Scrapping anti-strike laws will put lives at risk by making it easier for NHS workers to walk out, experts warn
SCRAPPING anti-strike laws will put lives at risk by making it easier for NHS workers to walk out, it’s been claimed.
Ministers are poised to buckle to union barons’ pressure to abandon “minimum service levels” limiting the impact of industrial action in healthcare.
The move could mean A&E departments left empty leaving patients at risk, experts say.
Shadow Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said it could lead to hospitals having concerns over “safe staffing levels”.
She added it could lead to “urgent appointments cancelled, wards closing at short notice and emergency care being compromised”.
The new Employment Rights Bill will abandon Tory laws that forced unions to keep a minimum level of service.
There are fears it could mean strikes across the NHS, schools, ambulances, Border Force and rail services.
Cancer specialist Professor Karol Sikora said the move “could put the sickest patients at serious risk of harm” and could even see “empty A&Es”.
The proposals set to be announced tomorrow have been devised by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
A Government spokesperson last night said: “This government is committed to getting public services back on track and putting an end to strikes.”