International Labour Organisation makes clear it does not back the bill despite claims from Grant Shapps and Rishi Sunak
Good morning. Nurses are on strike in England today, and 1 February (a fortnight today) is gearing up to be the biggest strike day yet, with train drivers, teachers and civil servants all walking out, on the same day the TUC holds a “protect the right to strike” day of campaigning.
The TUC is mobilising opposition to the government’s anti-strikes bill and this morning No 10 suffered a set back when the International Labour Organisation, a UN agency, made it clear it was not backing the bill.
The International Labour Organisation itself states that minimum service levels can be a proportionate way of balancing the right to strike with the need to protect the wider public. That is what we are doing. Our own unions subscribe to and support the ILO, as do we.
I’m not aware of any bilateral discussion on this matter. We are very worried that workers may have to accept situatons so they don’t get themselves out of a job. They may have to accept a situation that is below par.
