Pressure on May as unions run rampant
PM faces backlash over failure to impose emergency laws to curb crippling strikes
THERESA MAY is refusing to curb the power of striking trade unions despite a growing backlash from her own MPs as Britain braces itself for more transport chaos over Christmas.
The Prime Minister is understood to be reluctant to table “emergency legislation” strengthening the rules regarding when unions can take industrial action, despite months of unrest.
Dozens of Tory MPs favour tougher rules which would bar unions that represent “critical” industries from calling strikes unless they are “proportionate”. Many also want a “minimal requirement” that would force unions to run at least half of all usual services even when they are striking.
Politicians in the South East have been bombarded with letters from furious commuters who have lost jobs or faced hours of delays due to strikes on the Southern rail network.
The problems will intensify this week as pilots, cabin crew and baggage handlers join rail workers and postal staff in a “nightmare” combination of Christmas strikes. There are now fears industrial action will spread as militant unions seek to use the festive period to benefit their members.
Amid growing concerns, two former Cabinet ministers under Margaret Thatcher have warned that only a tough stance from ministers can stop unions “holding society to ransom”.
Lord Heseltine said: “In the end you either compromise – which means you lose – or you address the issue upfront … You cannot have small groups of people holding society to ransom, regardless of personal inconvenience or cost. The law of the land must be supreme.”
Lord Tebbit warned of a “deliberate tactic on the part of the union leaders to inflict as much economic and social harm as they possibly can” over Christmas, adding: “You should take a hard but understanding line. It is no good just flailing around.”
Around 20 Tory MPs have also used a private face-to-face meeting to tell Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, that he must consider bolstering legislation around striking.
Yet No10 is reluctant to table new laws amid fears it would prompt a major parliamentary battle. There are also concerns such a move might be seen as hurting the “just about managing” families Mrs May has promised to represent as Prime Minister.
“The priority right now is getting unions round a table with Southern and ending the misery facing commuters,” a No 10 source said.
Tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of commuters on Southern rail will face further disruption as conductors strike in a stand-off over who controls train doors. Disruption will continue on Tuesday and restart in the new year, with little sign of a settlement despite months of unrest.
Three separate industrial disputes affecting airports are also set to start this week affecting hundreds of thousands more Christmas travellers.
Thousands of British Airways cabin crew have backed strikes on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, some 1,500 checkin staff, baggage handlers and cargo crew will walk out on Dec 23 and 24, while some Virgin Atlantic pilots are refusing to work overtime.
On top of the transport disruption, five days of strikes by Post Office worker’s will begin tomorrow – though the company insists 97 per cent of branches will be unaffected.
Tory MPs have blamed union bosses for the disruption, criticising the RMT, Aslef, Unite and CWU for bringing forward the strikes. Today Patrick
McLoughlin, the Tory party chairman, challenges Jeremy Corbyn to publicly condemn the strikes. In a statement issued to The Sunday Telegraph he says: “The Labour Party’s refusal to condemn these strikes speaks volumes about their priorities for Britain today.
“Instead of standing by while their union paymasters punish ordinary working people, Labour should join the Conservatives in putting the British people first and telling the unions to go back to work. If they don’t, then it will be the ordinary working people of Britain who will continue to pay the price.”
There is growing concern on the Tory backbenches about the strength of the Government’s response to strikes. There are calls for “emergency legislation” to be tabled to better protect critical public infrastructure.
Chris Philp, the Tory MP for Croydon South proposing the change, says unions should only be allowed to strike if they can prove the action was “reasonable and proportionate”. “There is an increasing tide of opinion both in Parliament and in the public supporting this,” he said. Huw Merriman, the Tory MP for Bexhill and Battle, wants a law banning strikes on safety grounds if an industry regulator has rejected the claims. “We now need to turn our attention to what new powers we can bring in,” he said. However, it is understood No 10 is worried that the lack of a Tory majority in the House of Lords means any new legislation might not pass.
A No 10 source said: “We have already passed legislation to provide people with better protection from undemocratic industrial action. Of course we will keep under review how these measures are working in practice.”