"This manifesto is nothing but a charter of discontent. The rights of working people have been put on the chopping block by an ambitious politician, hawking for the votes of a tiny minority."
Liz Truss has been slammed for declaring war on trade unions and working people after she set out plans to crack down on trade unions in a move that’s been decried as the ‘biggest attacks on civil rights’ since the 19th century.
Truss has said that she would introduce minimum service levels on critical national infrastructure in the first 30 days of government under her leadership. As a result, teachers, postal workers and those working in the energy sector could be prevented from going on strike.
The Tory leadership hopeful has also proposed raising the minimum threshold for voting in favour of strike action from 40 to 50 percent. Other measures include raising the minimum notice period for strike action from two weeks to four weeks and implementing a cooling-off period so that unions can no longer strike as many times as they like in the six-month period after a ballot.
The proposals drew strong condemnation from unions, with Sharon Graham, the General Secretary of Unite tweeting that Truss had ‘declared war on the trade union movement and working people’.
She added: “This manifesto is nothing but a charter of discontent. The rights of working people have been put on the chopping block by an ambitious politician, hawking for the votes of a tiny minority.
“At the time of a cost of living crisis, where profits are driving inflation not wages, this would be Prime Minister has instead chosen to return Britain’s workplaces to the 19th century.”
Sharon said that Unite would not “bow to threats and bullying and any attempt to make our fight for jobs, pay and conditions illegal will be met with fierce, prolonged resistance.”
The RMT has also condemned Truss’ proposals.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “The proposals by Liz Truss amount to the biggest attack on trade union and civil rights since labour unions were legalised in 1871.
“Truss is proposing to make effective trade unionism illegal in Britain and to rob working people of a key democratic right.
“If these proposals become law, there will be the biggest resistance mounted by the entire trade union movement, rivalling the general strike of 1926, the Suffragettes and Chartism.”
Basit Mahmood editor of Left Foot Forward
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