Unite union rules out big strike action soon
8:55 am - August 9th 2010
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Union leader Derek Simpson has played down the prospect of widespread strike action by unions this autumn.
Speaking on the Andrew Marr show yesterday, the joint general secretary of Unite said the union would instead try to educate people about the impact of big cuts in public spending.
Other unions have called for a “national day of action” in protest. The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union and the RMT, led by Bob Crow, have been among those calling for co-ordinated strike action in response to the cuts.
But talk of an “autumn of discontent” would only help the government by deflecting attention away from the spending cuts and their impact, Mr Simpson said.
“Here we’ve got cuts that are going to affect women much more than men, poor people much more than richer people,” he said.
…more at the BBC
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Reader comments
The big problem is that by the time the union movement decide that they want to take action will they find that the right to strike has been taken away? The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development are urging the government to tighten the laws covering strikes and even to ban strike action in essential services.
I doubt there will be a ban on strikes, since that would be illiberal (apart from the whoever it was in the Liberal Democrats who actually suggested banning strikes in key services as defined by government – Vince Cable?).
More to the point is the fact that a successful major strike needs popular support. I doubt there would be that at the moment, and Mr Simpson at least can see this. Mr Crow seems to believe that the fact his union is hated and distrusted, and therefore cannot really represent its members effectively, is not a problem, and so is happy to call for strikes.
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Liberal Conspiracy
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roundtheworldflights
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Liz K
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