Unions threaten ‘waves of industrial action’ over UK cost of living crisis
Britain is facing a wave of coordinated industrial action by striking unions this autumn in protest at the escalating cost of living crisis, the Observer can reveal.
A series of motions tabled by the country’s biggest unions ahead of the TUC congress next month demand that they work closely together to maximise their impact and “win” the fight for inflation-related pay rises.
The move, which includes the two biggest unions, Unison and Unite, comes amid growing anger at the government’s failure to agree a detailed package of help for families following Friday’s announcement that average gas and electricity bills are to rise by 80%.
While coordinated action would be short of a “general strike” floated by some union leaders, Unite’s motion would give the TUC the task of ensuring that walkouts are synchronised or deliberately staggered to deliver the greatest impact.
Backed by the rail union RMT – which has led its members in a series of strikes in recent weeks – and the Communication Workers Union, which took action on Friday, Unite calls on the TUC to “facilitate and encourage industrial coordination between unions so workers in dispute can most effectively harness their union power to win”.
Another motion from Unison, the country’s biggest union, says the cost of living crisis is a “low pay crisis” and also demands that the TUC coordinate union action to campaign for pay rises “at least in line with inflation” – now 10.1% – as well as for a £15 per hour minimum wage.
The signs of unrest underline the scale of the problem now facing the next Conservative prime minister, Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak, as soaring energy costs drive inflation further upwards. Union militancy will also place Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, in a
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