Ministers press on with ‘cynical’ plan to let agency staff replace striking workers
Unions and recruiters have condemned government moves to allow agency workers to replace striking staff, saying it would “poison” relations and endanger safety.
The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said the government was pressing ahead with a change in the law, as rail workers walked out for the second of two 24-hour strikes this week. Some bus workers and nurses are also set to strike, while teachers may take industrial action this year.
Under current employment laws, businesses cannot supply agency workers to fill in for striking employees, which the government says would lessen their impact “on hardworking commuters and the economy”.
The TUC said it was a cynical and unworkable move, while rail unions dismissed it as “playing to the gallery”. Network Rail has said most of the roles which have most affected train services during the strike, particularly signalling, can not be filled by agency staff.
Kwarteng said unions were “holding the country to ransom” and the situation was not sustainable. “Repealing these 1970s-era restrictions will give businesses freedom to access fully skilled staff at speed, all while allowing people to get on with their lives uninterrupted to help keep the economy ticking,” he said.
The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said: “Reforms such as this legislation are vital and will ensure any future strikes will cause even less disruption and allow adaptable, flexible, fully skilled staff to continue working throughout.”
The government is also lifting the maximum damages that can be imposed on unions for “unlawful” strikes, allowing judges to impose £1m instead of £250,000 charges.
The TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, said: “The government should be getting people around the table to find a
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