TORY plans to force workers to cross picket lines represent an “authoritarian attack on human rights and show the government has lost the argument” as hundreds of thousands down tools nationwide, unions warned today.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) called for a “mass movement of resistance” against new legislation, introduced to the Commons today, which would enforce minimum service level requirements across the NHS, schools, public transport and other key sectors.

The widely condemned move, which would allow bosses to sue unions and dismiss staff who refused to provide a certain level of service during walkouts, was described by Business Secretary Grant Shapps as a “common-sense” response to the biggest strike wave to sweep Britain in decades.