LONDON (Dispatches) -- The British government introduced legislation to parliament on Tuesday which would require key public services to maintain minimum safety levels during strike action by workers.
Britain is experiencing a wave of industrial action as pay rises fail to keep up with double-digit inflation, which is now around 40-year highs. Nurses, ambulance staff and rail workers are among those who have staged walkouts.
Talks between government ministers and trade unions on Monday failed to produce a breakthrough to avert further planned strikes.
The government has said it will consult on minimum safety levels to be set for fire, ambulance and rail services as part of the new law. Other sectors covered by the bill include health services, education, nuclear decommissioning and border security.
Trade unions have reacted angrily to the plans, arguing evidence from other countries shows such legislation forces unions to use other tactics, prolonging disputes.
“This is an attack on human rights and civil liberties which we will oppose in the courts, parliament and the workplace,” Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT rail union, said.
“This law could make effective strike action illegal, and workers may be sacked for exercising their right to withdraw their labor.”
Trade union umbrella group the Trade Unions Congress described the bill as undemocratic and unworkable, calling on members of parliament to reject it.
The bill would not be debated on Tuesday and could take months to become law. The opposition Labour Party has said it would repeal the law if it comes to power in a national election expected next year.
The measure follows months of disruptive walk-outs across the private and public sectors, as decades-high inflation fuels the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation and demands for hefty pay rises.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak -- who only took power 11 weeks ago -- has insisted recession-hit Britain cannot afford to reopen public sector pay already set for this fiscal year.
The ensuing standoff with various sectors, from health to the civil service to the railways, has led to months of crippling strikes.
Five days of walk-outs last week on the rail network, which is largely run by private firms but under condition-heavy government contracts limiting their autonomy, left city centers deserted compared to normal weekdays.
Businesses and economists have pointed to the heavy fallout for the country’s struggling economy.