07.07.14
Government will ‘not budge’ on public sector pay – Maude
The government will ‘not budge’ on changes to pay and pensions for public sector workers, and new laws could be proposed to curb industrial action in the future, Francis Maude has stated.
Ahead of this week’s public sector strikes on 10 July, which include council staff, teachers, firefighters and civil servants, the Cabinet Office minister recommended withdrawing legal protections for striking workers unless at least 50% of a union’s members had voted for the strike.
It is the biggest one-day public sector strike since 2010.
Speaking to the BBC, Maude said: “This strike action has been called on about as weak a mandate as you can possibly have…We want to look at whether there should be a minimum turnout threshold.”
Under today's law, a strike can go ahead if it is backed by a simple majority of those balloted. However, it has been suggested that few ballots achieve the support of more than 50% of the entire workforce. For instance, with regards to this week’s strike action, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) stated that it received approximately 80% support for the strike in a ballot, but only 27% of members took part.
Maude criticised unions for holding strikes based on ballots with low turnout, claiming that one persuaded just 20% of its eligible members to vote.
However, union leaders say that Thursday’s walkout could be biggest since the General Strike of 1926. In addition to the NUT, unions taking action include the Fire Brigades Union, Unison, Unite, Public and Commercial Services Union, and the GMB. The schools walkout follows a one-day strike in March.
(Image: Crown Copyright)
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