Britain will unveil strike legislation in order to contain industrial actions in its key sectors, as the country suffers from soaring inflation and countrywide strikes.


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London, January 10 (RHC)-- Britain will unveil strike legislation in order to contain industrial actions in its key sectors, as the country suffers from soaring inflation and countrywide strikes.

UK Business Minister Grant Shapps said the government would bring the legislation before parliament in the coming weeks. The bill aims to ensure essential public services set minimum safety levels in time of industrial action, the minister said.

“While we hope that voluntary agreements can continue to be made in most cases, introducing minimum safety levels... will restore the balance between those seeking to strike and protecting the public from disproportionate disruption.”   

The government seeks to limit disruption from strikes now involving tens of thousands of workers, while inviting trade unions in for fresh round of talks to discuss public sector pay settlements in 2023-24.  The bill will take months to turn into law, but Shapps said the timing would be "a matter for parliament itself."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been under pressure to do more to resolve the wave of crippling strikes by workers demanding better pay across key sectors from healthcare to transport.

A winter of widespread strikes in Britain has dealt a blow to people's daily life as well as the country's already struggling economy, showing no sign of stopping at the beginning of a new year as workers in most sectors demand higher pay to keep pace with inflation. The government has denied any effort to sufficiently raise wages and announced it cannot afford to give public sector workers an inflation-matching rise.