Government faces High Court battle over plan to break strikes with agency workers

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The High Court has allowed legal action against the government's controversial decision to allow the recruitment of agency workers to break strikes.

11 unions representing millions of workers and the TUC has lodged a complaint against this policy.

Over the summer, the government repealed a longstanding law prohibiting agency workers from being brought in during work stoppages.

Then the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, called the rules "heavy" and said they would allow "honest and hardworking people to get on with their lives".

But speaking today after the High Court gave the go-ahead to the challenge, TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said the government appeared 'committed' to attack the freedom to strike "at every opportunity".

“Threatening this right tilts the balance of power too far in favor of employers. This means that workers cannot defend decent services and workplace safety, or defend their jobs and wages,” she said.

"With inflation at 11% ministers are shamelessly scrambling to find new ways to make it harder for workers to bargain for better pay and conditions.

" And these attacks on the right to strike are probably illegal. The ministers did not consult the unions, as required by law. And restricting the freedom to strike is a violation of international law."

A Hearing for the challenge is scheduled from the end of March next year, meaning it will come too late to affect strikes taking place over the Christmas period.< /p>

Workers at all sectors, including nursing, postal services, railways and buses, have scheduled walkouts as wage offers fail to keep up with record inflation.

Unions support that regulations allowing agency workers to be brought in are illegal x for two reasons: first, they claim that the Business Secretary failed to consult with trade unions as required by the Employment Agencies Act 1973.

More fundamentally, they argue that the change violates fundamental trade union rights protected by Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT, said the policy was a "direct violation of the government's international commitments and obligations" regarding the right to strike.

And Richard Arthur, head of the La w union at Thompsons Sol...