Published on :

19/04/2024

Category :

National

Topics :

Right to strike and collective action

In bringing a Judicial review challenge against the introduction of the 2022 Regulations, the unions argued that the decision to repeal regulation 7 was unlawful because:

 

  1. The then Secretary of State for business failed to consult unions, as required by the Employment Agencies Act 1973.
  2. It undermined the human right to strike, protected by Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

In the High Court judgment, the judge found that the decision by the then-business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng not to consult unions, as required by the Employment Agencies Act 1973, was “… so unfair as to be unlawful and, indeed, irrational.”

The High Court legal challenge was brought by eleven trade unions, ASLEF, BFAWU, FDA, GMB, NEU, NUJ, POA, PCS, RMT, Unite and Usdaw, coordinated by the TUC and represented by Thompsons Solicitors LLP. The UK Government decided not to appeal the judgement.

For more information, please refer to the press release by Thompson Solicitors, here and to the article published by the Institute of Employment Rights, here.

To learn more about the legal battles being conducted by UK unions on the Right to Strike, see a previous ETUCLEX article, here.