Services and infrastructure, such as our schools, fire and ambulance services, and railway network, are vital to the education, health and livelihoods of millions of people across the country. In light of recent disruption and an inability to ensure minimum safe levels of service on strike days following the intransigence of the Unions, it has been necessary for the Government to take action to ensure minimum service levels in these critical sectors are maintained.
I therefore welcome the Government’s Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill which seeks to deliver minimum levels and safe services, and I was pleased to have the opportunity to speak in the Second Reading debate on the Bill on Monday evening. You can view my full speech above.
The Government’s first duty is to protect the people. Large-scale strikes in several sectors in recent weeks and months have demonstrated that it cannot be solely left to Unions to negotiate voluntary levels of service during strikes at a local level. The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill ensures the right of workers to strike while protecting the right of children to access education, the right of workers to access transport to get to their jobs and the right of patients to be able to travel to attend appointments, or receive visits from loved ones. And it protects the right of us all to access emergency care form the fire and ambulance services when needed. It simply cannot be for Unions to be the decision-makers of when services are available in life and death situations
I have been contacted by many constituents who struggled to cope with the impact of recent strikes. As is too often the case, the most vulnerable are the worst affected: disadvantaged children already struggling following pandemic school closures, those with existing health conditions most at risk should an ambulance be unavailable; and those in less secure jobs or who do not get paid if they cannot get to work.
Given the challenges we face, and the intransigence of the Unions, minimum service levels are required to protect access to essential services, and I fully support the introduction of these safeguards.
