Trade unions yesterday condemned Tory threats to ban strikes after Downing Street dropped a bombshell, confirming that Tory leader Cameron is ‘considering’ just that.
London Mayor Johnson had urged Cameron to ‘get a move on’ and ban Tube strikes and, along with the CBI, urged MPs to back a Tory private members bill which would require unions to get a minimum of 50 per cent of the workers entitled to vote backing the industrial action in a ballot.
Transport Secretary Hammond told MPs on Thursday that RMT strike decisions were ‘highly irresponsible’.
He claimed: ‘No one in this government is spoiling for a fight with the unions, but the unions appear to be spoiling for a fight with London.’
A Unison spokesman told News Line: ‘This country already has some of the most draconian anti-trade union laws.
‘People have the right to withdraw their labour.
‘Any attempt to tighten the law would be met by opposition by the unions and their members.’
TUC head of employment rights, Sarah Veale, said: ‘The best way to tackle industrial disputes is to have sensible negotiations rather than try to rig the law on ballots.
‘Boris Johnson’s proposals are profoundly undemocratic as they effectively turn an abstention into a vote against strike action.’
The RMT confirmed yesterday that sacked Bakerloo Line tube driver Eamonn Lynch has won his employment tribunal case for unfair dismissal. He was sacked for carrying out trade union activities.
Eamonn Lynch’s case is one of two unfair dismissals that sparked this week’s announcement of ten days of tube strike action.
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said: ‘We welcome Eamonn’s victory in the tribunal and we are calling for an immediate meeting with London Underground in the light of the ruling that he was unfairly dismissed for his trade union activities.
‘With the clear parallel with Arywn Thomas’s case, there is now an urgent need for London Underground to meet with the RMT to set out a plan for a return to work that can avoid plunging London into two blocks of strike action that everyone knows will lead to massive disruption.
‘The tribunal has found in favour of the RMT, justice has been done, and now we need to meet with the company to finalise arrangements that can enable us to move forwards as quickly as possible.’
The RMT also announced that it is preparing to ballot driver members on the Jubilee Line for action short of a strike in a dispute over attempts by management to ride roughshod over agreed safety procedures.