High Court finds strike-breaking legislation unlawful following UNISON case   

Employers can no longer use agency staff to fill in for striking workers during industrial action after the High Court ruled that government legislation introduced last year is unlawful, says UNISON today (Thursday). The important judgment handed down this morning follows successful judicial review proceedings lodged by UNISON and other TUC unions last autumn. For more than 40 years, it was illegal in the UK to supply agency workers for employers to use to cover the jobs of staff on strike, says UNISON. But in the early summer of 2022, the then Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng decided that was going to change. Against the advice of civil servants, the secretary of state rushed through new laws, without any proper consultation. This gave a green light to employers wanting to bring in agency workers to break strikes and dint the morale of their staff reluctantly taking industrial action, says the union. Following a hearing in May at the High Court, Mr Justice Linden has today upheld the claims of UNISON and other unions that the government acted unfairly, unlawfully and irrationally. The judgment means this piece of strike-breaking legislation is now quashed and is now removed from the statute book, says UNISON. The judge also warned the government that any attempt to change strike laws in future would need to be subject to a rigorous consultation. Commenting on the judgment, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “No one ever wants to go on strike. But when th...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article Press release Source Type: news