Unions welcome scrapping of Tories’ ‘spiteful’ minimum service law

Unions have welcomed the government’s move to formally scrap a “draconian” anti-strike law that would have ensured a minimum level of service during industrial action as the legislation had restricted workers’ rights.

The deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, and the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, have written to government departments with sectors that were most affected by the strikes to give a “clear message” the measures will be repealed and have urged all metro mayors to start engaging with local employers on the change.

The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act was introduced by the Conservative government last year in response to a wave of strikes prompted by rows over pay, jobs and conditions. However, the powers had never been used by employers or resolved a single dispute.

As ministers noted that industrial action within the NHS alone cost the taxpayer £1.7bn last year, the health secretary, Wes Streeting, said other parts of the NHS would be left to “pick up the pieces” as a result of future strikes after the British Medical Association warned collective action could last for “months”.

While most senior union figures have praised the repealing of the minimum service law – with one source expressing relief over the fact that for the first time in 15 years a government was not attacking unions – privately some are waiting to see if the government will deliver on a pledge to overhaul of workers’ rights within its first 100 days in power, which they hope will include a ban on zero-hour contracts and an outright ban on fire and rehire practices.

Prof Nicola Ranger, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, noted that “the government must soon go the whole way and remove the remaining anti-union legislation and continue on this mature approach to relations with public sector workers and their representatives”.

Senior union figures including the TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, Rachel Harrison, the GMB’s national secretary, Usdaw’s general secretary, Paddy Lillis, and Paul Whiteman of the National Association of Head Teachers were quick to praise the news, which had been promised in Keir Starmer’s first king’s speech. Unite appeared to remain silent, after criticising the government’s workers’ rights package in the run-up to the general election.

Nowak said: “Public services work best when governments listen to and engage constructively with their workforces.”

He added: “Strikes are resolved around the table – not through legislating away dissent, but the Tories insisted on railroading MSLs [minimum service levels] through parliament in order to score headlines and look tough to backbenchers.”

Unison’s general secretary, Christina McAnea, said: “This was a terrible law. It’s great the government is ditching it so early on. Good riddance to a bad law. This legislation should have never reached the statute book. No one wanted minimum service levels, only a spiteful government watching power drain away and desperate to shore up its rapidly disappearing support.”

It forms part of a wider reset of industrial relations in Britain, after Streeting’s attempt to end the dispute with junior doctors with an offer to increase their wages by 22.3% over two years. Junior doctors’ leaders in England agreed to the pay deal, which is now being put to their members, with the government.

Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, also gave public sector workers an above-inflation pay increase after accepting the recommendations of independent pay review bodies last week.

Rayner said: “Attempting to clamp down on the fundamental freedom of working people has got us nowhere and this was targeted at sectors who dedicate their lives to serving us all. That’s why we’re scrapping this pointless law and creating a new partnership between business, trade unions and working people through our ’new deal’.

“Repealing this legislation is the first part of our plan to reset industrial relations so they are fit for a modern economy.”

Reynolds added: “By removing minimum service levels, we will reset industrial relations, so they are based on good faith negotiation and bargaining, ending the chaos and restoring trust in public services. This is about restoring politics as public service ensuring government acts to fix problems not cause them.”