Over 100 politicians around the world call on the UK government to drop its anti-strikes Bill
More than 100 politicians from around the world have today (Tuesday) called for the UK government to drop its anti-strikes Bill.
A joint statement signed by 121 politicians from 18 countries including Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Spain has condemned the UK government’s attack on the right to strike.
The statement comes ahead of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill going to report stage in the House of Lords tomorrow.
The politicians include signatories from governing parties like the Australian Labor Party and Spain’s coalition government parties PSOE and Unidas Podemos - as well as former Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte and former Italian labour secretary Andrea Orlando, alongside other important former ministers.
UK ministers have repeatedly named France, Italy and Spain as countries they are supposed to be emulating through the legislation.
But the joint statement – signed by politicians from these countries – slams the attempts to justify this draconian legislation and rejects these comparisons outright.
Highlighting how Britain is already an outlier in the democratic world and rejecting international comparisons, the politicians say:
We reject the UK government’s attempt to limit workers’ rights and its attempt to justify it with comparisons to international norms.
The UK already has some of the most draconian restrictions on trade unions anywhere in the democratic world and workers in the UK are faced with disproportionate regulatory hurdles before participation in a strike can be considered legal.
Despite this, the UK government is set on further rolling back worker protections and freedoms.
The right to strike is guaranteed in international law by a succession of important treaties.
The ability for people to collectively withdraw their labour is a fundamental right in a democratic society
We support the Trades Union Congress in calling on the UK government to abandon this bill.
Highlighting the new sweeping powers the Bill will give to ministers, the politicians say:
The government’s proposed legislation, the ‘Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill’, is attempting to bring in new top-down powers which would allow them to impose an arbitrary level of service on a broad range of sectors.
These new powers will allow the government to force union members to go into work on strike days under threat of dismissal.
Barrage of criticism
The Bill has faced a barrage of criticism from civil liberties organisations, the joint committee on human rights, House of Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, race and gender equalities groups, employment rights lawyers – and a whole host of other organisations.
Unions in Europe – representing over 20 million workers – have also condemned the legislation as dragging the UK further away from democratic norms.
And the EHRC recently warned that the legislation could see all striking workers in affected sectors losing their unfair dismissal protection as whole strikes could be deemed illegal.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said:
"The right to strike is a fundamental freedom – but the Conservative government is attacking it in broad daylight.
“The UK already has some of the most restrictive anti-union laws in Europe.
“Over 100 politicians around the world have condemned this Bill. They know it will only drag the UK even further away from democratic norms.
“This legislation would mean that when workers democratically vote to strike, they could be forced to work and sacked if they don’t comply.
"It's undemocratic, unworkable and almost certainly illegal.
“And crucially, it could poison industrial relations and exacerbate disputes rather than help resolve them.
“No one should be sacked for defending their pay and conditions, and trying to win a better deal at work.
“It's time for ministers to drop this spiteful bill and protect the right to strike.”
Notes to editors:
Statement on government’s anti-strikes bill
As elected politicians from around the world, we, the undersigned, reject the UK government’s attempt to limit workers’ rights and its attempt to justify it with comparisons to international norms. The UK already has some of the most draconian restrictions on trade unions anywhere in the democratic world and workers in the UK are faced with disproportionate regulatory hurdles before participation in a strike can be considered legal.
Despite this, the UK government is set on further rolling back worker protections and freedoms.
The government’s proposed legislation, the ‘Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill’, is attempting to bring in new top-down powers which would allow them to impose an arbitrary level of service on a broad range of sectors. These new powers will allow the government to force union members to go into work on strike days under threat of dismissal.
The right to strike is guaranteed in international law by a succession of important treaties. These include the International Labour Organisation's convention on the right to organise and bargain collectively of 1948, which the British government was the first to ratify; followed by the Council of Europe's social charter of 1961, of which Britain is still a member and which the British government was the first to ratify; followed, in turn, by the UN's international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights of 1966.
The ability for people to collectively withdraw their labour is a fundamental right in a democratic society
We support the Trades Union Congress in calling on the UK government to abandon this bill.
Full list of signatories:
|
Name |
Party |
Country |
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David Smith |
Australian Labor Party |
Australia |
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Graham Perrett |
Australian Labor Party |
Australia |
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Glenn Sterle |
Australian Labor Party |
Australia |
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Tony Sheldon |
Australian Labor Party |
Australia |
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Andreas Schieder |
SPÖ |
Austria |
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Evelyn Regner |
SPÖ |
Austria |
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Cindy Franssen |
CD&V |
Belgium |
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Sara Matthieu |
Groen |
Belgium |
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Malik Ben Achour |
Parti socialiste |
Belgium |
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Marc Botenga |
PTB-PVDA |
Belgium |
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Kim Berg |
SDP |
Finland |
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Eero Heinäluoma |
SDP |
Finland |
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Mounir Satouri |
Europe Écologie |
France |
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Emmanuel Maurel |
Gauche républicaine et socialiste |
France |
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Leïla Chaibi |
La France Insoumise |
France |
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Manon Aubry |
La France Insoumise |
France |
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Marina Mesure |
La France Insoumise |
France |
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Pierre Larrouturou |
Nouvelle Donne |
France |
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Aurore Lalucq |
Place publique |
France |
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Dennis Radtke |
Christlich Demokratische |
Germany |
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Beate Müller-Gemmeke |
Die Grünen |
Germany |
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Reinhard Bütikofer |
Die Grünen |
Germany |
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Terry Reintke |
Die Grünen |
Germany |
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Pascal Meiser |
Die Linke |
Germany |
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Susanne Ferschl |
Die Linke |
Germany |
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Helmut Scholz |
Die Linke |
Germany |
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Bernd Rützel |
SDP |
Germany |
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Dagmar Schmidt |
SDP |
Germany |
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Jens Peick |
SDP |
Germany |
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Martin Rosemann |
SDP |
Germany |
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Takis Mehmet Ali |
SDP |
Germany |
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Dietmar Köster |
SDP |
Germany |
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Tiemo Wölken |
SDP |
Germany |
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Gabriele Bischoff |
SPD |
Germany |
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Katarina Barley |
SPD |
Germany |
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Klara Dobrev |
Demokratikus Koalíció |
Hungary |
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Alan Kelly |
Labour Party of Ireland |
Ireland |
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Aodhán Ó Ríordáin |
Labour Party of Ireland |
Ireland |
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Brendan Howlin |
Labour Party of Ireland |
Ireland |
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Duncan Smith |
Labour Party of Ireland |
Ireland |
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Ged Nash |
Labour Party of Ireland |
Ireland |
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Ivana Bacik |
Labour Party of Ireland |
Ireland |
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Seán Sherlock |
Labour Party of Ireland |
Ireland |
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Annie Hoey |
Labour Party of Ireland |
Ireland |
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Marie Sherlock |
Labour Party of Ireland |
Ireland |
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Mark Wall |
Labour Party of Ireland |
Ireland |
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Rebecca Moynihan |
Labour Party of Ireland |
Ireland |
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Brid Smith |
People Before Profit/Solidarity |
Ireland |
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Gino Kenny |
People Before Profit/Solidarity |
Ireland |
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Paul Murphy |
People Before Profit/Solidarity |
Ireland |
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Louise O’Reilly |
Sinn Féin |
Ireland |
Speaking on behalf of the entire Sinn Féin parliamentary party
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Catherine Murphy |
Social Democrats |
Ireland |
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Cian O'Callaghan |
Social Democrats |
Ireland |
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Gary Gannon |
Social Democrats |
Ireland |
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Holly Cairns |
Social Democrats |
Ireland |
|
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Roisin Shortall |
Social Democrats |
Ireland |
|
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Giuseppe Conte |
M5S |
Italy |
Secretary of M5S and former Prime Minister of Italy |
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Chiara Braga |
Partito Democratico |
Italy |
Head of PD delegation to the Chamber of Deputies |
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Andrea Orlando |
Partito Democratico |
Italy |
Minister of Labour 2021 - 2022 |
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Beatrice Covassi |
Partito Democratico |
Italy |
|
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Brando Benifei |
Partito Democratico |
Italy |
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Elisabetta Gualmini |
Partito Democratico |
Italy |
|
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Francesco Boccia |
Partito Democratico |
Italy |
Head of PD delegation to the senate |
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Nicola Fratoianni |
Sinistra Italiana |
Italy |
Secretary of Sinistra Italiana |
|
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Giuseppe De Cristofaro |
Sinistra Italiana |
Italy |
Head of delegation SI-Verdi group, Senate |
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Luana Zanella |
Verdi |
Italy |
Head of delegation SI-Verdi group, Chamber of Deputies |
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Marc Angel |
LSAP/PSOL |
Luxembourg |
|
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Alex Agius Saliba |
Partit Laburista |
Malta |
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Cyrus Engerer |
Partit Laburista |
Malta |
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Agnes Jongerius |
Partij van de Arbeid |
Netherlands |
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Thijs Reuten |
Partij van de Arbeid |
Netherlands |
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Vera Tax |
Partij van de Arbeid |
Netherlands |
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Adrian Zandberg |
Razem Party |
Poland |
Co-Chairman of the Left Coalition and Chairman of the Razem Party. |
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Daria Gosek-Popiołek |
Razem Party |
Poland |
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Maciej Konieczny |
Razem Party |
Poland |
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Magdalena Biejat |
Razem Party |
Poland |
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Marcelina Zawisza |
Razem Party |
Poland |
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Paulina Matysiak |
Razem Party |
Poland |
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José Gusmao |
Bloco de Esquerda |
Portugal |
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Marisa Matias |
Bloco de Esquerda |
Portugal |
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Joao Albuquerque |
Partido Socialista |
Portugal |
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Katarína Roth Nevedalova |
SMER-Sociálna demokracia |
Slovakia |
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Milan Brglez |
Socialni demokrati |
Slovenia |
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Manu Pineda |
Izquierda Unida |
Spain |
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Sira Rego |
Izquierda Unida |
Spain |
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Íñigo Errejón Galván |
Más País |
Spain |
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Idoia Villanueva Ruíz |
Podemos |
Spain |
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Maria Eugenia Rodriguez Palop |
Podemos |
Spain |
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Estrella Durá |
PSOE |
Spain |
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Alejandro José Zubeldía Santoyo |
PSOE |
Spain |
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Alfonso Muñoz Cuenca |
PSOE |
Spain |
|
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Antonio Ferrer Sais |
PSOE |
Spain |
Chairman of the Senate Labour Commission |
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Artemi Vicent Rallo Lombarte |
PSOE |
Spain |
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Donelia Roldán Martínez |
PSOE |
Spain |
|
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Estefanía Martín Palop |
PSOE |
Spain |
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Jesús González Márquez |
PSOE |
Spain |
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Josefa González Bayo |
PSOE |
Spain |
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Juan Antonio Gilabert Sánchez |
PSOE |
Spain |
|
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Julia Liberal Liberal |
PSOE |
Spain |
|
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María de los Angeles Luna Morales |
PSOE |
Spain |
|
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María Ascensión Godoy Tena |
PSOE |
Spain |
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María del Mar Arnaíz García |
PSOE |
Spain |
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Micaela Navarro Garzón |
PSOE |
Spain |
|
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Olivia María Delgado Oval |
PSOE |
Spain |
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Rafael Ramirez Gutiérrez |
PSOE |
Spain |
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Rosa María Aldea Gómez |
PSOE |
Spain |
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Ruben Marco Villacampa Arilla |
PSOE |
Spain |
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Aina Vidal |
Unidas Podemos-En Comú Podem-Galicia en Común |
Spain |
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Mercedes Pérez |
Unidas Podemos-En Comú Podem-Galicia en Común |
Spain |
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Pedro Honrubia |
Unidas Podemos-En Comú Podem-Galicia en Común |
Spain |
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Rafael Mayoral |
Unidas Podemos-En Comú Podem-Galicia en Común |
Spain |
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Roberto Uriarte |
Unidas Podemos-En Comú Podem-Galicia en Común |
Spain |
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Enrique Santiago |
Unidas Podemos-En Comú Podem-Galicia en Común |
Spain |
Deputy spokesman for the parliamentary group of Unidas Podemos-En Comú Podem-Galicia en Común. |
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Gerardo Pisarello |
Unidas Podemos-En Comú Podem-Galicia en Común |
Spain |
First secretary of the Congress of Deputies |
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Jaume Asens |
Unidas Podemos-En Comú Podem-Galicia en Común |
Spain |
President of the parliamentary group of Unidas Podemos-En Comú Podem-Galicia en Común |
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Carina Ohlsson |
SAP |
Sweden |
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Erik Bergkvist |
SAP |
Sweden |
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Evin Incir |
SAP |
Sweden |
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Heléne Fritzon |
SAP |
Sweden |
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Ilan De Basso |
SAP |
Sweden |
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Malin Björk |
Vänsterpartiet |
Sweden |
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- About the TUC: The Trades Union Congress (TUC) exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. We bring together the 5.5 million working people who make up our 48 member unions. We support unions to grow and thrive, and we stand up for everyone who works for a living.
Contacts:
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