The government’s decision to repeal laws that restrict employers from using agency workers to during industrial action is being challenged in the High Court this week.
Trade unions claim the repeal is unlawful because the government failed to consult with them as required by the Employment Agencies Act 1973.
They also claim the new regulations violate rights protected by Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to form and join a trade union.
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The government announced it was repealing the agency worker ban in June 2022 amid the first rail strikes in the current industrial dispute.
Kwasi Kwarteng, the then business secretary in Boris Johnson’s government, said at the time: “Once again trade unions are holding the country to ransom by grinding crucial public services and businesses to a halt. The situation we are in is not sustainable.
“Repealing these 1970s-era restrictions will give businesses freedom to access fully skilled staff at speed, all while allowing people to get on with their lives uninterrupted to help keep the economy ticking.”
A case brought by Unison will be heard at the High Court on 3-4 May alongside two parallel cases, brought by the NASUWT and the TUC, whose case is on behalf of 11 unions including the RMT.
Unison director of legal services Adam Creme said today described the repeal of the agency worker ban as “impractical and dangerous”. He said: “These regulations allow employers to bus in people who are not qualified with the sole intention of breaking legitimate industrial action.
“Unison is deeply concerned about this government’s repeated attempts to remove rights from workers and trade unions.”
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has described the proposals as “unworkable”, while the House of Lords Committee charged with scrutinising the legislation said there was a “lack of robust evidence” and that the benefit of using agency workers would be limited.
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The TUC reported the UK government to the UN workers’ rights watchdog, the International Labour Organization (ILO), over its anti-union stance, arguing that changes to the agency worker regulations are in breach of international law.
