UK's Guide to Workers' Strikes: Armbands, Forms and the Police

In a joint statement released by civil rights group Liberty, Amnesty UK and the British Institute for Human Rights (BIHR), the government was heavily criticized over proposed reforms to the UK's Trade Union Bill, which the groups say "represent a major attack on civil liberties in the UK."

There are fears that under the reforms pushed forward by David Cameron's Conservative government, every worker wanting to join a strike picket will have to inform the police, carrying written authorization of their right to protest and wear armbands.

The groups argue that such proposals would prevent many people from protesting against employers for fear of being blacklisted by police, which would in turn affect their ability to stand up for workers' rights.

"By placing more legal hurdles in the way of unions organizing strike action, the Trade Union Bill will undermine ordinary people's ability to organize together to protect their jobs, livelihoods and the quality of their working lives," the statement said.

"It will introduce harsher restrictions on those who picket peacefully outside workplaces — even though pickets are already more regulated than any other kind of protest. Unions will be required to appoint picket supervisors who must wear armbands and carry letters of authorization, the absence of which could expose their unions to legal action."

'Undermining The Rights Of Working People'

Among other plans to reduce strike action in the future, the Tories are pushing for adjustments to be made to the Trade Union Bill, which would require a turnout of 50 percent of union members for industrial action to be considered legal.

"Taken together the unprecedented measures in the Bill would hamper people's basic rights to protest and shift even more power from the employee to the employer.

"It is hard to see the aim of this bill as anything but seeking to undermine the rights of all working people. We owe so many of our employment protections to Trade Unions and we join them in opposing this bill."

The coalition of activists have also raised concerns over additional measures that would count union ballot abstentions as 'no' votes, which campaigners say would be in breach of International Labour Organization standards.

The government has come under heavy criticism from activist groups and trade unions following the publishing of trade union reform plans, while the Labour party has also said it will oppose such measures.

The planned reforms come amid plans to increase the power of security and intelligence agencies in the UK, under what has been described as the Snooper's Charter.

Civil rights groups fear that the Conservatives might try to use the group's parliamentary majority, coupled with the current uncertainty surrounding the Labour party, to usher through the controversial reforms, which critics have argued will turn Britain into a police and surveillance state.