Support the RMT's right to strike

What a disgrace British justice is. A judge has decided that Network Rail signallers in the Rail Maritime and Transport union cannot strike next week because of technical faults in the balloting process. I condemn the use of these undemocratic laws and call for their immediate repeal – will Kate Hoey, who is supposed to represent the RMT in parliament?What were these faults? Apparently the RMT failed to correctly identify where all of the signallers currently worked. But, as RMT General Secretary Bob Crow explained, this had no bearing on the ballot result. All ballot papers were sent by the Electoral Reform Society to RMT members' home addresses – not their workplaces.

But the anti-union laws – introduced by the Tories, but kept in place by New Labour – oblige trade unions to tell the employer where each and every one of its employees work!

In an industry, where workers are often and at short notice relocated to 1,700 signal boxes around the country, it is impossible for the union to keep absolutely up to date and cortrect records. But the RMT did its best, basing its returns to Network Rail on the latest Network Rail figures from this year, 2010. So it is possible for any large employer to foil its workers' democratic decision to strike by providing the union with inaccurate figures.

Worse, Crow pointed out that Network Rail only provided the union with its evidence half an hour before the court case began, giving it no time to check its accuracy. Once RMT officials did get the chance to investigate, they found that Network Rail had submitted false information to the court. Does this invalidate the injunction? The hell it does – the strike has been declared unlawful and the decision sticks. And, I'd add, stinks!

Repeal these anti-union laws!

In my manifesto, I call for the repeal of all these undemocratic, anti-union laws, which stopped BA cabin crew members striking at Christmas, and have now done the same to signallers. How can it be right for unions to jump through hundreds of hoops before workers can lawfully withdraw their labour – but the bosses can sack people and rip up their redundancy pay packages at a few minutes' notice?

I support any group of workers who defy these laws – break the law, not the poor! But will Kate Hoey?