Warrington MPs clash on new strike bill with further walkouts looming

Monday night saw Parliament debating the introduction of new legislation which would require a minimum level of service from public workers.

The bill, which has faced an intense degree of scrutiny, would require NHS, fire and rescue, schools, transport, border security, and the nuclear decommissioning service from striking, and give the right for bosses to sack workers whose strikes prevent this minimum level of service.

Grant Shapps, the Government Business Minister, has been slammed by a government watchdog, the regulatory policy committee, for failing to set out the impact of the bill so it could be scrutinised before it’s first reading.

Further, the bill has received a great deal of scrutiny from union bosses, with RMT Secretary General Mick Lynch calling the bill an “infringement of civil liberties.”

Andy Carter, MP for Warrington South, however, claims that the bill is vital for keeping the public safe and maintaining the quality of transport services.

In a statement provided to the Warrington Guardian, Carter said:

“The first job of any Government is to keep the public safe and while we will always protect the right to strike, we are also duty-bound to protect the lives and livelihoods of the British people.  Minimum service obligations are by no means unique to the United Kingdom. France, Spain and Italy all have similar laws already in place.

“The new legislation maintains core service provision in the NHS, ambulance, fire and rescue services, which can mean the difference between life and death.  It’s also vital to ensure that the burden of strike action doesn’t fall on our children’s education, and that we don’t see transport routes completely shut down when industrial action is in effect, that’s not fair on hard working families and small businesses trying to earn a living. 

“I’m pleased the Government have said they will continue to engage in open and fair dialogue with the unions to end the strikes, while ensuring the British people can continue to use the services they rely on for their everyday lives.  This legislation is about making sure people are not held to ransom by disproportionate strike action, called by union bosses.  Labour have accepted over £15 million from trade unions under Keir Starmer so will never condemn crippling strike action.”

Charlotte Nichols, MP for Warrington North, spoke against the legislation in the debate, calling the bill an attempt to cover up the failure of the Government and the Secretary of State.

Warrington Labour also say that, while minimum service is present in Spain and France, this has not led to reduced strike action but has actually seen an increase in days lost to strikes.

Nichols expanded on this in a statement to the Warrington Guardian.

“Time and time again the Tories have shown us they are not on the side of working people. They have gone from clapping for nurses to sacking them.

“This Bill is unworkable. It represents one of the biggest attacks on working people’s right to strike for better conditions and pay, it could effectively stop some workers from being able to strike at all. That is unacceptable.

“The Tories want to decide who can strike and when, they want to use Henry the Eighth powers to force working people off the picket line and back into work for fear of being sacked.

“The law is clear. Employers must not discriminate against workers based on who’s in a trade union.

“They want to punish working people for simply standing up and demanding better conditions and pay. If this Bill is passed some workers will lose their protection against unfair dismissal.

“If the Government wants to implement Minimum Service Levels, then why don’t they try and fix the lack of trains that we see every day, even on non-strike days. Services like Avanti and Trans-Pennine Express make getting from Warrington to anywhere else a nightmare.”