Labour opposes law to curb strikes as ambulance drivers walk out TODAY

2023-01-11

Labour opposes life-saving law to curb strikes: Keir Starmer tries to scupper vital Tory bill as ambulance drivers walk out TODAY and people are told not to call 999 unless it’s ‘life or limb’

Opposition MPs attack legislation designed to guarantee minimum safety levels
The law would cover disputes like today’s walkout by ambulance drivers
It comes as hospitals are ‘braced for another day of significant disruption’

Labour was accused of putting lives at risk last night by vowing to block new strike laws.

In angry clashes in the Commons, Opposition MPs attacked legislation designed to guarantee minimum safety levels during disputes like today’s walkout by ambulance drivers.

Business Secretary Grant Shapps said it was extraordinary that Sir Keir Starmer had vowed to repeal the laws before even examining the detail.

‘Labour MPs who object to minimum safety levels will need to explain to their constituents why, if they had a heart attack, stroke, or life-threatening illness on a strike day, there were no minimum safety standards in place,’ said Mr Shapps.

Labour confirmed it would oppose the legislation and unions warned they would fight the measures in the courts

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said the ‘rotten proposals’ would ‘serve to inflame rather than resolve disputes’. But Downing Street said ambulance unions had refused to give an ‘across the board reassurance’ that all emergency calls would be answered.

Miriam Deakin of NHS Providers said that hospitals were ‘braced for another day of significant disruption and knock-on effects’.

The warning came as:

Only a ‘life or limb-threatening emergency’ would warrant a 999 call today, according to the head of the London Ambulance Service;
The National Education Union refused to rule out school strikes during this year’s exam season;
Whitehall sources said ministers were considering an offer of 10 per cent over two years to rail workers;
The GMB union said more than 10,000 ambulance staff would strike today but insisted crews would respond to the most grave emergencies;
The Treasury ruled out extra cash for one-off bonuses or backdated payments to settle the disputes crippling parts of the public sector.

The new strike law, which faces a tough battle in Parliament, would potentially cover millions of workers in health, education, transport, the fire brigade, border security and the nuclear industry.

It would allow ministers to impose minimum service levels during walkouts, although the Government says it is planning to do so only for ambulance staff, rail workers and firefighters.

Bosses will be able to sack staff who refuse to cross picket lines to provide vital services. And they will be able to sue unions for potentially crippling damages if they fail to reach agreements on strike cover.

Business Secretary Grant Shapps said it was extraordinary that Sir Keir Starmer had vowed to repeal the laws before even examining the detail

Labour was accused of putting lives at risk last night by vowing to block new strike laws

Unions reacted with fury and warned the new laws could trigger even more strikes.

Last night the TUC called for a national ‘day of action’ on February 1 in protest at the ‘spiteful’ proposals, although union leaders have stopped short of threats to stage a general strike.

Mr Shapps said the strike laws were needed to ‘protect life and limb’ during health disputes, rather than leaving it to a ‘postcode lottery’.

And he said Labour needed ‘to explain why their leader has already promised – without hearing any of these details – to stand in the way of this legislation and to repeal minimum safety levels’.

He accused union bosses of staging ‘forever strikes’, and said the Government had a duty to try to limit the impact.

The new legislation gives ministers wider powers than had been expected.

In angry clashes in the Commons, Opposition MPs attacked legislation designed to guarantee minimum safety levels during disputes like today’s walkout by ambulance drivers

Where minimum service levels are imposed, employers will be able to issue unions with ‘work notices’ requiring them to ensure that specified individuals continue to work during disputes.

The proposals have a retrospective element to allow ministers to impose minimum service levels in existing disputes, even if strike ballots are held before the law passes.

Labour confirmed it would oppose the legislation and unions warned they would fight the measures in the courts. Mr Shapps said similar laws were already in place in France, Spain and Germany.

But TUC chief Paul Nowak said: ‘If passed, this Bill will prolong disputes and poison industrial relations – leading to more frequent strikes.’

Sharon Graham of the Unite union said it was totally false to suggest ambulance workers had refused to guarantee life and limb cover.

‘This Bill is another dangerous gimmick from a Government that should be negotiating to resolve the crisis they have caused,’ she added.

Mrs Rayner said ministers had ‘gone from clapping nurses to sacking nurses’ with ‘an outright attack on the fundamental freedom of British working people’

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