Government anti-strikes Bill breaches “human rights obligations” – MPs and Lords warn

• The Joint Committee on Human Rights says new anti-strike laws are “not justified and need to be reconsidered.”
• TUC calls for “draconian” and “spiteful” legislation to be “junked”

The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has today (Monday) slammed the government’s Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill “for failing to meet human rights obligations”.

The crossbench committee of MPs and Lords says the reforms – that would make it easier to sack striking workers and leave unions at risk of million-pound fines – are “not justified and need to be reconsidered.”

The JCHR report says the government has failed to provide “sufficient evidence” for introducing the controversial new laws.

And it warns that the new powers being given to ministers are not “proportionate”.

Widespread criticism

The JCHR’s intervention comes just three days after the House of Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee criticised the Bill for giving blanket powers to ministers while providing virtually no detail.

And in January civil liberties groups – including Liberty, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam – warned the Bill would allow “a further significant and unjustified intrusion by the state into the freedom of association and assembly.”

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said:

“MPs, Lords and civil liberties groups are queuing up to condemn this draconian Bill.

“These spiteful new laws are an affront to human rights and are a deliberate attempt to restrict the right to strike – a fundamental British liberty.

“The government is steamrolling through parliament legislation that will give ministers sweeping new powers to sack workers who take action to win better pay and conditions.

“The Conservatives are trying to keep people in the dark. But make no mistake – this Bill is undemocratic, unworkable and almost certainly illegal.

“And crucially it will likely poison industrial relations and exacerbate disputes rather than help resolve them.

“This nasty Bill should be junked immediately.”