delivers on the Prime Minister’s pledge to introduce minimum service levels legislation within 30 days of Parliament sitting. We very much hope the current rail strikes will be over, and a new pay deal agreed, long before it becomes law next year.
The last thing we need is a winter of paralysis on the railways, in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, when people need to get to work.
Two million workers could strike this winter, led by union leaders including Mick Lynch (centre)
It brings Britain into line with other nations, including France and Spain, which also have laws to keep transport operating during strikes.
Our Bill will cover all types of transport and we will consult with industries on specific levels of service for buses, trams and underground trains, as well as mainline trains. This is not about making strikes illegal, it is ensuring certainty for public transport users.
While this legislation is moving through Parliament, the rail industry will continue to negotiate with unions to reach a solution. I want a solution that allows us to modernise and improve our railways, yet pays workers fairly.
The current strikes are achieving nothing, apart from frustrating passengers, hurting businesses, and slowing down our recovery. So, I urge unions to get around the negotiating table and agree a compromise.
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