Extending statutory protection to action short of dismissal for participating in industrial action: the Supreme Court on the right to strike in secretary of state for business and Trade v Mercer

Astrid Sanders

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: The Supreme Court in Mercer v Secretary of State for Business and Trade found there was a violation of the right to strike, under article 11 ECHR, when there is no legal protection against detriment short of dismissal for taking part in industrial action. Section 146 Trade Union Labour Relations Consolidation Act (‘TULRCA’) 1992, as currently construed, does not cover this situation. While the Supreme Court agreed with the Court of Appeal that it would not be appropriate to use section 3 Human Rights Act (‘HRA’) 1998 to re-interpret section 146 TULRCA in a Convention-compliant way; unlike the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court issued a rare declaration of incompatibility under section 4 HRA. It is suggested in this note that Mercer is significant for two main reasons. First and foremost, Mercer is significant for the Supreme Court’s recognition of, and finding of, a violation of, the right to strike. Second, Mercer contributes to the wider debate about the interplay between sections 3 and 4 HRA. The final part of the note reflects on the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Strasbourg case law whereby the Court in Mercer found article 11 ECHR requires stricter protection in this respect for public authority workers.

JEL-codes: J01 R14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 22 pages
Date: 2024-12-31
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in Industrial Law Journal, 31, December, 2024, 53(4), pp. 762 - 783. ISSN: 0305-9332

Downloads: (external link)
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/125445/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:125445

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library LSE Library Portugal Street London, WC2A 2HD, U.K.. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by LSERO Manager ().