WORKERS should consider a general strike to defeat the Tories’ new anti-union laws, trade unions affirmed yesterday.

Congress unanimously passed a softer motion damning the Trade Union Bill as an attempt to “outlaw legitimate protest, stifle free speech and choke off the resources of [the Tories’] political opponents.”

The Bill, which passed its second reading in the Commons yesterday with a majority of 33, imposes strike ballot thresholds and places heavy restrictions on picketing and union political funds.