Devolved administrations could lead campaign to block anti-strike laws, says FBU

The Fire Brigades Union has today set out how devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales could play a crucial role in blocking the implementation of the government’s Minimum Service Levels Bill.

Writing to the Humza Yousaf and Mark Drakeford today, Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack called on the Scottish and Welsh governments to convene  government-led summits with unions with a view to “launching a united campaign of resistance” against the legislation, “which is an authoritarian attempt to effectively outlaw strikes in many sectors”.

The full text of the letters is below.

The move follows a commitment from Scotland First Minister Humza Yousaf that the Scottish Government would “never issue or enforce a single work notice” if the Bill becomes law. Earlier this week, the UK government suffered a series of defeats in the House of Lords, which could hamper the Bill’s progress.

By bringing together a campaign of non-compliance, including by devolved administrations, “a strategy of non-cooperation and non-compliance could make it inoperable”, the FBU leader wrote.