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Hello folks, I just want to drop in and explain a bit about the The Transport Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill which seems to be attracting some controversy online.
Later today the government will introduce a bill to Parliament which would ensure that vital public services will have to maintain a basic function and deliver minimum safety levels during industrial action.
Under the proposals, some trade union members would be required to continue working during a strike.
Minimum safety levels will be set for fire, ambulance and rail services and the government will consult on the adequate level of coverage for these sectors, recognising that disruption to blue light services puts π‘ππ«ππ¨ ππ© ππ’π’πππππ©π π§ππ¨π .
Contrary to misinformation, this Bill is designed to π₯π§π€π©πππ© π©ππ π₯πͺππ‘ππ πππππ£π¨π© πππ¨π§πͺπ₯π©ππ€π£ to blue light services which puts lives at immediate risk. This is not an attempt to curtail peopleβs right to strikeβ I would not support the Bill if this had been the case.
We all hugely value the work of our public services and Iβm glad the Government reaching out to unions to have an honest conversation on pay, conditions and reform.
Industrial action is disruptive for everyone β from people relying on essential services to get to work or care for their family to hard-working business owners whose sales suffer. It also costs those striking at a time when family budgets are tight.
As well as protecting the freedom to strike, the government must also protect life and livelihoods. While I hope that voluntary agreements can continue to be made in most cases, introducing minimum safety levels β the minimum levels of service we expect to be provided β will restore the balance between those seeking to strike and protecting the public from disproportionate disruption.
As has been demonstrated over the last year, wide scale and repetitive industrial action can act as a major blockage to economic growth by preventing people from getting to work. Introducing the safety net of minimum service levels to ensure that the public are not put at risk during strike action is the best way of balancing the ability to strike, while protecting the wider public.
This package of measures will see the UK align with many countries across the world such as France and Spain that already have minimum service agreements in place, to prevent large swathes of their economies being ground to a halt by industrial action. 
