New law to ensure 40% of trains run during strikes, government announces

The government will introduce a new law to parliament on Tuesday, which they say will ensure 40% of trains will still run on strike days.

The new minimum service level regulations will also make sure “certain priority routes can remain open” – though it is not yet clear which journeys will be covered.

Other rules will be introduced for border security staff and ambulance workers, in plans Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says will “stop unions de-railing Christmas for millions of people”.

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The details follow on from the government’s Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act that it passed in January, giving ministers the power to set minimum service levels across multiple sectors.

The legislation caused an uproar from unions, who called it “an attack on working people” and said it would damage their right to strike.

But Mr Sunak said it was the “right long-term decision… to keep people safe and continue delivering the vital public services that hard-working people rely on”.

Under the new law, employers will be able to issue notices to people “who are reasonably required to work to ensure minimum service levels are met”, the government said.

It will also make unions “take reasonable steps and ensure their members who are identified with a work notice comply”.

If unions fail to do this, they can be sued, with the maximum fine for unlawful strike action now sitting at £1m.

“We are doing everything in our power to stop unions de-railing Christmas for millions of people,” said Mr Sunak.

“This legislation will ensure more people will be able to travel to see their friends and family and get the emergency care they need.

“We cannot go on relying on short term fixes – including calling on our Armed Forces or civil servants – to mitigate the disruption caused by strike action.

“That’s why we’re taking the right long-term decision to bring in minimum service levels, in line with other countries, to keep people safe and continue delivering the vital public services that hard-working people rely on.”

The rules for border security will apply to both the Border Force and selected HM Passport Office staff, and state that services “should be provided at a level that means that they are no less effective than if a strike were not taking place”, as well as ensuring all ports and airports remain open on a strike.

For ambulance workers, the legislation will only impact England, and will “ensure that cases that are life-threatening, or where there is no reasonable clinical alternative to an ambulance response, are responded to”.

The three areas have been chosen following government consultations to establish what they think are the correct minimum service levels to introduce.

But the Department of Health and Social Care is still carrying out on “expanding the scope of minimum service levels to cover other urgent and emergency hospital-based services”, which could include nurses and doctors.