Quick thread on industrial action & the call for a #GeneralStrike to try & set out the limits of this & what might work better
when workers go on strike they are usually in breach of their contract of employment/contract for services
when workers go on strike they are usually in breach of their contract of employment/contract for services
But there are specific statutory immunities that mean workers can take industrial action without being sued for breach of contract and other stuff. Because this is 🇬🇧, these statutory immunities have restrictions around how ballots etc must be conducted, notice to employers etc
The big one in terms of a #GeneralStrike is that for the statutory immunities to apply there must be a trade dispute, and the action must be called in connection with the trade dispute
Which means - a general strike called over who getting the Tories out or energy price rises won’t meet this condition. It’s not a trade dispute. And if you’re not protected by the statutory immunities, you can be sued for breach of contract - plus, any suppliers/customers of the
Employer whose business is disrupted can also sue.
Which means - for a #GeneralStrike to be effective and to work we either need to take part in sufficient numbers (“can’t sue us all”, etc), or we need as a first step to coordinate the industrial action that is happening *now*
Which means - for a #GeneralStrike to be effective and to work we either need to take part in sufficient numbers (“can’t sue us all”, etc), or we need as a first step to coordinate the industrial action that is happening *now*
Which is what I was hoping for from the TUC tbh - a call and a clear plan for getting the posties, railways workers, lecturers, NHS staff, dock workers, bus drivers and everybody else to strike together (or on different bit coordinated days of that would cause most disruption)
But they can’t even manage that. It’s petitions, and vague ‘join a union’ chat - so we’re a long way off them throwing caution to the wind & calling a general strike. But, our unions can & should work without them. Coordinate the action, fuck things up for the British state
That’s what we’re going to need, and that’s what the focus should be - so don’t just join a union, get active in the one you’re already in and start pushing your bureaucrats for coordinated action asap. Strike together, win together imho
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