BRITAIN’S reputation for fair treatment of workers was left “in tatters” yesterday after the United Nations accused the government of breaking international conventions with its anti-strike laws.

The Geneva-based International Labour Organisation (ILO) is the UN’s workers’ rights arm, monitoring labour legislation imposed by governments.

It has expressed “serious concerns” over the Tories’ Minimum Service Levels legislation, which forces striking workers to cross their own picket lines or face the sack with no recourse to labour protection laws.