Union barons will be required to operate a set amount of trains and buses during strikes in order to avoid ‘holding the country to ransom.’
The government will submit laws today requiring a certain number of services to be available during walkouts.
It will protect commuters, key personnel, hospital patients, and students from being taken hostage during labor disputes.
The hardline RMT union reacted angrily last night, branding Prime Minister Liz Truss ‘despotic’ and the legislation ‘cynical.’
When the RMT and Aslef unions went on strike on October 1, only 11% of trains ran, cutting off many rural towns.
This year, there have been 11 days of national strikes, and the RMT declared three more on November 3, 5, and 7.
Despite unions threatening a winter of walkouts throughout public services at the TUC congress in Brighton this week, today’s measures are limited to public transportation.
Ministers are said to be continuing to look into how the minimum service legislation could be extended to other areas of government. It does not include raising the minimum strike support barrier from 40% to 50% of eligible workers, or doubling the notification period for industrial action to four weeks.
During the Tory leadership election, Miss Truss stated that she wanted to do both. The Transport Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill takes effect in 2023, thus it will have no effect on strikes later this year. However, it means that the Prime Minister has kept her promise to present it within 30 days of Parliament reconvening following the summer recess.
Miss Truss launched an assault on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, asking, ‘What is the Honourable Gentleman doing about the fact that train workers are going on strike?’ He simply refuses to denounce them. He supports the strikers, while we support the strivers.’
In just over a decade, Labour has amassed nearly £3 million from the three unions causing havoc on Britain’s railways.
‘This law delivers on our 2019 platform and will not only limit the unions’ power to paralyze our economy, but also ensure passengers throughout the country can legitimately continue to commute to work, school, or hospital,’ Miss Truss added last night. ‘I urge unions to come around the bargaining table and agree a settlement,’ writes Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan in today’s Daily Mail.
‘This cynical piece of legislation forbids successful legal industrial action on our railways,’ RMT head Mick Lynch said. It’s an autocratic decision by a Prime Minister who is becoming increasingly tyrannical.’
The train unions RMT, Aslef, and TSSA are requesting salary hikes in line with inflation, which was 10.1% last month. Talks have restarted, and both parties remain optimistic about a breakthrough.
In England, the new regulation will apply to trains, buses, and the London Underground.
Finally, a strike-breaking measure that makes sense for travelers, argues Transport Secretary ANNE-MARIE TREVELYAN.
Following a summer of rail strikes that caused severe disruption throughout the network, the government is taking action today to keep Britain moving.
Workers will no longer keep people hostage by stopping trains and buses. From 2023, even during the most severe strikes, a certain amount of services will have to continue to operate to ensure that the country’s hardworking people and businesses can go about their daily lives.
It will eliminate the need for nurses to cancel patient appointments due to a lack of trains. It will save a mother from having to keep her children home from school because she cannot get them there.
It will mean that a builder will no longer lose a day’s pay as a result of strikes called by others earning significantly more than them. It will prevent your local station’s independent cafe from closing due to a lack of foot traffic.
People from all around the country have repeatedly requested me to intervene in these strikes, which are affecting every aspect of their lives and livelihoods.
Today is the day. This Bill, which we will introduce into legislation this morning, represents common sense for the traveling public.
It is also good news for our economy. According to estimates, the first wave of rail strikes in June alone cost the UK economy about £100 million, at a time when we needed transportation to help us recover from the Covid-19 outbreak.
This fulfills the Prime Minister’s vow to submit legislation requiring minimum service levels within 30 days of Parliament’s sitting. We hope that the present train strikes end soon and that a new pay agreement is reached before it becomes law next year.
The last thing we need is a rail winter in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, when people need to get to work.
It brings Britain in step with other countries, such as France and Spain, which have rules in place to keep public transportation running during strikes.
Our Bill will apply to all modes of transportation, and we will confer with industry on precise levels of service for buses, trams, underground trains, and mainline trains. This is not about making strikes illegal; rather, it is about providing clarity to public transportation customers.
While this legislation is being debated in Parliament, the train sector will continue to work with labor unions to find a solution. I seek a strategy that allows us to modernize and strengthen our railways while also fairly compensating workers.
The current strikes accomplish nothing more than to irritate travelers, harm companies, and slow our recovery. As a result, I urge unions to meet at the bargaining table and reach an agreement.