Britain's new trade union reforms will hit workers' rights to strike, claim union bosses

Trade union leaders have claimed tough new reforms introduced by the British Government Wednesday would make legal strike action by workers virtually impossible.

The reforms, claimed the government, aim to ensure the right to strike by British workers is balanced with the right of people to be able 'to go about their daily lives and work'.

"Under the current situation, a small minority of trade union members can fundamentally disrupt the lives of millions of commuters, parents, workers and employers at short notice - without clear support," said a spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The new Trade Union Bill will address what is described as the imbalance by introducing a raft of measures. This includes a 50 percent threshold for ballot turn-out.

There will be an additional threshold of 40 percent of support for industrial action among workers in key areas such as health, education, fire, transport, border security and energy sectors, including the Border Force and nuclear decommissioning.

This is seen as a bid by the government to prevent disruption caused by striking public transport and rail workers.

"This will ensure strikes are the result of a clear and positive democratic mandate from union members: upholding the right to strike while reducing disruption to millions of people," added the department spokesman.

The new bill will also include other measures which employee representatives claim are calculated to make union activity in the workplace difficult. One of the measures demands a transparent process so workers can clearly see if they are contributing to political funds.

Business Secretary and cabinet member Sajid Javid said: "These changes are being introduced so strikes only happen when a clear majority of those entitled to vote have done so, and all other possibilities have been explored."

Government Employment minister Nick Boles said: "People have the right to expect that services on which they and their families rely are not going to be disrupted at short notice by strikes that have the support of only a small proportion of union members.

"These are sensible and fair reforms that balance the right to strike with the right of millions of people to go about their daily lives without last minute disruption."

Consultations will now start on the proposed new measures, as well as a repeal of a ban on the use of agency workers. Unions claim agency workers are often drafted in as 'strike breakers' during industrial disputes.

Frances O'Grady, secretary general of Britain's Trades Union Congress (TUC) described the government's new bill a slippery slope towards worse rights for all.

She said the provisions of the bill would enable employers to "stick two fingers up" to workers by bringing in agency staff to break any strikes.

Other union leaders said the government was bidding to 'neuter' the unions, but a warning came from Unite, Britain's biggest trade union, saying it would not see itself 'rendered toothless' by submitting to unjust laws.

The new laws are seen as the biggest reform of trade union laws since Margaret Thatcher's set out to crush the power of the unions during the 1980s when she was Prime Minister. Endit