On Friday 20 October the government announced Minimum Service Levels (MSLs) to “protect children and young people’s education”, to be introduced in schools and colleges. The Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, has written to union leaders inviting them to discuss proposals on a voluntary basis in the first instance. In her letter she is clear that should a voluntary agreement not be reached the government is committed to using powers granted through the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act that was introduced earlier this year.
This is clear evidence of the government’s view that public sector workers should not be free to take strike action in certain sectors, constituting – in many people’s minds – a retrograde step towards authoritarianism (e.g. see this article). Not surprisingly the TUC strongly opposes the introduction of minimum service levels. In their statement they said “We believe that the regime initiated by the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 is draconian, unnecessary and unworkable.” The National Education Union shares this view; Daniel Kebede, General Secretary, stated “The NEU strongly oppose the introduction of MSLs. We do not acknowledge the validity of MSLs given their impact on the fundamental right to strike, therefore we do not believe this is an appropriate topic for the Government or Department for Education to regulate.”
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