Fire Bill threatens right to strike

Firefighters could lose the right to take lawful strike action according to one interpretation of the Fire Services Bill.

Leading employment law experts Bill Wedderburn and Bill McCarthy believe that one section of the Bill could be used to declare any industrial action by firefighters unlawful.

The relevant clause would impose a statutory duty on firefighters and on the fire service to comply with any orders made by the secretary of state.

Wedderburn and McCarthy argue that the case of Meade v Haringey BC [1979] IRLR 494 makes it clear that unions are not immune from legal action where they induce workers to take industrial action which results in the breach of a statutory duty. In these circumstances industrial action would be unlawful even if there had been a lawful ballot.