Union chief calls on Welsh and Scottish governments to help defeat Minimum Service Levels Bill

Devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland could play a crucial role in blocking implementation of the Government’s planned law on minimum levels of service during strikes, union leaders said.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has written to political leaders in both nations calling for a meeting to plan a campaign against the Minimum Service Levels Bill.

The legislation is being debated in Parliament and is set to become law by the summer.

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack called on the Scottish and Welsh governments to convene government-led summits with unions with a view to “launching a united campaign of resistance” against the legislation, which he said is an “authoritarian attempt to effectively outlaw strikes in many sectors”.

The legislation has been criticised by the Scottish Government and, earlier this week, the UK Government suffered a series of defeats in the House of Lords during a debate on the Bill.

Mr Wrack wrote: “By bringing together a campaign of non-compliance, including by devolved administrations, a strategy of non-co-operation and non-compliance could make it inoperable.”