A leading trade union has called for a concerted campaign of defiance and civil disobedience against the government’s planned anti-strike laws. Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), urged a coordinated campaign among trade unions of “mass non-cooperation and non-compliance” against the minimum service levels bill. The legislation would make it compulsory for some employees to continue attending work throughout industrial action in a number of sectors. Ministers would have the power to set levels of “minimum service” in the health service, fire and rescue services, education, transport, nuclear decommissioning and border security. The police, army and some prison officers are already banned from striking. The FBU said non-compliance with the bill would be one of the most significant attempts by unions to defy employment law since the 1984-85 miners’ strike.
Wrack called for an emergency meeting of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to launch a joint strategy to resist the legislation, arguing that demonstrations and sustained mass mobilisations could defeat the bill. He said the strategy of non-compliance was needed because there was “no obvious route to challenge this attack through the courts”, describing it as one of the “most draconian attacks on the rights of working people in decades”. “It’s a pernicious piece of legislation that’s in keeping with authoritarian regimes around the world,” he said. “The government is deliberately attempting to strengthen the position of employers and severely weaken the position of workers. They are doing this for one purpose – to drive down wages … A mass movement of non-compliance can defeat this attack on working people by making the legislation unworkable. “The TUC can lead this movement of resistance, first by calling an emergency congress, followed by a national demonstration, and a sustained campaign of non-cooperation.” Unions are campaigning against the bill but many have stopped short of saying they would openly defy the legislation by continuing to strike in defiance of a minimum service requirement. Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, said: “The bill is unworkable and almost certainly in breach of international law. If this nasty legislation gets on to the statute book, the TUC will fight it all the way, including through the courts. And we won’t rest until this bill has been repealed. “Government and employers should be clear. The TUC and our unions will not stand by and let any worker be sacked for exercising their fundamental right to strike and for defending their pay and conditions.”
The legislation is being scrutinised in the House of Lords after passing through the House of Commons. A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: “The purpose of this legislation is to protect the lives and livelihoods of the public and ensure they can continue to access vital public services. “We must maintain a reasonable balance between the ability of workers to strike and the rights of the public, who work hard and expect essential services to be there when they need them.” A wave of strikes have taken place in recent months, with some unions moving closer to solving pay disputes but others still engaged in stoppages. The Public and Commercial Services Union said on Friday that more than 3,000 civil servants in four government departments had announced a programme of continuous strikes from 11 April, affecting the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Forestry Commission, the Rural Payments Agency and the Marine Management Organisation. Separately, midwife and maternity support worker members of the Royal College of Midwives in Northern Ireland said they would take strike action on the morning of 3 April.