Unions threaten 2010 of discontent
Brendan Barber, the TUC general secretary, has today warned UK businesses and the UK government that no matter which party is elected at the next election there will be further strike action if public sector services are targeted for spending cuts. This is the bluntest warning to date from the union movement regarding further action and comes as the National Rail and RMT dispute moves on to a different level.
While British Airways and Network Rail strikes are grabbing the headlines there are further issues behind the scenes regarding other public sector services and other private companies. There have been rumours that the unions have made plans to step up their strike action if the Conservative party is victorious at the election but the threat of further strikes even if Labour is re-elected is a stark warning to UK businesses.
It is inevitable that UK public sector services will see cuts in the short to medium term which is likely to lead to renewed industrial action and more problems in the short to medium term. It is ironic that during the recession the union movement has come back to life and is starting to flex its muscles in the battle for the high ground in the UK economy.
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