PM warned ‘don’t give inch’ to striking rail staff or face more industrial action

Rail strikes: Vine caller says ‘do what you’re paid to do’

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It came as the Treasury warned public sector workers against “wildly excessive” pay claims, with concerns growing that the UK was entering a new era of militancy. Yesterday, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said there will be more strike action if his railway union does not get a deal, but experts warned of the damage that a new wave of strikes strikes would inflict on Britain’s already pandemic-battered economy.

Inflation, which last week hit a four-decade high of 9.1 per cent, is fuelling demands for pay increases.

But the Government has warned that major pay hikes will drive inflation even higher and hurt the country’s poorest.

As Transport Secretary Grant Shapps insisted Britain’s rail network must “banish the outdated working practices that are holding it back”, there is concern the biggest rail strike for 30 years, which yesterday hit passengers hard for the third time in a week, could be the start of waves of industrial action.

Hundreds of Unite and GMB members at Heath-row have voted to walk out, triggering fears of summer travel chaos, and Royal Mail staff are being balloted on strike action.

The National Education Union – which is pushing for an “inflation-plus pay rise” – has also threatened to ballot members, while criminal law barristers have voted to go on strike.

And London Under-ground workers secured a victory last week when Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said he had not been convinced there “are any grounds” to change Transport for London’s final salary retirement scheme.

However, there is the prospect of further strikes on the Tube with RMT reaffirming their backing for industrial action.

Last night, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng blasted trade unions that are willing to “grind the economy to a halt while they lap up the attention on the airwaves”.

Condemning the strikes as “an unprovoked kick in the teeth for small businesses across the land at no fault of their own”, he urged union bosses not to “wreak harm on our economy”.

He said: “Businesses have had to contend with the unprecedented impact of coronavirus – the last thing they’ll want is more industrial action sweeping across the economy.

“From the high streets to industrial estates and the factory floor, UK businesses have shown immense fortitude through Covid, and we’ve backed them to the hilt with financial
support.

“Now, just as they look forward to the summer surge in sales, they’re facing the threat of further disruption from trade unions eager to grind the economy to ahalt while they lap up the attention on the airwaves. These counter-productive strikes won’t solve anything.

“In fact, this week has revealed that rail strikes aren’t as potent as they once were.

“However, they’re still an unprovoked kick in the teeth for small businesses across the land at no fault of their own. I’d urge any unions considering industrial action to think twice. The challenges facing countries around the globe like rising energy prices won’t be helped by attempts to wreak harm on our economy.”

Mr Kwarteng’s warning was added to by Attorney General Suella Braverman, who pointed back to the bitter battles between then-prime minister Mar-garet Thatcher and union barons in the 1980s.

Pressing for tough action, she said: “We know this story and we know how it ends if we don’t nip union militancy in the bud.

“Mrs Thatcher spent several painful years taking back control from the power of the unions because the Labour government couldn’t get a grip.

“Now, this nostalgia for a time before the Iron Lady solved these issues is supreme self indulgence from people who should know better.”

Meanwhile, Sir Bernard Ingham, who served as Mrs Thatcher’s chief press secretary, had some stern advice for Prime Minister Boris Johnson when confronting unions: “Stand firm. Don’t give an inch. They want to get rid of the Government and usurp democracy.

“And that goes for all the other people who are climbing on the bandwagon.”

When asked how the former Tory leader held her nerve, Sir Bernard said: “She believed in what she was doing and was prepared to argue the case.” Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke signalled the Government would follow Sir Bernard’s advice with a tough approach to the unions.

He said the Government “can’t tolerate wildly excessive public sector pay claims”, adding his Cabinet colleagues would have to show “real discipline and ingenuity” tostay within their spending review settlements. In an interview he was cited as saying public sector workers should expect rises around the three per cent mark.

It is not just politicians who are worried about the economic damage a wave of strikes will do to Britain’s economy.

Karl Williams, a senior researcher at the Centre for Policy Studies, has warned of the consequences of more action. He said: “With the tax burden at a 70-year high and inflation projected to reach 11 per cent, escalating trade union militancy will only make dire economic times even more painful.

“The Government needs to reject inflation-chasing pay demands. Every one per cent increase in pay would add £2billion to the public sector wage bill, straining Britain’s already creaking finances further. The focus needs to be on improving public sector productivity, which is still below pre-pandemic levels. 

“Only then will it make sense to talk about public sector pay rises.”

And Matthew Lesh, of the Institute of Economic Affairs, warned: “Public services, from the Passport Office and DVLA to education and healthcare, are already struggling with backlogs caused by the pandemic.

“Strikes would make all that even worse.”

Meanwhile, in the latest sign of support in Labour ranks for the rail strikes, Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome has donated £2,000 from her salary to her local RMT branch strike fund. She said the strikers were “leading the way for workers in the cost-of-living crisis”.

And former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott used a rally outside London’s Kings Cross station to take a shot at her own party for not backing the strikers.

“I do not understand the argument that Labour should not be here because we are not meant to pick a side,” said Ms Abbott. “I thought when you join Labour, you are picking a side – the working class side.”

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