ANTI-UNION laws that require higher thresholds for strike action are set to be scrapped by the new Labour government.
The Trade Union Act 2016, introduced by the Tories when David Cameron was prime minister, created legal minimums for strike ballots to be valid.
At least half of a trade union’s members must take part in a strike vote and the legislation also requires 40 per cent of workers in “important public services” such the NHS, education and transport to vote in favour for a walkout to be lawful.
Labour reportedly intends to reverse the changes in legislation to be put before Parliament by mid-October.
The plans follow the party’s manifesto pledge to overhaul anti-trade union laws, with the government already announcing that it will repeal the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023.
Minimum service levels would have forced about 40 per cent of rail services to run and 73 per cent of fire engines to be crewed on strike days.
Fire Brigades Union general secretary and TUC president Matt Wrack said: “Firefighters and other working people will say good riddance to these authoritarian and undemocratic anti-worker laws.
“Both the minimum service levels legislation and the 2016 Trade Union Act sought to effectively ban workers taking strike action in defence of their jobs, wages and conditions.
“That vindictive anti-trade union legislation passed by the Tories would not have been out of place in a dictatorship.
“The FBU has been at the forefront of the campaign to scrap this assault on the working class.
“Today’s news is a massive victory for our union.”
A Labour source said the government was “turning the page on the Conservatives’ failed scorched-earth approach to industrial relations that led to the worst strikes in decades.”
Ministers will update union legislation “so it is fit for a modern economy and removing unnecessary red tape that blocks dispute resolution,” the source added.
“A new era of partnership between unions, employers and government will put us in line with high-growth economies that benefit from more co-operation and less disruption.”
