Labour is to put forward an amendment to the Government’s controversial plans for a new law on strikes, aimed at safeguarding unfair dismissal protections it says are threatened by the legislation. Deputy leader Angela Rayner said the Opposition intended to put the amendment to a vote during a debate in the Commons today (January 30).
The planned Bill is aimed at ensuring minimum levels of service during strikes and is being brought forward amid escalating industrial action. Labour and unions have voiced concern over a lack of an impact assessment for the proposals and a lack of proper parliamentary scrutiny.
Labour said it will attempt to force Business Secretary Grant Shapps to undertake a comprehensive impact assessment on the proposals, including on workforce numbers, employers and equality law. Ms Rayner said: “The Government’s ‘Sacking Nurses Bill’ is a shoddy, unworkable and vindictive piece of legislation.
“Labour will be seeking to safeguard unfair dismissal protections that this Bill seeks to erode. Conservative MPs face a clear choice over whether they will vote to safeguard rights at work or rip up key workers’ protections from unfair dismissal.
“The Conservatives are seeking to rush this ill-conceived Bill through Parliament without proper scrutiny and proposing to hand arbitrary powers to ministers. They have failed to consider the risk this worsens the recruitment and retention crisis, increases the bureaucratic burden on employers or opens the door for discrimination against key workers.
“Labour is looking to force them to go back to the drawing board with this dog’s dinner of a Bill that will do nothing to resolve disputes and instead risks pouring petrol on the fire.”
A Government spokesperson said: “We must keep the public safe, which is why we are introducing minimum service and safety levels across a range of sectors to ensure that lives and livelihoods are not lost.”
The Government will publish an impact assessment of the legislation “in due course.” MPs will spend up to six hours considering the remaining stages of the Bill today. More than 50 pages of amendments have been tabled for the Bill’s committee stage, including an SNP bid to rename it the “Anti-Strikes (Forced Working) Bill”.
There are attempts by opposition MPs to ensure minimum service levels are reached by negotiation with trade unions, to curb the Secretary of State’s powers and ensure any future changes are made via an act of Parliament, and to stop the legislation applying to Scotland and Wales. The SNP has tabled an amendment to prevent employers from requiring a minimum service level if “the employer has not previously been able to maintain such a level on days not affected by strike action”.
Labour also wants to remove the six sectors, including health and transport, named in the Bill to which the minimum service level requirement would apply.
The Government is expected to have the numbers to defeat any amendments it does not like before the Bill goes through report stage, where further amendments can be tabled, and third reading. Once approved at third reading, the Bill will then progress to the House of Lords for further scrutiny. It is currently scheduled to be debated at second reading by peers on February 21.
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