International criticism

The UK’s approach to industrial action infringes international laws and conventions, including International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, ratified by the UK in 1949 (see Chapter 5, pages 145-146: International labour laws and conventions). UK strike laws have been criticised repeatedly, including by the ILO and by the European Committee on Social Rights, the body that monitors the application of the Council of Europe Social Charter.

The human right to freedom of association under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights includes the right to bargain collectively (Demir and Baykara v Turkey [2009] IRLR 766) and the right to strike (RMT v UK [2014] ECHR 366, Ognevenko v Russia [2019] Application No. 44873/09). However, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has refused to declare unlawful the UK ban on secondary action. Instead, the ECHR says that national governments have a wide “margin of appreciation” (that is to say, a lot of freedom) to make laws to limit secondary action (RMT v UK [2014] ECHR 366).