REAL LIVES Strikes under the Tories THE ULTIMAT Despite curbs on workers’ rights, strikes are increasing
Everybody out! Well not quite everybody, but industrial disputes are increasing amid growing anger over pay, pensions, working conditions and the culture of bullying and harassment which exists in far too many workplaces.
The number of days lost to industrial disputes almost doubled last year, partly as a result of the row between junior doctors and the government.
The office for national statistics reported that 322,000 working days were lost in 2016 compared with 170,000 the previous year.
The trend has continued this year, despite the introduction of the controversial Trade Union Act, which came into force in March with the aim of cracking down on industrial action.
Under the legislation, at least half of eligible union members have to take part in a ballot, while in some public services at least 40 per cent of all those entitled to vote must do so.
Unions now have to give two weeks’ notice of industrial action rather than seven days. Most recent ballots have passed the new thresholds, with union leaders believing that workers have become more engaged in the process and more willing to vote.
Unite members have been involved in several disputes since the law came into effect – workers ranging from hospital porters and cleaners, British Airways cabin crew, BMW production staff, housing maintenance employees and workers on the Trident nuclear submarine programme.
Howard Beckett, Unite assistant general secretary for legal services, believes the legislation has had the opposite effect of what it was intended to achieve. “It actually pushes us towards strike action,” he told uniteWORKS. “Our shop stewards are geared up to achieve the threshold, and because we have to give two weeks’ notice, people are anxious to announce dates for industrial action.
Polarising effect “The legislation is actually pushing us into conflict and is having a polarising effect.”
Howard believes many workers are now at “breaking point” over pay and are increasingly likely to consider taking industrial action, especially as their voices are often ignored. The situation is most stark in the public sector, where millions of workers have endured seven years of wage freezes or increases capped at 1 per cent.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said, “Going on strike is always a last resort when bosses refuse to negotiate or compromise. With the average annual wage still worth £1,000 less than a decade ago, it is not surprising that many strikes are about fair pay.”
The junior doctors’ dispute over new contracts in England accounted for 129,000 lost working days last year, 40 per cent of the total.
There were 154,000 workers involved in disputes in 2016, still low by historical levels, but there are signs that disputes could break out across many parts of the public sector and in private firms.
Pay is now one of the biggest political issues facing the government, with the real prospect that nurses could be balloted for strikes later in the year.
NHS workers are among the least likely to take industrial action, but the health service is now facing disruption alongside many other public services. Unite members working as cleaners, porters and security staff at four London hospitals have been on strike over demands for a 30p an hour pay rise.
12 uniteWORKS Summer 2017
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