On Monday MPs in the UK will debate and vote on new minimum service level rules that ministers claim are copied from other European countries.
In Europe wages are fixed by negotiations between trade unions and employers. In the UK just over a quarter of working people have their wages and working conditions set by such collective agreements.
In Germany over half of all workers are covered by collective agreements, rising to three quarters in The Netherlands, over 80% in Denmark and Spain and over 90% in Austria and Belgium.
The ETUC supports the TUC in opposing the legislation on minimum service levels.
The ETUC urges the British Government to help workers struggling with rising costs and to seek a fair solution to their legitimate pay grievances rather than imposing further restrictions on the right to strike.
ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said:
“The fact that the UK has low levels of collective bargaining as well as extremely restrictive laws on strikes is shocking to trade unionists in Europe.”
“That the UK Government’s response to strikes by nurses, railway workers and teachers is to bring in more restrictions on the right to strike is beyond comprehension.
“The European Trade Union Confederation supports British trade unions in their efforts to get a fair deal for working people at a time of soaring costs of living and after a decade of public service cuts in the UK.”
