Recommendation 11

The way in which the Bill would bring minimum service levels into effect, through a work notice issued by an employer backed by an obligation on trade unions to ensure members comply with that work notice, amounts to a serious interference with Article 11 rights. It could result in employers requiring strike leaders to work, and in unions being forced to persuade their own members to break their own strike. An alternative mechanism, based on negotiation and independent resolution of disagreements, would involve lesser interference with Article 11 and therefore be more likely to meet the requirement of proportionality. The Bill should also be amended to ensure that employers cannot base their decisions as to who must work during a strike and what work they must do on a worker’s trade union activity. Such a change to the Bill would be consistent with the current prohibition on employers having regard to union membership. An amendment to achieve this aim is included in the Annex to this report (Amendment 4).