Editing Strike action (section)

==Legal prohibitions==

=== Canada ===
On 30 January 2015, the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] ruled that there is a constitutional right to strike.<ref>''Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v Saskatchewan'', 2015 SCC 4</ref> In this 5–2 majority decision, [[Rosalie Abella|Justice Rosalie Abella]] ruled that "[a]long with their right to associate, speak through a bargaining representative of their choice, and bargain collectively with their employer through that representative, the right of employees to strike is vital to protecting the meaningful process of collective bargaining…" [paragraph 24]. This decision adopted the dissent by [[Brian Dickson|Chief Justice Brian Dickson]] in a 1987 Supreme Court ruling on a [[reference case]] brought by the province of [[Alberta]] (''[[Reference Re Public Service Employee Relations Act (Alta)]]''). The exact scope of this right to strike remains unclear.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.slaw.ca/2015/02/01/finding-more-meaning-in-the-future-of-labour-law/|title=Finding More "Meaning" in the Future of Labour Law – Slaw|last=Ha-Redeye|first=Omar|date=1 February 2015|language=en-US|access-date=3 July 2019}}</ref>

Prior to this Supreme Court decision, the federal and provincial governments had the ability to introduce "back-to-work legislation", a [[special law]] that blocks the strike action (or a lockout) from happening or continuing. Canadian governments could also have imposed [[binding arbitration]] or a new contract on the disputing parties. Back-to-work legislation was first used in 1950 during a railway strike, and as of 2012 had been used 33 times by the federal government for those parts of the economy that are regulated federally (grain handling, rail and air travel, and the postal service), and in more cases provincially. In addition, certain parts of the economy can be proclaimed "[[essential services]]" in which case all strikes are illegal.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/faq-back-to-work-legislation-1.1000525|title=FAQ: Back-to-work legislation}}</ref>

Examples include when the government of Canada passed back-to-work legislation during the 2011 [[Canada Post]] lockout and the 2012 [[CP Rail]] strike, thus effectively ending the strikes. In 2016, the government's use of back-to-work legislation during the 2011 Canada Post lockout was ruled unconstitutional, with the judge specifically referencing the Supreme Court of Canada's 2015 decision in ''[[Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v Saskatchewan]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://canliiconnects.org/en/summaries/42968|title=Ontario judge finds back-to-work legislation aimed at postal workers violates Charter|website=canliiconnects.org}}</ref>

===People's Republic of China and the former Soviet Union===
{{main|Trade unions in the Soviet Union|All-China Federation of Trade Unions}}
[[File:Strajk sierpniowy w Stoczni Gdańskiej im. Lenina 09.jpg|thumb|[[Gdańsk Shipyard|Lenin Shipyard workers]], Poland, on strike in August 1980, with the name of the state-controlled trade union crossed out in protest]]

In some [[Marxist–Leninist]] states, such as the [[People's Republic of China]], striking was illegal and viewed as [[counter-revolutionary]], and labor strikes are considered to be [[taboo]] in most East Asian cultures. In 1976, China signed the [[International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights]], which guaranteed the right to unions and striking, but Chinese officials declared that they had no interest in allowing these liberties.<ref>"Still waiting for Nike to do it," by Tim Connor, page 70.</ref> In June 2008, the municipal government in the [[Shenzhen Special Economic Zone]] introduced draft labor regulations, which a [[labor rights]] advocacy group says would, if implemented and enforced, virtually restore Chinese workers' right to strike.<ref>[http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1173682 'Factory to the world will soon get the right to strike'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703064242/http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1173682 |date=3 July 2008 }}, by Venkatesan Vembu, [[Daily News and Analysis]], 26 June 2008.</ref> {{Obsolete source|reason=It is unlikely that the legislation has stayed in the draft stage for over 13 years. More recent citations are needed about whether the legislation has been passed or not.|date=April 2022}}

In the Soviet Union, strikes occurred throughout the existence of the USSR, most notably in the 1930s. After World War II, they diminished both in number and in scale.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Orlov V.N. |author2=Bogdanov S.V. |title=КОЛЛЕКТИВНЫЕ ТРУДОВЫЕ КОНФЛИКТЫ В СССР В 1930-1950-х гг.: ПРИЧИНЫ ВОЗНИКНОВЕНИЯ, ФОРМЫ ПРОТЕКАНИЯ, СПОСОБЫ РАЗРЕШЕНИЯ|trans-title=COLLECTIVE LABOR CONFLICTS IN THE USSR IN 1930-1950s: REASONS OF OCCURRENCE, FORMS, WAYS OF RESOLUTION|url=http://www.yurclub.ru/docs/other/article143.html|language=ru}}</ref> [[Trade unions in the Soviet Union]] served in part as a means to educate workers about the country's economic system. [[Vladimir Lenin]] referred to trade unions as "Schools of Communism".{{Citation needed paragraph|date=March 2021|reason=The preceding two sentences require citations to reliable sources.}}

===France===
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2021}}[[File:La grève des mineurs du Pas-de-Calais, 1906.jpg|thumb|Strike in [[Pas-de-Calais]] (1906)]]

[[File:Display of demands during the 2016 Verisure strike in Châtenay-Malabry - NAO - 2016-03-31.jpg|thumb|Display of demands during a strike in 2016 at [[Verisure]], a French security company]]

In [[France]], the first law aimed at limiting the ability of workers to take collective action was the [[Le Chapelier Law]], passed by the [[National Assembly (French Revolution)|National Assembly]] on 14 June 1791 and which introduced the "crime of coalition." In his speech in support of the law, the titular author [[Isaac René Guy le Chapelier]] explained that it "must be without a doubt permitted for all citizens to assemble," but he maintained that it "must not be permitted for citizens from certain professions to assemble for their so-called common interests."<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P7I9AAAAYAAJ |title=Réimpression de l'Ancien Moniteur |year=1841 |location=Paris |page=661 |language=fr}}</ref>

Strike actions were specifically banned with the passage of [[Napoleon]]'s [[French Penal Code of 1810]]. Article 415 of the Code declared that participants in an attempted strike action would be subject to an imprisonment of between one and three months and that the organizers of the attempted strike action would be subject to an imprisonment of between two and five years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=France: Penal Code of 1810 |url=https://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/france/penalcode/c_penalcode3b.html |access-date=2023-07-24 |website=www.napoleon-series.org}}</ref>

The right to strike under the current [[French Fifth Republic]] has been recognized and guaranteed by the [[French Constitution of 27 October 1946#Preamble|Preamble to the French Constitution of 27 October 1946]] ever since the [[Constitutional Council (France)|Constitutional Council]]'s 1971 [[Décision Liberté d'association|decision on the freedom of association]] recognized that document as being invested with constitutional value.

A "minimum service" during strikes in public transport was a promise of [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] during his campaign for the French presidential election. A law "on social dialogue and continuity of public service in regular terrestrial transports of passengers" was adopted on 12 August 2007, and it took effect on 1 January 2008.

=== Italy ===
In Italy, the right to strike is guaranteed by the [[Constitution of Italy|Constitution]] ([[s:Constitution of Italy#Article 40|article 40]]). The law number 146 of 1990 and law number 83 of 2000<ref>{{cite web
 | url = https://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/00083l.htm
 | title = Legge 11 Aprile 2000, n. 83
 | publisher = Gazzetta Ufficiale}}</ref> regulate the strike actions. In particular, they impose limitations for the strikes of workers in public essential services, i.e., the ones that "guarantee the [[personality rights]] of life, health, freedom and security, movements, assistance and welfare, education, and communications". These limitations provide a minimum guarantee for these services and punish violations. Similar limitations are applied to workers in the private sector whose strike can affect public services. The employer is explicitly forbidden to apply sanctions to employees participating to the strikes, with the exception of the aforementioned essential services cases.

The [[Government of Italy|government]], under exceptional circumstances, can impose the ''precettazione'' of the strike, i.e., can force the postponement, cancellation or duration reduction of a national-wide strike. The [[Prime Minister of Italy|prime minister]] has to justify the decision of applying the ''precettazione'' in front of the [[Italian Parliament|parliament]]. For local strikes, ''precettazione'' can also be applied by a decision of the [[prefect]]. The employees refusing to work after the ''precettazione'' takes effect may be subject of a sanction or even a penal action (for a maximum of 4 years of prison) if the illegal strike causes the suspension of an essential service.

''Precettazione'' has been rarely applied, usually after several days of strikes affecting transport or fuel services or extraordinary events. Recent cases include the cancellation of the 2015 strike of the [[Azienda Trasporti Milanesi|company providing transportation services in Milan]] during [[Expo 2015]], and the 2007 ''precettazione'' to stop the strike of the [[truck driver]]s that was causing food and fuel shortage after several days of strike.

===United Kingdom===
Legislation was enacted in the aftermath of the [[British police strikes in 1918 and 1919|1919 police strikes]], forbidding [[British police]] from both taking industrial action, and discussing the possibility with colleagues.<ref name=bbcsp/>

In January 1951 during the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] [[Attlee ministry]], [[Attorney-General]] [[Hartley Shawcross]] left [[Shawcross principle|his name to a Parliamentary principle]] in a defense of his conduct regarding an illegal strike: that the Attorney-General "is not to be put, and is not put, under pressure by his colleagues in the matter" of whether or not to establish [[criminal proceedings]].<ref name="hsp">{{cite journal |last1=Shawcross |first1=Hartley |title=Prosecutions (Attorney-General's Responsibility) |journal=Hansard |date=29 January 1951 |volume=House of Commons Debates |issue=c681 |url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=1951-01-29a.679.0}}</ref><ref name="rhhsp">{{cite news |last1=Heintzman |first1=Ralph |title=The real meaning of the SNC-Lavalin affair |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-real-meaning-of-the-snc-lavalin-affair/ |publisher=The Globe and Mail Inc |date=16 May 2020}}</ref>

The [[Industrial Relations Act 1971]] was repealed through the [[Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974]], sections of which were repealed by the [[Employment Act 1982]].

The [[Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notices]], and sections 22 and 25 of the [[Employment Relations Act 2004]], which concern industrial action notices, commenced on 1 October 2005.

The [[Police Federation of England and Wales|Police Federation]], which was created at the time to deal with employment grievances and to provide representation to police officers, attempted to put pressure on the [[Third Blair ministry|Blair ministry]] and at the time repeatedly threatened strike action.<ref name=bbcsp>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6920416.stm|title=Police in strike action threat|publisher=BBC News|date=28 July 2007}}</ref>

Prison officers have gained and lost the right to strike over the years; in the 2010s, despite it being illegal, they walked out on 15 November 2016,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9256125/Prison-officers-stage-unofficial-walkout-on-day-of-public-sector-action.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9256125/Prison-officers-stage-unofficial-walkout-on-day-of-public-sector-action.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Prison officers stage unofficial walkout on day of public sector action|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and again on 14 September 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/prison-officer-strike-ended-after-constructive-dialogue-11497432|title=Prison staff strike ended after union's 'constructive dialogue' with minister|website=Sky News}}</ref>

=== Germany ===
In Germany, the Basic Law bans civil servants from going on strike, and the Federal Constitutional Court confirmed that teachers were not permitted to strike.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2023-12-08 |title=The Court to Rule on the Right to Strike in Germany |url=https://echr.com/ |access-date=2023-12-10 |website=News ECHR |language=en}}</ref> As of December 2023, the matter whether the decision violated teachers' human rights under the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) is pending at the European Court of Human Rights.<ref name=":1" />

===United States===
[[File:Striker assembly.jpg|thumb|A strike leader addressing strikers in [[Gary, Indiana]] in 1919]]

The [[Railway Labor Act]] bans strikes by [[List of airlines of the United States|United States airline]] and railroad employees except in narrowly defined circumstances. The [[National Labor Relations Act]] generally permits strikes, but provides a mechanism to enjoin from striking workers in industries in which a strike would create a national emergency. {{As of|2021}}, the federal government most recently invoked these statutory provisions to obtain an injunction requiring the [[International Longshore and Warehouse Union]] to return to work in 2002 after having been locked out by the employer group, the Pacific Maritime Association.

Some jurisdictions prohibit all strikes by public employees, under laws such as the "[[Taylor Law]]" in [[New York (state)|New York]]. Other jurisdictions impose strike bans only on certain categories of workers, particularly those regarded as critical to society: [[police]], [[teachers]] and [[firefighter]]s are among the groups commonly barred from striking in these jurisdictions. Some states, such as [[New Jersey]], [[Michigan]], [[Iowa]] or [[Florida]], do not allow teachers in public schools to strike. Workers have sometimes circumvented these restrictions by falsely claiming inability to work due to illness{{Snd}}this is sometimes called a "sickout" or "blue flu", the latter receiving its name from the uniforms worn by police officers, who are traditionally prohibited from striking. The term "red flu" has sometimes been used to describe this action when undertaken by firefighters.

Under federal law, federal employees who participate in a strike, or who assert the right to strike against the US government, are barred from retaining their employment.<ref>{{cite web |title=5 U.S. Code § 7311 – Loyalty and striking |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/7311 |website=LII / Legal Information Institute |access-date=6 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

Often, specific regulations on strike actions exist for employees in prisons. The [[Code of Federal Regulations]] declares "encouraging others to refuse to work, or to participate in a work stoppage" by prisoners to be a "High Severity Level Prohibited Act" and authorizes [[solitary confinement]] for periods of up to a year for each violation.<ref>{{uscfr|28|541|3}}</ref> The [[California Code of Regulations]] states that "[p]articipation in a strike or work stoppage", "[r]efusal to perform work or participate in a program as ordered or assigned", and "[r]ecurring failure to meet work or program expectations within the inmate's abilities when lesser disciplinary methods failed to correct the misconduct" by prisoners is "serious misconduct" under §3315(a)(3)(L), leading to [[gang]] affiliation under CCR §3000.<ref>{{citation | title=California Code of Regulations §3000 | quote=Gang means any … formal or informal organization, association or group of three or more persons which has a common name or identifying sign or symbol whose members and/or associates, individually or collectively, engage or have engaged, on behalf of that organization, association or group, in two or more acts which include, … acts of misconduct classified as serious pursuant to section 3315.| title-link=California Code of Regulations}}</ref>

Postal workers involved in 1978 wildcat strikes in [[Jersey City]], [[Kearny, New Jersey]], [[San Francisco]], and [[Washington, D.C.]] were fired under the presidency of [[Jimmy Carter]], and President [[Ronald Reagan]] fired [[air traffic controller]]s and the [[Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (1968)|PATCO]] union after the [[Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (1968)|air traffic controllers' strike of 1981]].

The [[2018 West Virginia teachers' strike|West Virginia teacher's strike in 2018]] inspired [[2018–19 education workers' strikes in the United States|teachers in other states]], including [[2018 Oklahoma teachers' strike|Oklahoma]], [[2018 Colorado teachers' strike|Colorado]], and [[2018 Arizona teachers' strike|Arizona]], to take similar action.<ref>{{cite news|title=Inspired by West Virginia Strike, Teachers in Oklahoma and Kentucky Plan Walk Out|url=http://ktla.com/2018/04/02/inspired-by-west-virginia-strike-teachers-in-oklahoma-and-kentucky-plan-walk-out/|agency=[[KTLA]]|date=2 April 2018}}</ref>

=== Argentina ===
[[File:FORA Demonstration.jpg|thumb|271x271px|Workers' strike in [[Argentina]], 1915]]
The [[Labor rights|workers' right]] to strike is guaranteed by the [[Constitution of Argentina]] since it was [[Argentine Constitution of 1949|reformed in 1949]] during the government of [[Juan Perón|Juan Domingo Perón]]. The Constitution also guarantees other rights such as [[minimum wage]], limited work hours, free vacations, [[Living wage|fair wage]], equal pay for equal work, protection against workers being fired arbitrarily and the right to [[Unionization|unionize]]. 

Only workers that provide "essential services" have some limitations to their right to strike, such as policemen and those related to water supply and power supply due to the Law 14.786. If they strike they still have to guarantee a minimum provision of those services.