My hon. Friend seeks to lead me into an area that could probably land me in a lot of hot water, in terms of naming Members and breaching “Erskine May”, so I will avoid straying into the area of affairs of taxation for the Conservative party. He is right to put that on the record and I am sure it will be ringing out in Stratford-on-Avon.
On amendment 21, the Bill already makes provision for six wide-ranging sectors that the British Government have identified for restrictions at a time of industrial action. Quite apart from the fact that “life and limb” cover is already provided for in statute, the list is already incredibly far-reaching. My amendment seeks to tighten up this part of the Bill, making it harder for Ministers to add further sectors of service provision. I am thinking
specifically of Royal Mail, where our trade union colleagues in the Communication Workers Union are currently engaged in a dispute.
I have no doubt that this is not about “life and limb” cover, which unions already negotiate in advance of strike action. Ministers’ language has already evolved in recent weeks and months to “lives and livelihoods”, which gives them carte blanche to add in whatever sectors they fancy later on. I firmly believe that they will draw in other industrial disputes to be covered by this Bill and use it as a signal to bad bosses, the likes of Royal Mail’s Simon Thompson, who seems to be content with being at war with trade unions. The effect of amendment 21 would be to prohibit any addition to or any reinstatement of the six categories of service to which the Bill applies, while facilitating the ease of removal of any of these categories.
Amendment 22 relates to the devolved nature of employment law in Northern Ireland. As hon. Members will be aware—although perhaps not those who think it is impossible to devolve employment legislation to Holyrood —Northern Ireland already has legislative competence for employment law, so the territorial application of this Bill is not extended there. However, with no functioning Assembly or Executive, my amendment 22 would provide that this anti-worker power grab from Ministers could not be imposed on workers in Northern Ireland in any circumstances, including in the event of direct rule. In short, no devolved consent means no anti-strike legislation in Northern Ireland. However, for a party that purports to be so passionate about the Union, it is somewhat bizarre that, by passing this legislation, it is essentially engineering a situation whereby UNISON’s health service members in Northern Ireland would be exempt from the legislation that would directly infringe their very peers on this island. Perhaps we could call this particular amendment the anti-strike protocol .
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I turn to amendment 23, which relates primarily, although not exclusively, to the issue of transportation, and with which it will be convenient to consider amendment 24, which is not dissimilar. If we leave to one side the incredibly vague wording for the definition of transport service provision, there are a number of problems with the new schedule and the application of provisions for transport. Amendment 23 means that the Secretary of State must seek the consent of elected Mayors in London and the combined authorities. If amendment 23 is not in the Bill, I am unclear where that leaves the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who has responsibility for the London underground. Will the Secretary of State be able to come crashing in and call the shots when an industrial dispute arises on the London underground?
Similarly, in Greater Manchester, Mayor Andy Burnham’s responsibilities include overseeing road management, bus lane enforcement and congestion, as well as influence over bus services, the Metrolink tram system and cycling schemes. I posit this thought: if an industrial dispute arises in any of those areas or workplaces, will Mayor Burnham be stood down while the Secretary of State takes over from Whitehall, setting minimum service levels?
Similarly, the Mayor in Liverpool has responsibility for Merseyrail. If the RMT were to call industrial action on Merseyrail, will the Secretary of State tell the Mayor
to move over and that the big boys from London will take over? The same already applies in respect of the devolved Governments in Scotland and Wales, as other amendments touch on. In short, who sets the minimum service levels? Supporting amendment 24 would crystalise some of that. Otherwise, the Bill flies in the face of devolution and its settlement, and it allows Tory Ministers in Whitehall to grab powers from devolved Administrations and combined authorities and act with impunity during their war on workers.
I am conscious of time, so I will draw my remarks to a close by saying that the Bill is fundamentally undemocratic, it will do nothing to resolve industrial disputes, and it is the complete antithesis to taking back control and strengthening employment rights, which was what was promised during Brexit. The only option left to Opposition Members tonight is to ameliorate a Bill that this Government should be thoroughly ashamed of. I therefore encourage Members to support amendments 21 to 24 en bloc.