weeklycommuter
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Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023
www.legislation.gov.uk
(1)The Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument make provision that is consequential on this Act.
(3) A statutory instrument containing (whether alone or with other provision) regulations under this section that amend or repeal provision made by primary legislation may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.
(4) Any other statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
Power of Secretary of State to specify minimum service levels
(1)The Secretary of State may, for the purpose of enabling work notices under section 234C to be given, make provision by regulations for levels of service in relation to strikes as respects relevant services (“minimum service regulations”).
Work notices relating to minimum service levels
(1)Where minimum service regulations have been made as respects a relevant service, an employer may give a work notice to a trade union in relation to any strike
(5) A work notice must not identify more persons than are reasonably necessary for the purpose of providing the levels of service under the minimum service regulations.
It is for the train operator not Government ministers to decide whether or not to give a work notice with the aim of operating the number of services under the minimum service regulations, the train operator does not have to do this and it would appear they can legally only do so for a set of services that is agreed to be the minimum service level of 40% of the operator’s timetabled services during the strike.
Train operation services
Where a strike affects passenger train operation services, the MSL is the equivalent of 40% of the operator’s timetabled services during the strike.
But what does that mean? The following are listed as timetabled services
Brockenhurst to Lymington Pier 10 minutes
Weymouth to London Waterloo 3 hours
Is it 40% of the number of timetabled services from start station to end station? So 40% of services could be made up of the shortest services which would be a lot less than 40% of the total run time of all the train services run by the train operator during the strike? Or the longest services which would be a lot more then 40% of the total run time?
The following means that the 40% of train services whatever that is means it is in effect a ceiling not a floor on the services that an train operator can attempt to provide during a strike should the train operator decide to attempt to do so. The train operator would not be able to issue work notices for a service level more than the MSL. If more than one possible sets of services were identified which were agreed to meet the MSL would the train operator have to choose the set of services which requires the lowest number of people identified as necessary to provide the set of services?
(5) A work notice must not identify more persons than are reasonably necessary for the purpose of providing the levels of service under the minimum service regulations.
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