SENIOR government ministers, officials, experts and former advisers who helped draft the new anti-strike legislation repeatedly rubbished the plans, Labour revealed today.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper admitted to a select committee last month that minimum transport service legislation is “not a solution to dealing with the industrial action we see at the moment.”

He said: “While that legislation may well improve the service that passengers receive on strike days, my priority is to try to ensure we resolve the industrial dispute, so that passengers don’t have strike days.

“That is how you get better service to passengers.”

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers union and train drivers at Aslef have been taking industrial action this week, kicking off the new year strikes, over poor pay and conditions and safety concerns.

Former transport adviser to No 10 Andrew Gilligan, who helped design the new laws, said the legislation may “promote more industrial action than they mitigate” and will not “ensure smooth running rail services,” according to Labour.

“When the negotiations fail, as they probably will, and minimum service agreements are imposed by the Central Arbitration Committee, expect court cases,” he wrote in an article for Policy Exchange.

And the chief executive of the Rail Safety Standards Board said new legislation “won’t make the slightest bit of difference.”

Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said: “The government openly accept this damaging, counter-productive legislation could increase disruption and strike days on the rail network.

“Rather than forcing through legislation that could exacerbate disruption and undermine workers’ rights, the government should show some responsibility, get around the table and start negotiating to find a deal.”

According to the Department for Transport’s (DfT) impact assessment of minimum service laws in the transport sector in October, the legislation could increase the number of strikes or other industrial action and exacerbate the chronic staff shortage responsible for widespread disruption on non-strike days.

“In the event that staff do lose their jobs as a result of failing to report for work when rostered to cover for [minimum service levels], an unintended consequence could be that if a material number of workers have their employment terminated,” the report said.  

“Then employers may find that they are low on staff to run normal services if the situation becomes extreme.”