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Source: Collective action in the United Kingdom

Collective action in the United Kingdom including the right to strike in UK labour law is the main support for collective bargaining. Although the right to strike (or "industrial action" traditionally) has attained the status, since 1906, of a fundamental human right, protected in domestic case law, statute, the European Convention on Human Rights and international law, the rules in statute have generated significant litigation. The "right of workers to engage in a strike or other industrial action" is expressly recognised in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 section 180, and has been recognised repeatedly by the Court of Appeal as "a fundamental human right"., and the House of Lords (now Supreme Court).
However, UK law has become "the most restrictive on trade unions in the Western world", through a series of rule changes from 1979. In order for a group of workers to take strike action, they must,

hold a ballot of the workforce who will go on strike;
inform the employer of the timing and duration of the strike;
not conduct the industrial action for a purpose unrelated to terms and conditions of the workers' employment contract;
not take industrial action against anyone but the employer of the affected workers;
remain peaceful when conducting picket lines.
If those rules are breached, a trade union will be liable for damages to the employer for the cost of the industrial action, an injunction may be issued against the industrial action going ahead, and workers may be fired even for a good faith trade dispute. The rules on industrial action in the UK have been subject to heavy criticism from the International Labour Organization and led to violations in the European Court of Human Rights.