We must resolve the strikes and deliver on the promise of halving inflation and reducing debt. Therefore, we are engaging in an open dialogue with the unions as to what is fair and affordable, but while maintaining a reasonable balance between the right to strike and the right to safely access public services.
That is why we are legislating to ensure the safety of the public and guaranteeing their access to essential public services during strikes, by:
- Allowing minimum service levels to be introduced across six key sectors, including health, education, fire and rescue, transport, nuclear decommissioning, and border security.
- Bringing us in line with countries like France, Italy, and Spain, who already have statutory minimum service levels.
The first job of any government is to keep the public safe – whilst we will always protect the right to strike, we are duty-bound to protect the lives and livelihoods of the British people.
The right to strike must be balanced with the right of the British public to access essential public services:
While an element of disruption is inherent to any strike, we need to be confident that during industrial action, people’s welfare, safety, and national security are not put at undue risk.
- Employers are currently reliant on the unions to agree voluntary safe levels of cover. In recent strikes, while nurses acted responsibly, sadly unions representing ambulance workers did not agree to a national safe minimum level of cover. This severely limits employers’ ability to keep the public safe.
Our new legislation will allow the Government to set MSLs across six key sectors, with a focus on the preservation of life and avoiding sustained economic harm.
- We will consult first on MSLs for ambulances, fire, and rail. While the Bill contains provisions for other parts of the NHS, education, nuclear decommissioning, and border security, we hope that voluntary agreements will continue to be sufficient.
Minimum safety levels have been effectively implemented in other countries and are backed by the public:
Our fair and proportionate approach brings the UK into line with countries like France, Italy, and Spain, and is supported by the International Labour Organisation. France, Italy, and Spain already have statutory MSLs and the International Labour Organisation, to which the TUC subscribes, says MSLs are a proportionate way of balancing the right to strike with the need to protect the wider public.
The public strongly support our approach to minimum safety levels. YouGov polling from 5th January 2023 found that 59 per cent of the public support MSLs.
We have To continue working to halve inflation, so we must respect the recommendations of the independent Pay Review Bodies, while helping with the cost of living:
We have accepted in full the recommendations of the independent Pay Review Bodies, offering two million workers the highest uplift in nearly 20 years. The PRBs take evidence from a range of organisations, including trade unions, and consider the need to recruit, train and motivate staff as well as the financial circumstances of Government. The PRBs also took inflation forecasts into account.
Even Labour agrees that inflation-busting pay rises are ‘unaffordable’. They will make inflation last longer, exacerbating cost of living pressures. The Prime Minister has pledged to halve inflation this year, which is why inflation-matching pay rises that keep inflation higher for longer (as per the Bank of England), are not feasible. Furthermore, an 11 per cent pay rise for all public sector workers would cost £28 billion – a cost to each household of just under £1,000.
We know people are facing cost of living pressures, which is why we have provided families with £26 billion of support. Our Energy Price Guarantee will save the typical household £900 over winter, while our Energy Bill Support Scheme saves every household £400 on their energy bills.