Prime Minister lily-livered over strike laws, says Boris

By JAMES CHAPMAN FOR THE DAILY MAIL
Updated: 10:09 EST, 5 May 2011

David Cameron was branded 'lily-livered' by Boris Johnson last night for failing to tear up strike laws allowing militant trade unions to hold Britain to ransom.

In an extraordinary public attack, the Conservative Mayor of London condemned the Government for dragging its feet over demands for a higher bar before industrial action can be declared lawfully.

Mr Johnson is understood to be seething that the Prime Minister has not yet acted on what he says was a private commitment to overhaul strike legislation. The Mayor claims Mr Cameron indicated his readiness to act when the pair met several months ago.

Seething: Boris Johnson, left, is angry David Cameron has not overhauled strike laws claiming the Prime Minister indicated he was ready to act months ago

Last night, union leaders ordered the longest series of Tube strikes ever seen in London over two sacked train drivers. Millions of commuters will face travel chaos after the RMT called six days of walkouts over two weeks.

Mr Johnson was enraged after Downing Street yesterday backed the right of the drivers to take industrial action.

'Disruptions to London's transport network are not to be welcomed, but peaceful strikes are a democratic right,' the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.

Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, says the UK has 'some of the toughest legal restrictions on the right to strike in the advanced world'

Mr Johnson believes the strike demonstrates the urgent need for reform of the law - warning that the capital could be brought to its knees thanks to a strike ballot backed by just 29 per cent of 1,300 drivers.

The Mayor, backed by a growing number of Right-wing Conservative MPs, insists the threshold should be set at 50 per cent of the balloted union members.

There is currently no minimum number of union members who must vote in a ballot for strike action, meaning a militant few can bring about industrial action.

Mr Johnson, who is understood to have been dismayed by a lukewarm attitude from Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude when the pair met in recent days, said: 'The Government is in danger of being lily-livered about this, to be honest. I think this is an occasion where you need to have legislation.

'I don't think that it's right that a small minority of members of the workforce should be able to hold a great city to ransom.'

He added: 'I don't want my obvious anger and frustration to cloud the fact that when push comes to shove in the next couple of months, the overwhelming majority of people will turn up to work. I don't think the union will have the effect they think they will have with this strike.'

A source close to the Mayor added: 'He understands that ministers have to be sensitive to their coalition partners, who don't want to take on the unions, but the time has come to get on with it.

'We are not taking the fight to the unions - they are bringing it to us, and ordering strikes based on the support of tiny numbers of their members.'

The Confederation of British Industry has also called for a new threshold to make strikes harder to legitimise.

Walkouts: Union leaders ordered the longest series of Tube strikes ever seen in London over two sacked train drivers last night

Business leaders agree that an overhaul of the law is necessary to reflect the fact that 85 per cent of private sector employees are not members of a union.

As well as a threshold for strike ballots, they want employers to be able to use agency workers to cover for striking staff.

They also want the notice period for industrial action to increase from seven to 14 days after the ballot takes place to give the public and businesses more time to prepare for strikes.

They also say union members should hear both sides of the argument before voting in a strike ballot - with both employers and unions allowed to send short statements with the ballot papers.

Downing Street has insisted it has 'no plans to change strike legislation'.

And general secretary of the TUC Brendan Barber argues the UK already has 'some of the toughest legal restrictions on the right to strike in the advanced world'.