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THE UK GOVERNMENT has introduced proposals to make “minimum safety levels” compulsory during strikes, prompting angry unions to accuse ministers of “criminalising” industrial action and threaten legal challenges.
The new law will require minimum levels of service during walkouts by various workers, including healthcare staff, firefighters and railway employees, “to ensure that vital public services will have to maintain a basic function”.
It follows months of disruptive stoppages across the private and public sectors, as decades-high inflation fuels the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation and demands for hefty pay rises.
“We do not want to use this legislation, but we must ensure the safety of the British public,” Business Secretary Grant Shapps told MPs as he introduced the bill in parliament.
He said the government would consult “on what an adequate level of coverage looks like” for emergency responders and rail workers.
Meanwhile ministers would bid to strike agreements on levels in other sectors covered by the bill, including health, education, border security and nuclear decommissioning.
“This is a common-sense approach and we’re not the first to follow it,” he added, noting European neighbours had similar rules.
But unions locked in pay disputes with the government and employers savaged the plan, arguing that it undermines the right to strike.
“The government should be putting money in our members’ pockets, not trying to put our members behind bars,” said Mark Serwotka, head of the PCS union representing civil servants and others involved in recent walkouts.
“Criminalising the people who keep our borders safe is not the way to resolve an industrial dispute,” he said, referring to striking Border Force staff.
“It’s reprehensible, provocative and vindictive, and we’ll fight the legislation every step of the way.”
Other unions echoed the criticism, with TUC general secretary Paul Nowak calling the plans “undemocratic, unworkable, and almost certainly illegal”.
Labour, which is part-funded by 11 trade unions, has said it would repeal any such legislation that makes it onto the statute books ahead of the next general election, due within two years.
Deputy Leader Angela Rayner, a former senior official for the Unison trade union, accused the government of “playing politics with nurses’ and teachers’ lives”.
Addressing lawmakers after Shapps, she said: “We need negotiation, not legislation.”
Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who only took power 11 weeks ago, has insisted recession-hit Britain cannot afford to reopen public sector pay already set for this fiscal year, which ends on 31 March.
He has hinted at the possibility of more flexibility in agreeing upcoming salary deals, handled by pay review bodies whose independence from government has been questioned.
Unions are unwilling to accept that and the ensuing standoff with various sectors from health to the civil service to the railways, has led to months of crippling strikes.
Five days of walkouts last week on the rail network, which is largely run by private firms but under condition-heavy government contracts limiting their autonomy, left city centres deserted compared to normal weekdays.
Businesses and economists have pointed to the heavy fallout for the country’s struggling economy.
Meanwhile industrial action by nurses — the first in their union’s 106-year history — and paramedics has stretched the already severely strained National Health Service (NHS).
Ambulance workers in England and Wales will walk out again on Wednesday while nurses will follow suit again next week.
Talks yesterday between unions and government ministers appeared to make little headway, with a nurses’ union leader branding their meeting “bitterly disappointing”.
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How many people are using the train from Howth versus coming from all the way down the East Coast from Drogheda? I can’t see Howth residents winning this. Nor should they really……
They’re not being cut off, they’re just being asked to join the main line. And if it increases the number of trains surely that’s a good thing overall?
@Tricia G: yeah it’s probably the sensible change.It won’t be without issues though. Irish rail/gardai will probably have to address howth junction station. It’s like a ghetto at the best of times. And the howth train is brimming with tourists daily (1000s on the weekends) who will need changover here. It’s also a busy enough commute but I dont know the numbers exactly.Then there will be the knock on effect of traffic on the Dublin road with people deciding not to take train. And also parking in howth (which is currently free) if people find it more hassle too get train. There is also a massive apartment complex being built beside howth station. Bound to increase demand.
I can understand why they are complaining. Most people don’t want to be inconvenienced but it happens I guess.
@Tricia G: it’s looks like that the entire area from Lusk to Drogheda will become a huge Dublin suburb. There’s a lot of housing developments in Lusk, Rush, Skerries, Balbriggan, Laytown, Bettystown and Morington. The DART will encourage even more developments.
@Tricia G: many people may have bought a house in Howth because of the DART line. Why not just do both, there are already separate DARTS to Howth and Malahide. Start building a proper public network around the city and into the suburbs not along the coast.
@Tipper Irie: because we haven’t built any new rail since the Brits were here as far as I know and wont have any for a long time. DART+ will just be using the existing lines which are already congested, it’s not as simple as just putting more direct trains from Howth.
@Tipper Irie: Only so many trains can operate at a time. MAYBE yes, one “express” train an hour perhaps with all others requiring a change but implementation and timing is challenging.
@Paul Furey: I’d argue they’re already part of the “Dublin suburb” and a better public transport system is required to reduce the numbers currently forced to drive.
@Tipper Irie: more efficient logistically doing it with the shuttle train…… Inconvenient for the people from Howth line who won’t be virtually guaranteed a seat
@Colm Kane: As someone who used to commute on a train from the first stop so I always got a seat, this is the bit I’d be raging about.
That would suck, to go from always getting a seat to having to stand because you’re joining halfway down the line.
@Paul Furey: They have all been surburbs for years!
@Colm Kane: Everyone is changing trains the shuttles run from Howth Junction to the city!
@Tricia G: as someone from Howth who depends on the dart daily I think it’s a disgrace! Why should we have to change over? There just needs to be an increased frequency and capacity over all!
And to answer your comment about how many people use the service, it’s a hell of a lot and would have a much greater impact on our local economy than drogheda
@James Moore: you should have to change because in doing this it makes the dart a better service for way more people than live in howth while only inconveniencing you a little
@eoin fitzpatrick: it’s not just inconveniencing me it’s 100s of local passengers per day not to mention the amount of tourists who come out to Howth. Also there is only one road in and out of Howth and the traffic is already bad and making people change darts will only encourage the people affected by this proposed change to drive therefore making the traffic worse! The people who live on the train line have much more options in terms of different routes they can take if forced to drive than those of us on the proposed affected side
@James Moore: it’s not just about Drogheda though, is it? It’s about a population more than 5 times bigger, possibly 10, actually getting a service that works. So a hell of a lot more. Howth will still have a service, and a far better one than up the coast at the moment. So cut the selfish moaning, and look at the bigger picture.
Honestly we need to do whatever works best for the greater amount of people. If people from Howth have to change big deal. We can’t have a few moaners bring the quality of services down overall. This kind of stuff is what holds this country’s infrastructure back.
@eoin fitzpatrick: it won’t bring the quality of the service down to keep both tracks running to the city directly if they increase the capacity and frequency of trains! Everywhere is experiencing development and issues with public transport so it is madness to suggest to ask a sizeable amount of commuters to change and make their commute even longer! The train is packed from bayside onwards
@James Moore: they can’t do this as the line is already too congested
@eoin fitzpatrick: exactly this. “sacrificed for Drogheda” – such hysterical hyperbole.
If you are a resident in Howth, Sutton, Baldoyle, or surrounding areas, or even travelling that general direction, there are 3 level crossings in very close proximity. Unless trains can fly, the extra capacity and frequency will cause massive traffic jams at level crossings, which will have a severe impact on school runs or shopping. It will also kill a struggling tourist market in Howth. Myopic planning proposal, in my opinion.
@B2dL Me/You: true. Fair point.
@B2dL Me/You: They are closing the level crossings!
@B2dL Me/You: well said. Traffic is already really bad when the gates are down at the moment, so their proposal will mean gates will be down for 30 mins of every hour. Can you imagine the tailbacks which will affect those trying to get to Sutton and Howth and those trying to get to the Airport/ M50. Not alone that but extra capacity will be needed due to the hundreds of apartments they’re building. There has to be a better alternative (perhaps reduce the number of darts from Howth / to Howth, but make them express). They are trying to make public transport attractive to all, this proposal certainly defeats that. It’s so Irish, keep on building out in the suburbs but don’t build any new infrastructure to support it.
After moving from Bayside to Rush last year I can honestly say that I don’t believe this is a great idea. The Dart is rammed at rush hour from Bayside onwards. I have yet to get on a busier train from Rush. And absolutely nobody lives near the Rush & Lusk station, it’s bizarre.
@Jen Mc: pretty sure there will be a lot more trains running so that might help congestion
@eoin fitzpatrick: would you want to have change trains? I wouldn’t, especially in winter. Considering they don’t even match up the bus and train out in Rush, I can’t see this being a case where you step off the train at Howth Junction and catch a train to town straight away.
@Jen Mc: if only there was a solution to having crowded trains….I dunno maybe increase frequency and capacity …oh wait that’s what being proposed ?? And some people don’t think it’s a good idea to add more trains double capacity and more frequent services ……because the existing services are too full ?
Hmmm…
@Jen Mc: Rush&Lusk is hardly typical of the entire line. Nor is linking train/bus timetables particularly relevant to coordinating trains with each other. It’s desperately needed further north, and cocooned Howth-dwellers need to wake up and smell the coffee.
Howth Junction/ kilbarrack was always a hub of anti social behaviour. Now add thousands of visitors/ normal travellers to Baldoyle, Bayside, Sutton and Howth. The beach at Sutton and Howth are literally packed when the sun comes out. From May to September, burrow Road is like a pedestrian area and cars are backed up from Clontarf up to Howth on the coast road. Guards have trouble keeping peace in Sutton and Howth and now all these 1000′s of additional passengers will have to stand at Howth Junction together. Initially they proposed a bus from Howth Junction and now a feeder train.
Massive immigration is fueling the need for more trains, schools, hospitals etc.. Population in Ireland went up by 90,000 last year alone. Metro Boston, MA has added about 1M more people in the past 30 years. Cramming people into small spaces is not a great strategy.
@Paulco: cramming people into small spaces actually is a great strategy compared to spreading people out in urban sprawl
@Paulco: 90,000 is an anomaly, if you look at Ireland’s 30 year pattern. And really it’s an underpopulated country. People have just got very used to space for increased urban sprawl, without proper increase in infrastructure. So now both issues need to be tackled.
Eamonn Ryan keeps going on about using public transport yet the Dart does not operate before 0900 on a Sunday.
If the new proposals to change at Howth Junction dont guarantee a seat maybe its time to start driving instead. Also the journey time is longer and more inconvenient
And yet still no Dart to Balbriggan! Only the south side gets it all the way to Greystones!!
Why not keep the current system, add a track, do direct Dublin to Drogheda and back peak hours and a slow one with more stops including one to change onto the Howth Dublin line.
@Colm Molloy: because that bypasses all the other places that need a proper service, perhaps?
I see Eoin Fitzpatrick wants to live in a glorified Ballymun tower where kids have no green space and live 14 stories up in the air. No wonder couples aren’t having as many kids anymore.
@Paulco: much of the world live in apartment towers not everyone is afraid of having neighbours. if you’re concerned with lack of green spaces, dense living in 14 stories is what you should be promoting. If everyone in dense cities were to move into sprawled out suburbs and one offs it would take up far more space and leave less areas green. pretty straightforward.
@Paulco: not all high-rise is the same as Ballymun, which seems to be thrown out as a hysterical buzzword whenever such plans are suggested. The error there was building a ready-made ghetto.
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