Tory Party resumes its attack on unions
The Conservative Party wasted no time in using its return to power to start union bashing.
The new business secretary Sajid Javid has promised “significant changes” to strike laws in the Queen’s Speech, which will take place later this month.
A strike affecting essential public services will need the backing of 40% of eligible union members under government plans, he said. There will also need to be a minimum 50% turnout in strike ballots.
In Javid’s case it is a case of do as I say not as I do. He was elected with just 38% of the eligible votes in his Bromsgrove constituency.
The government will also lift restrictions on the use of agency staff to replace striking workers, Javid said.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The government’s proposals on union ballots will make legal strikes close to impossible."