“If the Christmas Eve strike goes ahead, we need to crack on with the anti-strike laws early in the new year", said one minister.
The Tory government thinks that the best way to deal with ordinary workers demanding better pay and a fairer deal during the cost of living crisis as they struggle to make ends meet, is by further attacking trade unions and making it harder for them to go on strike.
With the RMT set to strike over the Christmas period along with NHS staff, civil servants and postal workers, Rishi Sunak is under pressure from reactionary Tory MPs to grip the problem by accelerating anti-strike legislation.
Politico reports that senior ministers are already discussing how to further tighten anti-strike legislation, with one minister telling the FT: “If the Christmas Eve strike goes ahead, we need to crack on with the anti-strike laws early in the new year.”
Britain already has some of the most restrictive trade union laws in Europe, but this doesn’t seem to faze the draconian Tory government who think that the best way to address the concerns of ordinary workers struggling to make ends meet amid soaring inflation is to further attack trade unions and their right to go on strike.
The TUC has reacted to the news, accusing the government of “attempting cheap political pot shots” over further threats to the right to strike
Commenting on the Prime Minister’s further threats to the right to strike at Prime Minister’s Questions today, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The right to strike is a fundamental British liberty. With inflation running at 11 per cent, Rishi Sunak wants to make it harder for working people to win better pay and conditions.
“Public sector workers would love to be able to deliver minimum service levels. But 12 years of Conservative cuts and mismanagement have left our public services falling apart at the seams.
“Rather than attempting cheap political pot shots, the government should be getting around the table and negotiating with unions about pay. So far, ministers have seemed more interested in sabotaging talks than trying to resolve disputes.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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