Category: News

Union News 30th of December 2022

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In this edition of Union News we look at predictions about the UK cost-of-living crisis, the first national rail strike by rail cleaners, the restoration of the whip by the Scottish National Party to the disgraced MP ‘Groper Grady’, a big win for Merseyside bin workers and firefighters pay.

UK cost-of-living crisis predicted to continue despite end of double-digit inflation

According to the Resolution Foundation, in 2023, the UK can expect to see an end to double-digit inflation, but many families’ incomes are predicted to fall by as much as they did in 2022 due to rising energy bills, tax bills, and mortgage payments. Low-income families are three times more likely to lack confidence in their financial situation over the next three months, according to a YouGov survey. The Foundation attributes this to the precarious employment conditions that exist in sectors that have been privatized or deregulated, leading to a general reduction in wages. To address this, the Foundation suggests that the government regulate energy prices, raise benefits and pensions, end pay constraints in the public sector, and impose windfall taxes on profits. However, it is uncertain whether these measures would be implemented by the current Tory government or a potential Labour administration.

UK railway cleaners to launch first national strike on New Year’s Eve

Railway cleaners in the UK will go on strike for the first time on New Year’s Eve, demanding a wage of £15 per hour, sick pay, decent holidays, and pensions. The industrial action, led by transport union RMT, will involve more than 1,000 contracted-out cleaners at private contractors for several rail operators, including Avanti West Coast, GWR, LNER, and TransPennine Express. ISS cleaners on London’s Dockland Light Railway will also strike over pay, rosters, and working conditions. The strikes follow the suspension of planned action last week and come amid a lack of progress in the dispute.

SNP restores party whip to MP found to have sexually harassed teenage employee

The SNP has restored the party whip at Westminster to Patrick Grady, a former chief whip who was found to have sexually harassed a teenage party employee. Grady had resigned from the party last summer following the ruling by the Commons authorities, but the SNP’s member conduct committee only imposed a six-month suspension of his party membership, which has now expired. Grady has therefore had his membership of the SNP reinstated and regained the SNP Westminster group whip. This move has prompted criticism of the party’s handling of the issue and its commitment to taking such issues seriously. Pat Harrington, General Secretary of Solidarity union, said: “The SNP are ‘woke’ in their speeches but act tribally to protect their own. Mr Grady was given, in effect, a slap on the wrist. What kind of message does this send out to others? It’s amazing that this is still happening after MeToo.”

Merseyside refuse workers win pay increase following strike action

Refuse workers in Merseyside, England, have won a pay increase of 15% after going on strike earlier this month. The deal, which covers more than 200 workers employed by Biffa on an outsourced contract for Wirral Council, will be backdated to April and includes a commitment to boost pay again in April 2023 by between 7% and 9% depending on inflation rates. The pay increase was secured through the efforts of the workers’ trade union, Unite.

Firefighters in UK paid up to six times less than their bosses, says union

Firefighters in the UK are paid up to six times less than their bosses, according to the Fire Brigades Union (FBU). Freedom of Information requests revealed that chief fire officers earned an average of £148,000 per year, with the highest salary being £206,000. This is significantly more than the salary of an ordinary firefighter. The FBU also reported that after a decade of below- or at-inflation pay settlements, many firefighters and control staff are relying on foodbanks and taking on additional jobs to make ends meet. The union is currently holding a ballot on whether to go on strike over pay, after rejecting a 5% pay offer. The result of the ballot will be announced on today.

Union News brings you news of the UK union and labour movement. We can’t rely on the UK media to give unbiased accounts on these issues. Please support Union News by sharing links and following us on streaming platforms such as Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube. Thanks for your support in building the counter media. If you have news to share please get in touch.

Episode Notes

Our music is provided by Tim Bragg. Tim is a multi-instrumentalist & singer-songwriter. You can hear his songs here: – or any streaming service or on YouTube.

If you have news, video footage, pictures etc that you want featured in Union News please email: UnionNewsServices@protonmail.com

New Year Message from the President of Solidarity Union

2022/2023 Presidential Message from Glen Nicklasson

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As 2022 draws to an end it would appear the year was a year of Good byes – Good bye to Covid 19, Goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II and goodbye to two Conservative Prime Ministers. This year people have been able to travel freely, in contrast to last year, where people’s liberties were largely restricted based on vaccine status.

It serves as an important reminder how Liberty and Freedom can be swiftly taken from us and we should protect freedom vigorously. Whether you’re a Royalist or not, I think you would’ve been as shocked and saddened by the sudden death of our longest ever serving Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. She sat as Head of State for seventy years and recently celebrated her Platinum Jubilee. She will be sorely missed by the establishment and many of her subjects throughout the Commonwealth and beyond. She was Interred with her late beloved husband the Duke of Edinburgh.

Did 2022 witness the beginning of the end of the Conservative Party? Let’s hope so. After Boris Johnson resigned in the face of a lying allegation, the Tories subjected the British public to a Tory leadership contest with Liz Truss coming out on top. Unfortunately for Liz She was almost immediately replaced by Rishi Sunak. Rishi Sunak is a Billionaire who once claimed in an interview that he had Working-Class friends. Mr. Sunak realised his mistake and retracted the false statement immediately.

The Year has ended on a positive note for the Trade Union movement with many Unions calling for Strikes in the wake of the Cost of Living Crisis. There have been walkouts by the RMT, CWU, RCN and many more. We in Solidarity support these strikes and urge you to support those taking Industrial action in any way you can. Do not cross a picket line, honk your horn in support if you see workers on a picket l ine and support local your local strikes on social media etc. Solidarity the Union looks forward to representing all working people in 2023 and would like to remind you to support each other at work. Together we are Strong!

Xmas Message from the General Secretary of Solidarity union, Pat Harrington

The motto of Leith, where I live, is Persevere. Our local coat of arms depicts a ship with that motto as Leith is and was the Port of Edinburgh and it’s fortunes were bound closely to the Sea and international trade. Both can witness misfortune and obstacles. In your own life you will have faced your own problems and setbacks. It’s the same with organisations. There are bound to be barriers and difficulties that block your path. To overcome these challenges and move forward we need perseverance. Perseverance is a skill that helps us stay motivated and helps us work towards our goals. Perseverance helps us make progress even when things get tough.

If we can work through hard times, it can open up new opportunities for us. The ability to persevere in difficult situations gives us a head start when we face problems and difficulties. Life isn’t easy, and there will always be times when things don’t go according to plan.

Perseverance boils down to the drive and resilience we display while completing an objective. Regardless of the challenges that emerge or the time it takes us to complete the task, we persist tirelessly and pursue our set goal(s). It’s an important quality in life as it allows us to stay in the game even though everyone else says it’s time to call it quits. Perseverance helps us achieve our life’s dreams, goals and vision.

Our union is prepared to spend years pursuing a case if need be. We don’t give up and we deal patiently with anything that is thrown at us. We stand by our members for however long it takes to get them to a better position.

Some cases are more straightforward and can be resolved fairly quickly. Our Reps are busy every day defending the rights of our members in disciplinaries, redundancy consultations and grievances. They are high-quality, committed people, who care and want to change things for the better. All of them deserve our gratitude and they certainly have mine and also my respect. We have won many settlements for our members in the past year but we currently have three active Employment Tribunal cases pending where settlement has not yet been agreed. These will be pursued to their conclusion.

This year we faced a regulatory threat to our very existence as a union. We dealt with it as a team and we overcame it. Not only that but we turned it to our advantage by studying the problem and looking for ways to turn it into a win. What seemed a huge problem we turned into a win – through perseverance.

We’ve also learned that we can’t rely on the mainstream media reporting our activities, or indeed being fair to us or any other union. That’s why we work hard to create our own media. It can be as simple as our weekly internal bulletin ‘British Worker’. Or it can be more ambitious as with our latest project Union News. Union News is a weekly podcast, made by our union. Currently it is available on Spotify, YouTube and Amazon music. In the new year I will lead the team behind it forward to improve the quality of the broadcasts and make it more widely available through other streaming platforms. It’s an important part of building our counter-media.

We may be a small union but we think big and we certainly punch above our weight. We are committed to reaching our goals. We are dedicated to completing whatever task lies in front of us. We continue steadfastly, especially in something that is difficult or tedious. That’s one thing which marks our union out from other organisations – we persevere!

Finally, on a personal note, may I say how honoured I was to be elected once more in 2022 as your General Secretary and wish you, even in these very hard times, a very Merry Christmas.

Note

You can view the last episode of Union News on YouTube here Don’t forget to like and subscribe to Union News wherever you can!

Union News 21 December 2022

Trade Union News. Here’s a round up of the latest trade union and labour related news from around the UK. In this programme: NHS Staff March on Downing Street, Train Drivers to Strike, Christmas Post Truce Rejected By Management, Ambulance Workers Pledge To Maintain Essential cover and Union Leaders Meet To Discuss a unified day of strikes.

NHS Staff March on Downing Street

NHS staff and campaigners marched on Downing Street yesterday as picketing nurses were greeted with outpourings of public support in towns and cities across the country.
The march was organised jointly by campaign groups NHS Workers Say No! and NHS Staff Voices which are part of the Keep Our NHS Public campaign.
Spirits were high on nurses’ picket lines nationwide, with many people honking their horns in encouragement as they passed by.

Train Drivers to Strike

Train drivers represented by their Union, Aslef, will go on strike on Thursday January 5, joining RMT members who are scheduled to walk out on January 3, 4, 6 and 7.
This is a result of a new ballot that was forced on them by government anti-strike laws. The mandate was even stronger than in the original ballot six months ago – 93 per cent for strike action on an 85 per cent turnout.
The drivers’ strike will halt services at 15 train companies including Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia and GTR Great Northern Thameslink.
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: “We don’t want to go on strike but the companies have pushed us into this place.”

Christmas Post Truce Rejected By Management

The Communication Workers Union has announced that postal workers will be striking on December 23 and 24, after Royal Mail rejected their offer of a Christmas truce.
The union had sought to get Royal Mail to sign a joint agreement incorporating the company’s latest promise of no compulsory redundancies, but the offer was rejected almost immediately.
This will be the 17th and 18th day of action in the dispute over pay, and is likely to cause significant delays in mail delivery during the festive period.

Ambulance Workers Pledge To Maintain Essential cover

GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison said that unions representing ambulance workers had been working “round the clock” to ensure there were enough strike exemptions to keep critical services running.
Tens of thousands of ambulance staff including paramedics and call handlers are expected to walk out today in a dispute over pay.
Speaking to MPs on the Commons health and social care select committee, Ms Harrison said strike action would go ahead unless Health Secretary Steve Barclay is willing to talk about pay.
The GMB leader said that “essential” parts of the service will still be covered today, including responses for the most life-threatening conditions, like cardiac arrest.
Ms Harrison told MPs that ambulance workers have been forced to take strike action after raising concerns for years about ambulance delays and unsafe conditions for patients as well as pay.

And finally, Union Leaders Meet To Discuss a unified day of strikes

According to a report in Socialist Worker Trade union leaders are planning to call a unified day of strikes on Wednesday 1 February, which could involve over a million workers. Union leaders met last week to discuss whether some sort of joint action was possible, and agreed to reconvene on 10 January when a final decision could be made.


This plan is a sign of the potential for powerful struggles to transform British politics says the report.

Episode Notes

Thanks for listening to this episode of Union News. Don’t forget to like & share to spread news of the labour and trade union movement in the UK. You can also send us news, soundclips, photos and video footage by email. Our email is given in the show notes. Please email: UnionNewsServices@protonmail.com

Our music is provided by Tim Bragg. Tim is a multi-instrumentalist & singer-songwriter. You can hear his songs here: – or any streaming service or on YouTube.

Ambulance picture credit: Florian, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0

, via Wikimedia Commons

Whose side are you on?

The recent spate of strikes in the UK has been sparked by a number of grievances, ranging from pay and pension issues to job security concerns. In addition, many workers are calling for an end to austerity, which has resulted in deep cuts to public services and a squeeze on wages. For these reasons, it is important for all citizens to stand in solidarity with the striking workers and support their cause.

In recent years, workers across the country have suffered as a result of austerity-driven reforms. Public sector pay has been routinely frozen or cut while real-terms wages have stagnated. This has made it increasingly difficult for many families to make ends meet and left them struggling to keep up with rising costs of living. Furthermore, jobs are becoming more precarious as companies turn towards zero-hour contracts and other forms of insecure work. In this context, strikes provide an essential tool for workers to push back against unfair labour practices and secure better working conditions.

The strikes also reflect wider economic trends in the UK that disproportionately impact lower-paid workers who struggle the most under austerity measures. The gap between rich and poor continues to widen as corporate profits continue to soar while average wages fail to keep pace with inflation. Austerity policies have also had a detrimental effect on public services such as education and health care which are critical for people’s well-being yet suffer from chronic underfunding due to limited resources. These issues must be addressed if long-term progress is to be achieved and this can only be done through collective action, such as striking.

It is therefore important that everyone supports the rights of UK strikers by standing in solidarity with them during their protests. Strikes can serve as an effective way for workers to push back against exploitation and demand fairer treatment from employers but they can only achieve results when there is broad public support behind them. By lending our voices we can help ensure that working people get the pay rises they deserve, secure improved job security provisions,and safeguard essential public services that so many rely upon day-to-day across Britain.

The strikers’ demands should not be seen simply as special requests from a single group but rather part of a broader effort towards achieving social justice throughout the nation – something which requires us all to take action together if we wish to make lasting progress towards greater equality and prosperity for all citizens in the United Kingdom.

Pete Seeger had a hit with the song “Which Side Are You On?” in 1967. The song was written by Florence Reece in 1931. Florence was the wife of Sam Reece, a union organizer for the United Mine Workers in Harlan County, Kentucky, USA. In 1931, the miners of that region were locked in a bitter and violent struggle with the mine owners called the Harlan County War.

Just as then the question was simple which or whose side are you on? Then you could side with the striking miners or the bosses, today you side with the strikers fighting for social justice, decent pay and reasonable conditions or against them. Whose side are you on?

Union News 19 December 2022

Transcript of programme, click on image to view

Trade Union News. Here’s a round up of the latest trade union and labour related news from around the UK. In this programme: Amazon workers to strike, Unions warn against using troops to break strikes, Disabled Scots hit hard in cost-of-living crisis and strike dates announced by ambulance workers.

Amazon workers to strike

The workers at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse in the UK have voted to go on strike after a derisory hourly pay offer of just 50 pence.
98% of staff voted in favor of the strike, which is likely to take place next year.
The workers are represented by the GMB union.
Amazon has been accused of union-busting activities on both sides of the Atlantic.

Unions warn against using troops

Unions and campaigners warn that using troops to break national strikes endangers NHS patients and threatens civilian democracy.
The Royal College of Nursing, Unite, GMB, and others slam proposals to deploy 1,200 “insufficiently trained” military personnel to cover for striking nurses, ambulance staff and Border Force officials.
Thousands of RCN members are set to follow up last Thursday’s walkout with a further 24-hour strike tomorrow.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has responded by claiming inflation-matching salary packages are “unaffordable” and threating to further curb the right to withdraw labour.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay claimed yesterday that his “number one priority is keeping patients safe,” but Unite accused the government of “hollowing out” the NHS and blasted plans to rely on troops as a “desperate measure.”

Disabled Scots hit hard in cost-of-living crisis

Disabled people in Scotland are facing a hidden cost-of-living crisis due to bills associated with their health condition, a charity warned today.
Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) is urging disabled people or their carers to seek advice on energy bills and other household costs amid the costs crisis they face.
A YouGov survey of 1,002 adults in Scotland found 37 per cent are in households where someone has a disability or long-term health condition.
•The charity’s analysis of the poll found 31 per cent of adults in such households need to keep their homes at a certain temperature, 15 per cent have to cook specific meals and 8 per cent must run medical equipment, incurring higher costs.

Strike dates announced for ambulance workers

The GMB union has announced strike dates for more than 10,000 ambulance workers across nine trusts in England and Wales on Wednesday 21 and Wednesday 28 December. Action will involve paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff. Unison union members working as part of A&E road crews in five ambulance trusts in England will strike on Wednesday 21 December.

More than 1,600 workers in the Unite union at three trusts in England are scheduled to strike on 21 December.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Union News. Don’t forget to like & share to spread news of the labour and trade union movement in the UK.

Episode Notes

Our music is provided by Tim Bragg. Tim is a multi-instrumentalist & singer-songwriter. You can hear his songs here: – or any streaming service or on YouTube.

If you have news, video footage, pictures etc that you want featured in Union News please email: UnionNewsServices@protonmail.com

Ambulance picture credit: Florian, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Union News 17 December 2022

Sunak under pressure to start talking to nurses union

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing pressure from the Labour movement and his own backbenchers to negotiate with nurses and prevent further NHS strikes.

The Tory leader insists that this year’s 4.75 per cent pay deal — less than half 40-year high inflation — is “appropriate and fair,” but four Conservative former ministers have urged him to back down ahead of a second 24-hour walkout in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on Tuesday.

Mr Sunak and Health Secretary Steve Barclay reiterated their praise for July’s offer, recommended by the “independent” NHS pay review body, despite its remit being set by Downing Street.

Royal College of Nursing general secretary Pat Cullen warned that industrial action would only grow without a change of approach from ministers.

Unions given green light for legal challenge

The High Court has granted permission for the legal challenge – brought by eleven trade unions, coordinated by the TUC and represented by Thompsons Solicitors LLP – to protect the right to strike.

The unions come from a wide range of sectors and represent millions of workers in the UK.

With industrial action taking place across the economy after years of declining real pay and attacks on working conditions, reports suggest the government is considering new ways to restrict workers’ right to strike.

Unions argue that the regulations are unlawful because they violate fundamental trade union rights protected by Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady says that “the right to strike is a fundamental British liberty” but “the government seems hellbent on attacking it at every opportunity.”

Unite announce big pay win at Rolls Royce

The Unite union has announced that the workers at Goodwood’s Rolls Royce factory have won the “largest single pay deal in the history of the plant.”

The inflation-busting package, worth 17.6 per cent, will see staff at the site in West Sussex pocket an extra £3,205 a year alongside a one-off payment of £2,000.

Unite General secretary Sharon Graham praised the “top notch pay deal,” saying that it is a testament to the organising efforts of Unite reps at Goodwood and proof that their union’s focus on jobs, pay and conditions is winning for workers.

Staff at the plant build some of world’s most expensive luxury cars and had voted to go on strike during dispute. The Rolls Royce brand is owned by BMW who reported total sales of £13.5 billion in first half of this year.

People with heart and lung problems suffer more from cold homes

1.3 million people living in poverty in private rented homes suffer from a cardiovascular or respiratory condition, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

People with such conditions are more likely to need hospital treatment and to die from the cold, with this risk increasing for people who are too poor to afford to keep warm.

About a fifth of people with such conditions live in poverty, with coastal areas of north-west England worst affected.

Blackpool was found to have the highest proportion of people with cardiovascular or respiratory problems living in poverty (4.6 per cent), while Richmond upon Thames had the least (1.6 per cent).

Commenting on the figures, Asthma and Lung UK director of external affairs Henry Gregg said: “For years, our lungs have been a clear victim of inequality and poverty.”

UK government fails to set-up promised workers’ rights body

The UK government has reportedly shelved plans to introduce an independent body to oversee workers’ rights in the country.

Announced in June 2021, the watchdog was intended to combine the work done by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and HM Revenue & Customs’ national minimum wage enforcement team.

Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, told the House of Commons business committee: “We’ve spent two years plus of this parliament fighting Covid. It may well be with two years left to go that we’re still able to address some of that. But what we’re more interested in is making sure that the bodies that are already there are operating effectively.”

The proposed group formed part of the Conservative manifesto and was a component of proposed revisions to the Employment Bill, which has also fallen by the wayside in 2022.

Episode Notes

Our music is provided by Tim Bragg. Tim is a multi-instrumentalist & singer-songwriter. You can hear his songs here: – or any streaming service or on YouTube.

If you have news, video footage, pictures etc that you want featured in Union News please email: UnionNewsServices@protonmail.com

Union News 12 December 2022

Tens of thousands rally outside Parliament to support strikers

• Tens of thousands of postal workers demonstrated in Parliament Square, London, on Friday over pay and conditions.

• The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) said that “17,500 CWU members came to London”—one in six of those on strike.

• The CWU members were joined by politicians and other trade union leaders in solidarity.

• Royal Mail workers across the country formed picket lines and more action is planned for the rest of the week.

• CWU acting deputy general secretary Andy Furey spoke to the rally, saying that their demands are not going away and that unity will win in the end.

Christmas is cancelled for many disabled and carers

• One in five families who care for a disabled relative are planning to cancel their Christmas celebrations this year due to soaring prices, according to research by disability charity Sense.

• A survey of 1,007 families found that more than half said they were in debt and over a third were skipping meals to save money. With energy bills soaring as temperatures drop below 0 across the country, over a third (38 per cent) said they will not buy Christmas presents, and a fifth (22 per cent) said they will cancel celebrations altogether.

• The government has pledged to increase benefits in-line with inflation in April next year, but Sense warns that the delay to the uplift will leave “millions” of disabled families struggling to afford food and energy this winter. People with disabilities typically have higher living costs which makes them more vulnerable to soaring prices.

Jacob’s strike ends following settlement

• The Jacob’s cream cracker factory strike in Aintree, Liverpool has been called off after eleven weeks.

• Strikers voted in favour of a pay offer put forward by management, but over a third wanted to keep fighting.

• The deal includes a 6.5 percent pay rise this year backdated to January with a £300 one-off payment, followed by 3 percent increase next year with a £250 one-off payment – far less than the RPI rate of inflation which has soared to 14.2 percent.

• GMB union members were initially demanding a minimum pay rise of 8.5 percent but accepted 6.5% for first year and 2% for second year.

Shelter workers start two week strike

• Around 600 workers at housing charity Shelter began two weeks of strikes last Monday in the fight for a pay rise that at least matches inflation.

• Strikers are out at Shelter’s offices in Old Street and Hackney in London, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham, Blackburn, Bristol, Bournemouth, Manchester, Newcastle , Norwich , Liverpool , Plymouth , and Sheffield .

• On the picket line in Old Street , strikers chanted , “ Three percent won ’ t pay the rent ” while car horns beeped in support—and at the “ Honk if you’re not paid enough ” sign .

• The strikers are using their campaigning skills to run the picket—with a book swap group , tactics meetings teach – outs. A rally took place on Friday from where the strikers marched to the CWU union rally.

Episode Notes

Our music is provided by Tim Bragg. Tim is a multi-instrumentalist & singer-songwriter. You can hear his songs here: – or any streaming service or on YouTube.

If you have news, video footage, pictures etc that you want featured in Union News please email: UnionNewsServices@protonmail.com

Resist anti-union laws

Rishi Sunak has confirmed the government is ready to ram through new anti-strike laws.

The government has already started the process to pass a new law implementing minimum service levels during transport strikes, which would gut the right to strike.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson said on Wednesday that work was “ongoing” on other options for mitigating future industrial action, including a ban on walkouts by ambulance staff and other emergency workers, and extension of proposed minimum service level legislation to cover the whole public sector.

Unions, including Solidarity, have condemned the proposals.

“[The government] changes the law every time it loses an argument,” Mr Lynch of the RMT union told reporters.

“If people want to protest against them, they say you’re not allowed to do that anymore. If people want to take industrial action, they say it’s illegal.

“All of the opinion polls show it. They are losing the argument [on wages]. So, they are trying to get rid of the argument by suppressing trade union rights.”

Mr Lynch said that the trade union movement needs a co-ordinated and robust response to the attacks.

He said: “I fully expect [the government] to press ahead because they need a diversion for all their incompetence, so it’s a handy thing for them.

“Trade unions have no choice. When your members are being impoverished, you have to respond.”

Other union leaders have also spoken out against the plans.

Pat Harrington, general secretary of Solidarity said:

“Attacks on the right to strike are assaults on democracy. Strikes, or the threat of strikes, are a way for ordinary workers to bring about change in their pay and conditions. Sometimes a strike is the only way to get bad bosses to listen to their workers. No one wants to go on strike but sometimes it’s necessary. If passed this legislation will be fiercely resisted and will further divide our society.”

Fire Brigades Union (FBU) general secretary Matt Wrack said any attempt to ban workers from taking strike action would be an “outrage to so-called democracy.

“To further restrict the right to take industrial action would be a highly authoritarian move, and more in keeping with the actions of a dictatorial regime,” he said.

“The Tories are badly misjudging the public mood with these attacks.

“Any attempt to limit the right to strike will be fiercely resisted by the FBU.”

Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said that the government should instead be concentrating efforts to meeting with unions to solve the disputes.

“This threatens to backfire spectacularly on the government,” she said.

“The public has immense sympathy for ambulance workers and their NHS colleagues.

“Ministers could do well to remember that union members are voters too.”

When asked what action they would take on strike laws, a Labour spokesperson said only that they would repeal the “archaic” 2016 laws brought in under previous Tory administration, but offered no specifics beyond that.