String of union recommendations and called-off strikes linked to pressure from Labour right and TUC, say union insiders
The string of unions calling off industrial action on nothing but an offer of talks or appalling pay offers – with many strings attached by the government – and in some cases even recommending those offers to members has been linked to pressure from Keir Starmer and the TUC, according to union insiders.
Union sources have told Skwawkbox that Starmer and his team have attempted to manoeuvre unions into backing away from the burgeoning strikes – which had given hope to the movement and for workers not to be poorer at the end of the year than they were at the beginning – in order to protect, as they see it, Starmer’s prospects of winning the next general election.
In effect, they say, Starmer is putting his political prospects ahead of the pay and wellbeing of members – all on an assumption by senior union figures that things might improve with the Labour right in government.
Starmer has already broken a litany of promises and has refused to say that workers should receive inflation-matching pay rises.
Skwawkbox wrote to the TUC and TUC general secretary Paul Nowak:
The TUC has been accused by union insiders of cooperating with Keir Starmer to persuade or pressure a number of unions to recommend appalling public sector pay offers to members and call off strikes, the impact of which can be seen among NHS unions and others. The purported purpose of this is to protect Starmer’s bid for power, given his refusal to back striking workers and a fear of right-wing and corporate opinion.
Please let me have comment by return.
Skwawkbox texted Keir Starmer directly, to ensure he would see the enquiry immediately:
You’ve been accused by union insiders of leaning on the TUC to persuade or pressure a number of unions to recommend appalling public sector pay offers to members and call off strikes, the impact of which can be seen among NHS unions and others. The purported purpose of this is to protect Starmer’s bid for power, given his refusal to back striking workers and a fear of right-wing and corporate opinion.
Please let me have comment by return.
None of the three messages received any kind of denial or even a response.
Economist Richard Murphy has described the unions’ willingness to consider, let alone recommend, the government’s offers as ‘baffling’:
Pay rises on offer across public sectors – arising out of what have been described as ‘highly unorthodox’ negotiations – have been significantly below inflation, meaning that if they are accepted workers will be taking yet another draconian real-terms pay cut after years of losing money to inflation because of pay freezes or insulting 1% rises.
Despite the appalling nature of the offers, some union spokespeople and leadership allies have trumpeted the ‘wins’ and commented on how easily the government ‘gave in’.
SKWAWKBOX needs your help. The site is provided free of charge but depends on the support of its readers to be viable. If you’d like to help it keep revealing the news as it is and not what the Establishment wants you to hear – and can afford to without hardship – please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal or here to set up a monthly donation via GoCardless (SKWAWKBOX will contact you to confirm the GoCardless amount). Thanks for your solidarity so SKWAWKBOX can keep doing its job.
If you wish to republish this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so – see here for more.