Support for striking workers declared by 600 Labour councillors

theguardian.com:

More than 600 Labour councillors have declared their full backing for all rail, postal, dock and other workers on picket lines, as the party comes under continuing pressure over its stance on strikes.

Amid a wave of strikes over pay and increasing talk of coordinated industrial action this autumn, the councillors signed an open letter saying they offered “full solidarity and support” to the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers’ union (RMT), the Communication Workers Union (CWU), Unite and others.

The latest workers to go on strike are CWU postal workers who rejected a 5.5% pay rise in return for changes to their conditions, while the RMT is planning a further round of rail strikes in the autumn. There are also 1,900 dockworker members of Unite at Felixstowe, the country’s biggest port, on an eight-day stoppage.

However, the issue of strikes is a vexed one for Labour. Keir Starmer, the party’s leader, has expressed sympathy with the aims of striking workers, but the party’s whips have asked frontbenchers not to appear on picket lines. The party is also stressing the need for negotiated solutions, with Starmer saying he “completely understands” why workers are striking but adding that his party would make sure talks were properly conducted.

Starmer’s equivocal stance on strikes has annoyed Labour’s trade union funders. Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, told the Observer earlier this month: “There’s no point giving money to a party that is basically sticking two fingers up to workers. It’s almost like an abusive relationship.”

Ahead of the Trades Union Congress in September, senior union officials have begun to talk more of scheduling strikes for the same time for maximum impact or staggering them for effect.

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