Dr Martin Sticker | Bristol University

Date | 25 February 2026

Title | 'Does the Formula of Humanity Prohibit (Some Forms of) Strike Action?'

Abstract:

Health care professionals and university lecturers undertaking strike action may inflict harm or inconvenience on patients or students in order to put pressure on another party (their employer). Patients or students may be treated as a tool or mere means in industrial negotiations.

To understand whether they are, I turn to Kant’s Formula of Humanity, the most significant source for the prohibition against instrumentalization. I argue that we should understand treating as a mere means as a failure to respect any constraints on how I can treat others, but striking workers do in fact still respect many such constraints.

However, I concede that one can severely mistreat others whilst still respecting some constraints. We should therefore also not come close to treating others as mere means. With regard to strike action the most important factor to decide whether a course of action comes close to treatment as mere means are motivation of striking workers, whether strike actions are lawful, and whether workers ensure that there is no disproportionate impact on subgroups of those negatively affected by their strike actions.

I conclude that striking health care professionals do not come close to treating patients are mere means. Matters are somewhat more complicated with regard to certain strikes in the higher education sector.