The government has published the results of a consultation over which public sector services and workers should be covered by proposals within the Trade Union Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament.
The Bill proposes a 40 per cent threshold for industrial action ballots in “important public services”, including education and health.
It would mean that 40 per cent of union members would have to have voted in favour of industrial action before any “disruptive” strikes could go ahead.
However, detail is still not available on exactly which workers could be affected – with ministers deciding to remove a reference in the current draft of the Bill to “ancillary workers being subject to the 40 per cent threshold”.
The Bill received its second reading in the House of Lords earlier this month and is now entering the committee stage – meaning it is close to receiving Royal Assent.
A statement from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, said that more than 200 responses had been received to its consultation. It confirmed: “Industrial action in specific services in the fire, health, education, transport, border security and nuclear decommissioning sectors will require the support of at least 40 per cent of all those entitled to vote in the relevant ballot. Ballots will also require at least 50 per cent turnout in order to be valid.”
However, it added: “Regulations specifying exactly which important public service roles will be covered by the 40 per cent threshold in the fire, education, health, transport, and border security sectors will be developed and brought forward as secondary legislation.
“The government has carefully reviewed the evidence collected during the consultation, and will therefore amend clause three of the Trade Union Bill to remove the broad reference to ancillary workers being subject to the 40 per cent threshold.”
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, is unhappy at the lack of detail: “There is still not nearly enough clarity from the government as to how strike ballot thresholds will work in practice, which undermines Parliament’s ability to properly scrutinise the Trade Union Bill.
“The government has a poor understanding of how schools and colleges work, and this ill-thought-through, ineffective policy will create unnecessary complexities. This will lead to a greater likelihood of legal challenges from employers which will prolong disputes, when, like the wider public, union members want a resolution.”
Employment minister Nick Boles said: “When strikes disrupt important public services that we all rely on day-in, day-out, it is important the public can have confidence strikes were backed by a reasonable proportion of union members. These new thresholds ensure the right to strike is fairly balanced with the right of people to be able to go about their daily lives and work.”
For details of the Bill’s progress, visit http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/ tradeunion.html