Conservative proposals would make “legal strikes close to impossible”, says TUC

Commenting on proposals published today (Friday) regarding changes to industrial relations laws should the Conservatives win the next election, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“These proposals are designed to make legal strikes close to impossible, and the Conservatives do not include a single proposal – such as allowing secret online balloting – that would increase participation.
 
“Britain’s strike laws are already some of the toughest of any democracy. You do not have to support every bit of industrial action to see that the right to strike is an important human right – and always one of the first things banned by any dictatorship.
 
“You cannot have proper negotiations between employers and unions without some power for the union side. Making strikes near impossible will fundamentally shift the balance of power in British workplaces in favour of the employer – and as union negotiations often set the pace for pay rounds, this will hit non-union workers as much as those in unions.
 
“The purpose of this is clear. It is to ensure that the fruits of recovery are reserved for the few and kept from the many.”      
 
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