Militant union barons plotting ‘winter of discontent’ in bid to get inflation-busting pay hikes – but hope ‘sympathetic’ Andy Burnham will become PM and cave into their demands
Militant union barons are planning a ‘winter of discontent’ to deliver inflation-busting pay rises Andy Burnham will help their case.
Union sources said today that barons are preparing for national action that could close hospitals, schools and railways after Labor facilitated a strike call.
Both school and railway union barons are threatening to vote out their members in the autumn and winter if their demands for above-inflation wages are not met.
Health union bosses are also expected to hold a new vote to continue the doctors’ strike until Christmas; There is also a threat of strike by nurses in some hospitals.
A senior union source said projected rising inflation made strikes more likely because they would demand higher pay rises.
They said: ‘It is given [CPI] Inflation could rise above 4 per cent this year, you’re probably looking at the kind of discontent we last saw under the Conservatives.’
But the barons said they hoped Mr Burnham, who pocketed thousands of pounds in union donations ahead of his expected leadership bid, would win the Makerfield by-election and become prime minister because he is seen as more Left-wing.
Andy Burnham, who is expected to run for Labor leader if he wins the Makerfield by-election, is seen as more left-wing by unions who hope he will become Prime Minister.
RMT rail union boss Eddie Dempsey has threatened a nationwide strike unless members are given unconditional inflation-busting pay rises
Daniel Kebede has demanded ministers increase the 6.5 per cent salary offer for teachers and the NEU union has called it an ‘insult’
‘We’d rather see Andy in office,’ they said, adding: ‘The unions have a better chance of getting what they want.
‘There is a general sense that Andy is someone who instinctively understands the union movement more than Keir Starmer.
‘This is the unions’ game. Right now it’s a holding pattern until Burnham enters the game.
‘Almost every union would have rowed Burnham over the line. ‘He understands Labor policies in a way that Keir Starmer does not.’
Referring to Sir Keir’s U-turn on removing the two-child benefit cap, a second union source added: ‘We went to Keir en masse to ask for the cap to be abolished two years ago and he didn’t understand the point of it.
‘But now, two years later, he says it’s the best thing he’s ever done.
‘I don’t think we would be in this situation with Burham, he would understand that immediately. It’s the same with wage disputes.’
The RMT railway union is threatening a nationwide strike campaign to achieve above-inflation wage increases.
Union boss Eddie Dempsey said in a letter to all members last month that he was demanding general wage increases be made unconditionally above the retail price index (RPI) inflation level.
When he wrote to members the RPI was above 4 per cent while the officially preferred consumer price index rate was 3.3 per cent.
The latter has since fallen to 2.8 percent, but experts say it could rise again to above 4 percent later this year.
In his letter, Mr Dempsey told members: ‘Our message to the government is clear: release these pay talks and allow meaningful negotiations to take place, otherwise we will step up our campaign, including moving towards a coordinated vote for industrial action across all train companies, where we will coordinate strikes to maximize disruption.’
It is understood the union will keep its gunpowder dry as the Labor leadership race continues and will not launch any votes until the end of the summer if its demands are not met.
Similarly, as The Mail revealed on Sunday, the NEU, England’s largest teachers’ union, has warned its members they will go on strike from October unless ministers give them ‘a fully funded pay offer for teachers that exceeds inflation’.
Junior doctors’ strikes have been going on for months and the BMA is expected to extend the campaign until Christmas
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith accused Labor politicians of letting unions become their ‘paymasters’
The Ministry of Education has so far offered teachers a 6.5 per cent pay rise over three years, which NEU bosses have described as an ‘insult’, paving the way for strikes over the winter months.
The British Medical Association is expected to poll junior doctors again over militant attack campaigns before its current mandate ends in August.
The union will also vote on senior doctors, including consultants and specialists, with voting ending in July.
He wants a 29 per cent pay rise for junior doctors despite being paid 22 per cent less than two years ago, and wants a similar deal for senior doctors.
The Royal College of Nursing has also warned that nurses in some hospitals could go on strike later this year over claims that some entry-level ‘band five’ members have been stuck in that band for decades or their entire careers.
Strikes will become easier to coordinate under Labour’s Employment Rights Act.
The new law, which will come into force gradually this year and next year, eliminates the requirement for 50 percent of members to vote in strike votes and the requirement for four out of ten people to vote yes. Instead, a simple majority in favor of a strike would be sufficient, regardless of turnout.
Powers for strike action are also being increased from the current six months to one year, and only ten days’ notice of a strike is required instead of two weeks.
Although more than 1 million working days were lost in strikes under the Labor Party, strikes are not yet as common as during the Conservative Party era.
Mr Burnham’s office has been contacted for comment.
