“The announcement of a consultation on whether to remove the prohibition on use of agency workers in strikes is a disappointment, given the scale of opposition from employers and workers to the previous proposal. We will represent the views of agencies fully in response to the consultation.
“Neither agencies or trade unions think this change promotes effective strike resolution or protects agency workers. Strikes are industrial disputes within a single industry or firm. Inserting a third party like this into an industrial dispute may end up extending the dispute, not least by inflaming tensions.
“It is also puzzling that the government assumes agency staff will choose a role that requires them to cross a picket line versus one that doesn’t, when we have two million job postings in the UK.”
