Gareth Bacon
Main Page: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)Department Debates - View all Gareth Bacon's debates with the Department for Transport
(5 days, 22 hours ago)
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Gareth Bacon (Orpington) (Con)
When the Government handed the ASLEF trade union an eye-watering £9 billion pay agreement in the summer, they promised that it would
“protect passengers from further national strikes”.
Yet recently the Secretary of State said on national television that
“there will be occasions on which strikes will be necessary”.
Will she provide the House with an example of a necessary strike?
Heidi Alexander
The hon. Gentleman will know that I have extensive experience from my time in London, where we did take strikes when safety was at risk. That is one direct example that I can give him.
Gareth Bacon
The Secretary of State will be aware that in response to her Department’s recent rail consultation, the trade unions welcomed her plan and said that a just transition to nationalisation would mean the levelling up of pay and conditions for rail workers. The cost of that to the taxpayer could be considerable. Would she consider a strike over harmonising pay and conditions to be a necessary strike?