Luthori

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Ministers review Parkford's closed shops legislation amid pressure from unions.
January 11, 5728

The Tapihana government has another issue now onto their sleeve, following the passage of the Finance Act 5727, which officialised the proposed autumn budget from Chancellor Chavez into law. The Chancellor’s budget saw taxation revenue increased by £30 billion on average. The Prime Minister’s Principal Private Secretary (Chief of Staff), Dame Cecilia Rhoades described the passage of the proposed budget as the “first step” into Labour’s promise of “correcting the mistakes of the past”.

The 5727 Finance Act, which was passed by the House of Peers with a resounding majority of 382-231 after an expedited debate as the Leader of the House of Peers invoked the Budget Consideration Act, which forced the House of Peers to come to a rapid conclusion of debate in financial matters, preferably before two weeks. That meant that the House of Peers couldn’t outright reject the law, as Labour had convinced enough crossbenchers to back the Finance Bill and couldn’t force the Imperial Diet to reconsider the law after substantial delays, as it was forbidden by the Consideration Act, which clearly state that if the upper house aimed at using any of those tactics, the Bill, as passed by the Diet will be forced through and will go straight to the Orange Palace for assent.

The Finance Act include the implementation of a new tax upon plastic products of around 7.5%, it also implemented a new inheritance tax of 15% upon assets worth more than £500.000, this tax mainly targeting large inherited estates and assets. The law also implemented an emergency VAT tax break for low-earning households and a 2% rent tax relief. Apart from increased revenue from taxation, the Finance Act also increased expenditures towards different government agencies.

Priority was given to education, healthcare and welfare, the three departments being dubbed as the “pinnacle” of Labour’s social and economic agenda, in regard to said agenda, Education Secretary Kim Kok said that the Tapihana government will be introducing a “bold set of measures” to “alleviate previous mismanagement” of the education system, a jab at the preceding government.

Recently, the government has come under pressure from trade unions, one of the National Labour Party’s main arms and supporters to modify and relax restrictions on the creation and maintenance of closed shops, shops in which membership of a certain union is mandatory to freely exercise. The Parkford government cracked down on these kinds of businesses, by passing the 5724 Employment Act, which stated that “...businesses throughout the nation must have a quota of either non-union employees or employees belonging to another union, if one union is overrepresented...”, effectively neutering the concept of closed shops. It also barred close shops to have more than 500 employees.

These two bills were meant to weaken the unions’ traditional hold over the Luthorian working class, these organisations, which are traditionally hostile to the Conservative Party, represented an ever-greater political threat for the government, which warranted their neutering.

Now with Labour in control over both Houses of Parliament, the trade unions have made it clear to PM Tapihana that they will not settle for anything less than a return to pre-5724 Employment Act status quo, demanding that the Cabinet acts “decisively” on the issue. In a meeting with Employment Minister, Kenna McGregor, the main unions described their position as being equivalent as to “correct great wrongs” that have artificially weakened union power for political benefits. While the Prime Minister seems inclined to agree with the demand and whispers have emerged about a potential repeal or full repeal of the Employment Act, one man has made his opposition viscerally clear.

The Lord Stemford of Wittfield, also known as Lord Wittfield, the current Leader of the House of Peers, has described the situation in the House of Peers as being “very volatile” as with anti-communist sentiment dominating the media cycle and public opinion, he wasn’t sure that the Labour Party’s push towards legitimisation these forms of practice on the unions’ side was the “correct and fair assessment” of the situation. He privately expressed “disapproval” of the Prime Minister if she decided to carry on with her plans for a full repeal, instead advising for a limited repeal of the Employment Act, which will then be revised by the House of Peers to remove some “contentious” elements of the Act.

In the opposition, these announcements have been met with outright hostility, while the Prime Minister never expected to find many allies in the Tory Party, even the reasonably “moderate” factions, notably the Constitutional Research Group of Fort William MP, Mike Onugul-Gvir, have expressed reservations in regard to the proposed bill. The Leader of the Opposition, Blanche Yhwartz accused the Prime Minister during Question Period to wanting to “throw Luthori back under the control of anarchist thugs”, although she was later reprimanded for her statements, Yhwartz made it her point to defend the so-called “silent majority” of Luthorians, those who “do not speak, do not voice, do not complain” she said.

The ball is now with the Prime Minister, who either heed to the advice from the influential Leader of the House of Peers or reject it in a bid to court union forces behind her government.