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 box on page 130). UK strike laws have been criticised repeatedly, including by the ILO and by the European Committee on Social Rights (ECSR). 



The human right to freedom of association under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention) 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 and Tymoshenko v Ukraine [2014] ECHR 1016). However, the European Court of Human Rights has refused to declare unlawful the UK ban on secondary action, concluding instead that national courts have a wide “margin of appreciation” (that is, significant freedom) to make laws to limit secondary action (RMT v UK [2014] ECHR 366).