Unions ramp up general strike threats with chaos set to drag on into SUMMER

Ministers sounded defiance today as unions ramped up threats of an effective general strike and warned chaos is set to drag on for months.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the government will not be ‘held to ransom’ with double-digit pay demands and ‘go back to the 1970s’ when union barons thought they were in charge of the country.  

The hard line came after new TUC chief Paul Nowak made clear that industrial action will be ‘co-ordinated’, with the country facing a ‘rolling wave’ of walkouts.

He suggested strikes could drag on into the summer unless ministers back down, saying public sector workers cannot tolerate another pay rise below inflation. 

Mr Nowak also dismissed growing signs that the action is losing its impact, with military personnel stepping in to cover at borders and people able to work from home. 

But Mr Wallace insisted there was ‘no magic wand’ to produce the money for above-inflation pay awards.

He said the Government was not prepared to ignore the pay review bodies’ recommendations and that it was now up to the unions to talk to their employers directly.

‘We’re not going back to the 1970s where the trade union barons thought that they ran the government,’ he said.

‘They used to meet in Downing Street and tell the Labour government of the day what they’re going to do. We’re not going to go back to that. We’re not going to be held to ransom.

‘The trade unions can negotiate, they can negotiate with their employers and try and come to a resolution. That’s the most important thing. There’s no magic wand here to come up with money that the country doesn’t have.

‘Ultimately we’re in a position where we’re trying to listen to the independent advice, through the independent pay bodies, offer a settlement to the work forces and then try and bring that to a resolution, but if the trade union leadership think we’re all just going to ignore these independent bodies to suit their agenda then they’ll be mistaken.’

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace visited military personnel helping man borders in Manchester today 

Newly appointed General Secretary of TUC, Paul Newak, said the solution to the strikes lies ‘in the hands of the government’ and said action could continue through next summer

In a round of interviews this morning, Mr Nowak said: ‘Our unions will be talking, continuing to talk into the New Year, about how we best support and coordinate unions that are taking that strike action. 

‘In some cases that might mean unions taking strike action on the same day, in other cases it will be a rolling wave of industrial action.’ 

He raised the prospect that 2023 could see even more disruption than this year, which has been blighted by strikes by NHS, rail, border and civil service staff among others. 

TSSA rail workers are on strike until noon today, while driving examiners have walked out until the weekend.    

Mr Nowak accused the government of sabotaging efforts to resolve the current wave of strikes and said politicians were ‘blind’ to the NHS staffing crisis. 

Mr Nowak was careful to avoid backing a general strike – although he also stopped short of ruling one out. 

‘That isn’t part of the discussions we’ve been having internally in the TUC,’ he told Times Radio.

‘I think the focus is not to talk about general strikes or generalised strike action, the focus really needs to be on the government coming to the table, and talking sensibly and reaching agreements with unions on a way forward on public sector pay, this problem isn’t going to go away.’

He said striking workers have been ‘left with no choice’ after more than a decade of pay cuts, and accused ministers of ‘sabotaging efforts to reach settlements’.

The Conservatives’ decision to hold down public sector pay had left workers ‘hugely exposed to the cost-of-living crisis’ and deepened the staffing crisis in the NHS, education and other public services, he added.

‘We can’t go on like this. We can’t be a country where nurses are having to use food banks, while City bankers get unlimited bonuses.

‘Unless we get wages rising across the economy, families will just keep lurching from crisis to crisis.’

Ministers are refusing to reopen negotiations for 2022 pay deals, but the union chief said workers were not prepared to close the discussion. 

TUC released figures that show workers have lost £20,000 on average since 2008 as a result of pay not increasing with inflation. 

By 2025 the average loss per worker will hit £25,000, the union claims.  

Mr Nowak said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who he negotiated Covid support packages with, had forgotten the lessons of the pandemic and was now the ‘biggest barrier’.  

Mr Nowak slammed the Conservative government for ‘deflecting the fire’ and being ‘disingenuous’ about the effects of NHS strikes.  

Mr Nowak signalled that union leaders are prepared to strike through to next summer. 

‘They’re prepared to do that and I’ll tell you why. It’s not because union leaders are prepared to do it. It’s because our members are telling us they’ve got no alternative.

‘They can’t afford another year of real-terms pay cuts.’

The union chief said a £15 minimum wage was the ‘bare minimum’ and added that he didn’t think it was a lot to ask for the people who are working some of the toughest jobs in the economy. 

‘I think it’s the bare minimum that people need to have a decent standard of living and we shouldn’t be ashamed for asking for it.’

Mr Wallace dismissed the idea that military have just been waving travellers through while border staff are on strike

Driving examiners are out on strike this week. Pictured, a PCS picket line in London yesterday

Recent workers that have been on strike include transport staff, border force officials, nurses and ambulance drivers and Royal Mail workers

He shrugged off government claims that increases in wages was causing rocketing inflation in an interview with The Mirror.  

Mr Nowak dismissed the row over Keir Starmer banning Labour frontbenchers from joining picket lines, suggesting that it was more symbolic than substantive.

‘For me, that commitment Keir made to reverse any anti union legislation… is far more important than a frontbencher turning up and getting a selfie on a picket line.

‘I don’t know any dispute anywhere that’s been solved because a shadow minister has turned and had their picture taken for 15 minutes.’

The new union chief said claims that strikes were essentially a general strike were a ‘disservice’ and a ‘red herring’. 

‘I think they want to fight culture wars that our members aren’t interested in.’

Who is TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak? 

Paul Nowak, who has recently taken on the position of general secretary at TUC

Paul Nowak, 50, first joined a union at 17, when he was a part-time staff member at ASDA. He worked in call centres for BT and Cheshire County Council and as a hotel night porter. 

He was a member of the first intake of TUC’s Organising Academy in 1998, alongside Sharon Graham, General Secretary of Unite and Roz Foyer, the General Secretary of the Scottish TUC. 

Then aged 26, he made his first big leap into union leadership when he became an organiser for BIFU, which is now part of Unite. 

Mr Nowak joined TUC staff in 2000, moving through the ranks to become  regional secretary for the north of England and then Head of Organising. He was appointed first Assistant General Secretary in 2013 and then Deputy General Secretary in 2016. 

He is married with three grown-up children and lives on the Wirral. Mr Nowak is a lifelong Everton fan and enjoys playing the guitar. His favourite songs to play are All About You by McFly or Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison, although he also enjoys composing his own music.