The UK Government Thursday announced a law to minimize the impact of strike action on businesses by authorizing the use of temporary staff.

The government aims to reduce business disruption caused by strike action by “removing the restrictions on employment businesses supplying temporary workers to cover striking staff.” As a result, companies’ freedom to fill vital employee roles will also increase. Further, the UK government authorized a higher cap on damages that business can recoup if a court finds a strike unlawful. For the largest unions, the maximum award will now be £1 million instead of £250,000. This is the first change to the damages cap since 1982.

UK Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps condemned “militant union leaders” and said, “[r]eforms such as this legislation are vital and will ensure any future strikes will cause even less disruption and allow adaptable, flexible, fully skilled staff to continue working throughout.”

The law comes as many transport workers across the UK strike for better pay and pensions in the UK’s largest rail strike in the last three decades. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) criticized the new law and noted that Shapps called rail workers “true heroes” during the COVID-19 pandemic.