Protesters gathered outside the offices of Blyth Valley MP Ian Levy's office on Saturday morning.
Mr Levy's was one of four Tory MP offices targeted across the country ahead of the proposed law to require minimum service levels in some sectors during strike action. Workers claim that the legislation, which was unveiled by Grant Shapps and could force people to work during strikes to maintain these so-called "minimum service levels" in key industries or risk facing the sack, has been "rushed-through".
The bill has passed its first stage in the House of Commons earlier this week and will need to go through several further stages in both the Commons and the House of Lords before it becomes law. It is not the first controversial bill proposed by the Conservative Government post-Covid, with the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act being enshrined into law in 2022, which some have argued effectively outlaws protest.
Read more: Ambulance workers announce new strike date later this month in row over pay and working conditions
Bridget Corcoran of the Commercial Services Union is set to go on strike on February 1 as part of Civil Service industrial action. She told ChronicleLive: "We feel it's a very frightening development, the government are claiming this is to protect minimum service levels to the public.
"But we know as a union movement and certainly as the PCS Union, that minimum service levels are given when you give proper pay, proper staffing levels, then you give good service levels to the public. This government are making an ideological and political choice to attack unions and we have to disagree with that and fight back."
Brian Harrison, Regional Secretary for the Fire Brigades Union had travelled from Consett to take part in the protest. Though the Fire Brigade is not on strike (it is currently balloting), Brian was there in solidarity with the Ambulance Service, who have further strikes coming up this month.
He said: "We feel (the legislation) is undemocratic that's potentially going to be rushed through on Monday, and it's needless. At the minute especially within the ambulance service due to Government cuts over the last 10 - 12 years, they're not even providing a minimum service now.
"To put legislation in to say that they need to provide a minimum service, that particular element is unworkable. The law states each fire authority should make that minimum cover and we already do that, so this legislation is not needed and it's a total attack on worker's rights."
Caroline Saunderson, also of the Fire Brigades Union added: "I think people don't realise the minimum cover we have, the public would think it was way more than what we have available. They think the strikes are causing deaths, but it's not because of a minimum service, it's lack of funding from the Government.
A spokesperson for Enough is Enough, which organised the protest said that Ian Levy's office had been chosen alongside those of business secretary Grant Shapps, Bolton West MP Chris Green and government whip Damien Moore due to Blyth's shipbuilding and industrial heritage.
The spokesperson said: "There's a lot of industry here and a big working class community in Blyth. Representing an area with such a strong unionist constituency, we feel he's turned his back on workers by backing this bill on Monday."
Connor Slomski of the RMT Union, who had travelled from the West End of Newcastle, added: "You have got an MP in a working class area who is not representing their interests. The Government are working to take away the power of the working people."
Jamie Driscoll, Mayor of the North of Tyne Combined Authority, is against the proposed laws and called on the Government to sit down with unions instead, saying that the legislation wouldn't work. He said: "If the Government spent a bit more time trying to get our public services working and realise that workers aren’t actually fighting for a pay rise, they are fighting for a smaller pay cut in real terms.
"So if they recognised that and sat down with them, we wouldn’t need this legislation. The number one reason for sickness is stress related.
"Because pay and conditions are so poor, they can’t recruit, and it doesn’t matter if you’re talking about the health service, teachers, or rail. There are just not enough skilled people because people are retiring early because their pensions are being attacked.
"So what’s needed is a sustainable, long-term plan that recognises that these are the people that keep the country running that we were clapping for on a Thursday night, and not treating them as some kind of criminals."
Blyth Valley MP Ian Levy said: "I understand that "Enough is Enough" is a political activist group who have some support on the left of the Labour party from Jeremy Corbyn supporting MPs and they held a protest outside my office when it is closed on Saturday. I support the general right to strike but also the Government's bill to introduce minimum service levels to protect public safety."
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