UK trying to make it harder for public sector workers to strike

Saeed Pourreza
Press TV, London

They took months to be held but only hours to fail: negotiations between unions and the UK government aimed at working out mainly pay deals to prevent another wave of public sector disruptions

An insult to his Union members and perhaps to other public sector workers across the country protesting against the government’s refusal to give them pay rises that keep pace with inflation which was reported above ten percent in October last year, the same month public sector pay in real terms hit a nineteen year low.

But the government is digging in. Instead of making concessions, it is introducing controversial new legislation to parliament this week designed to curb the impact of the strikes. Critics of the new bill are warning of the consequences:

Without the desired pay offers from the government, those walkouts are bound to go ahead, with tens of thousands of transport workers, National Health Service staff, civil servants and others set to take part in an industrial action this month.

There are more strikes in the UK today than in more than a decade, driven by a cost of living crisis and a lack of inflation-matching pay rises. The Unions are saying enough is enough and that the only way to cease further industrial action is cold hard cash. It remains to be seen if the government will blink first in this staring contest.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir