THE UK Government “could be genuinely torn” between maintaining its Brexit deal and further undermining workers’ rights after a warning from Brussels on the Tories’ anti-strike laws.

On Thursday, the Telegraph reported that EU officials were considering triggering a formal dispute with the UK over the Conservatives' anti-trade union legislation.

It is understood that officials in the EU believe the UK Government’s Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act, which gives employers the powers to force people to work instead of taking industrial action, may not comply with the Brexit deal.

In the Tories’ Brexit deal, both the EU and UK agreed not to lower workers’ rights below the level they were at during the point it was signed.

Greens MSP Maggie Chapman said: "The Tories could be genuinely torn if they are being forced to make a choice between maintaining their disastrous Brexit deal and curbing workers rights. Both are longstanding UK Government priorities and are two of the most shameful legacies of the last 14 years of misrule.”

She went on: "The anti-strike laws are an attack on every single worker and on our democracy, which is exactly why the Tories have been so determined to introduce them.

"Scotland deserves better than a future with Tory governments we did not vote for and who are destroying our economy and undermining our rights.

"The future I want for Scotland is as a fairer, greener and independent country in Europe and with workers’ rights at its heart."

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The SNP’s social justice spokesperson at Westminster, David Linden, also condemned the UK Government.

He said: “When we see the positive impact on worker’s rights the EU has made in this country it’s clear to see why the Tories desperately wanted Brexit.

“The callousness of the Conservatives, in their desire to rip up key worker’s rights and set us on a path to becoming a more backwards society, has been on full show with their anti-strike legislation which threatens the basic protections and bargaining tools workers rely on.

“And Labour, through their support of Brexit and opposition to devolving Employment Law, are just as complicit in seeing rights stripped from Scottish workers and more power placed into the hands of Tories.

“The Westminster parties can’t be trusted to stand up for workers and be truthful about the Brexit mess they’ve landed us in.”

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A UK Government spokesperson claimed the anti-strike laws are “compatible with all our international trade obligations”.

They went on: “Many members of the EU already have minimum service levels legislation in place covering a broad range of services.

“We’ve been clear that there needs to be a reasonable balance between the right of workers to strike and the rights of the public, who work hard and expect essential services that they pay for to be there when needed.”