The Government is considering legal changes to allow agency workers to fill in for striking staff, in a move to guard the public against disruption. It is understood Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has not ruled out the option, with travellers facing chaos on the railways and London Underground due to widespread industrial action.
The move would involve reversing a restriction preventing employers from hiring agency workers to cover for striking staff, and would apply to all sectors, according to The Telegraph. This was promised in the Tory manifesto in 2015, which stated: “We will … repeal nonsensical restrictions banning employers from hiring agency staff to provide essential cover during strikes.”
Mr Shapps told the newspaper any legal intervention would not affect “this particular set of strikes” in June, but should the action continue, then “further measures certainly would come in during this particular dispute, if it can’t be resolved”. He added: “I’ll be saying more about this, but we will be looking at the full suite of modernisation that’s required.
