In an intervention following the calling of the general election, the Fire Brigades Union has called for the scrapping of the anti-union laws.
From the union’s Annual Conference in Blackpool, FBU general secretary Matt Wrack set out the damage caused by 14 years of Tory rule to living standards and public services.
He said it was time to “end the Thatcherite experiment that wrecked Britain” and that the country needed “strong trade unions to turn things around”.
The Labour Party has committed to delivering the New Deal for Working People – which includes commitments to scrap the Minimum Service Levels Act and the 2016 Trade Union Act – within 100 days of a Labour government.
Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said:
“Fourteen years of Tory rule have left working people poor, angry and desperate for change. We have suffered the worst drop in wages in 200 years. Public services, including the fire service, are in crisis.
“It’s time to end the Thatcherite experiment that wrecked Britain. Decades of deregulation, privatisation and attacks on workers have delivered nothing but misery for communities up and down the country.
“We need strong trade unions to turn things around. The next government under Keir Starmer must scrap the anti-union laws that stop workers standing up for themselves.
“The Minimum Service Levels Act bans many public sector workers from striking even when they have voted democratically to do so.
“Labour’s New Deal for Working People sets out a plan to scrap this authoritarian law, along with the 2016 Trade Union Act, as well as delivering a package of reforms to boost workers’ rights.
“The FBU will fight to get rid of the Tories and to see this package delivered within 100 days of a Labour government.”
