Open letter for Labour councillors

The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 is now law. This means employers, including councils, can, if they so choose, issue 'work notices', forcing workers to break their own strikes.

This is just the latest in a long line of anti-union laws which has left the UK with some of the most restrictive labour laws in Europe. The ILO Committee of Experts has already expressed ‘serious concerns’ about the legislation breaching fundamental and binding international standards. In the UK, Headteachers, the Scottish and Welsh Governments, together with a growing number of City Councils have all publicly stated they will refuse to implement it in their areas.

We welcome this action by councillors and employers, but our aim now is to ensure that the legislation is removed from the statute book as soon as possible.

As a Labour councillor, I am therefore signing this letter to Keir Starmer MP, seeking his reassurance that an incoming Labour Government will repeal this legislation as a priority, removing the anti-union legislation which has grown increasingly authoritarian and anti-democratic over the last 40 years.

This action is part of the Defend the right to strike campaign organised by Strike Map and the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom, and supported by a growing number of trade unions including:

• Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP)
• Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF)
• Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU)
• General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU)
• Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA)
• National Education Union (NEU)
• Peace and Justice Project (PJP)
• Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS)
• Psychotherapy and Counselling Union (PCU)
• Transport Salaried Staff Association (TSSA)
• United Road Transport Union (URTU)