New Tory anti-strike laws attack basic human rights, says RMT
RMT members march, holding a banner that states "Do you know what a picket line is" alongside a photo of RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch

TRANSPORT UNION RMT slammed the Tory government’s Minimum Service Levels legislation announced tonight (Monday, November 6) attacking the right of essential workers to take strike action as ‘an assault on the fundamental freedoms of working people’.

Minimum service level legislation for rail workers, ambulance staff and border security staff will be laid in parliament tomorrow (Tuesday, November 7).

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that it was clearly an authoritarian attack on the fundamental freedoms of working people and RMT would resist this attack by all means necessary.

“We believe employers have the discretion not to issue minimum service work notices and as such we are calling on them not to issue them. Any employer that seeks to issue a work notice will find themselves in a further dispute with my union.

“Even the government’s own impact assessment has said that the legislation could lead to more strikes so instead of attacking workers and their trade unions the government should spend its time trying to resolve disputes not inflaming them,” he said.

> RMT National News

Friday, 19th June
An RMT spokesperson said:
Thursday, 18th June
RMT members employed by Carlisle Support Services, working on the Northern rail contract will continue their long-running dispute over pay by taking 48 hours strike action from Saturday.
Tuesday, 16th June
Rail union RMT, will take strike action at Heavy Haul Rail Ltd on Thursday 25 June for 48 hours, after the company refused to rule out compulsory redundancies as part of a major restructuring programme.
Tuesday, 9th June
Rail workers and industry skills leaders have called for a workforce strategy under Great British Railways, warning that fragmentation, short-term funding cycles and a narrow focus on cutting labour costs are holding back productivity across the railway.
Friday, 5th June
General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “The launch of this consultation is a necessary and welcome step towards ending the race to the bottom that has blighted much of the ferry sector for far too long.