Politics

Labour peers urged to back fatal motion and protect worker’s right to strike

Labour peers are being urged to back a fatal motion in the House of Lords this week as the government’s controversial Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) bill makes its way through the upper chamber.

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle is set to move that new legislation that will limit worker’s right to strike is rejected because it continues decades of attacks against Trade Unions and workers’ rights.

It also exposes Trade Unions to being liable to pay damages of up to £1 million, forces Trade Unions to act as enforcement agents on behalf of employers and the government, is likely to prohibit more than 40 per cent of rail industry workers from taking part in strike action, and fails to ensure that rail services will be safe for workers and passengers on strike days, the Green peer says.

A fatal motion would block the bill in its course and could be successful if Labour peers get behind it.

The Conservatives do not hold a majority in the House of Lords, making it more than a theoretical possibility.

Political campaigner Peter Stefanovic is backing the motion and details what it means in a viral video below:

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Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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