If you believe everything you read (City AM, Tuesday, 6th July) trade union leaders are clubbing together to fight the toughest public spending cuts in a generation. Reports today indicate that three unions, representing train and bus drivers, prison officers and civil servants, would support a general strike if the government sacks public sector staff or alters the terms and conditions of their employment.
There is talk of co-ordinating industrial action for maximum effect. For a Thatcher-era 1980s child like myself, it all sounds horribly familiar. It brings to mind the plight of the miners, secondary picketing, changing legislation about the right to strike and something that we now like to call ’downsizing’. It also reminds me of people most in need of state support having to do without it.
What lies ahead will be a fascinating journey for a shiny new, wobbly-legged coalition government full to its well-fed cheeks with deficit-slashing zeal, a weary, worldly-wise and bloodied public sector and anyone at all interested in employee relations…
Tags: employee relations, general strike, public sector, unions
