Government confirms it will repeal minimum service level law

The government has confirmed it will repeal a controversial law aimed at ensuring minimum levels of service during strikes.

The Conservative government passed the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act last year in response to an unprecedented wave of strikes by hundreds of thousands of workers over pay, jobs and working conditions.

The decision has sparked outrage among unions, with warnings that workers who take part in the strike could be fired.

Labour has promised to repeal the law if it wins the election and today confirmed it is taking steps to do so.

The attempt to restrict the basic freedoms of working people has failed, and the targets have been industries that dedicate their lives to serving all of us. That is why we reject this senseless law and forge a new partnership between business, unions, and working people through our New Deal

Ministers said industrial action in the NHS alone cost taxpayers £1.7 billion last year, with many other sectors also seeing costs and an impact on public services, adding that it had been proven that “strong but fair” negotiations were key to resolving issues between workers and employers.

Deputy First Minister Angela Rayner and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds have written to government departments responsible for the sectors most affected by the strikes – education, health, transport, the Home Office and energy – as well as the Welsh and Scottish governments, to send a “clear message” that the rules will be repealed.

They also wrote to 12 mayors across the country asking local employers to make changes.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: “Attempts to restrict the fundamental freedoms of working people have failed. They have targeted sectors that dedicate their lives to serving us all.

“That’s why we reject this senseless law and forge a new partnership between businesses, unions and working people under our New Deal.

“Repealing this legislation is the first part of our plan to adapt industrial relations to the requirements of a modern economy.”

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “We must get the UK economy moving again, delivering growth and the public services taxpayers deserve.

“The Strikes Act has failed to work – unbelievably, the UK has lost more days to strikes than France, costing taxpayers billions of pounds, and these controversial laws have failed to resolve a single strike since they were introduced.

“By removing minimum service levels we will reset industrial relations to one based on good faith negotiation and bargaining, ending the chaos and restoring trust in public services. It is about restoring politics as a public service, ensuring that government actions solve problems, not cause them.”

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Public services work best when governments listen to their workers and work constructively with them.

“The TUC and countless experts repeatedly warned the previous Conservative administration that its spiteful Minimum Service Levels (MSLs) were unworkable and would only make disputes worse and prolong them.

“Strikes are resolved at the table – not through legislation to eliminate dissent, but the Conservatives insisted on pushing MSL through parliament to grab headlines and look strong in the eyes of grassroots MPs.

“It says a lot that not one employer has issued a work order to end the strike. They, too, see how toxic these laws are.

“The new government is right to repeal this malicious law. It is time for a new, mature era of industrial relations.”