“While we hope that voluntary agreements can continue to be made in most cases, introducing minimum safety levels — the minimum levels of service we expect to be provided — will restore the balance between those seeking to strike and protecting the public from disproportionate disruption,” Shapps added.Walkouts by rail workers this week disrupted the post-holiday return to offices with several major train lines providing no services at all on Thursday after drivers walked out.Critical care was exempt from the nurses’ strike, and unions pledged to cover life-threatening emergencies during recent walkouts by ambulance workers.The government said it would invite labor unions to discuss “what is fair and affordable” in public sector pay settlements for the next financial year starting in April, noting that inflation-matching pay awards risk pushing prices up even further.It said that the new “anti-strike legislation” is “wrong, unworkable, and almost certainly illegal.”The opposition Labour Party is also opposed to the proposed legislation and said it will reverse it entirely if it wins the next general election."