Anti-strike bill likely to break human rights law

The government’s planned Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill is flawed, needs to be reconsidered and is probably incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has found.

The bill has been voted through the House of Commons and now faces scrutiny in the Lords,

In a damning report, the 12 MPs and peers who make up the JCHR made criticism after criticism of the bill.

And, in a further blow to the proposed legislation, The TUC, Equality Trust, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and Runnymede Trust have warned that it would be “a huge step backwards for tackling racism at work in Britain”.

They point out that BAME workers represent 15% of the total workforce, but are significantly over-represented in two key sectors – health (24%) and transport (21%) – affected by the legislation.

As a result, they believe that BAME workers could be unfairly targeted for dismissal by unscrupulous employers and that “the last thing they need” is legislation which tilts the balance of power even further towards the employer and away from them.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “It is Black and ethnic minority workers – who are already at the sharp end of a labour market rife with discrimination – that could be hit hardest.”