Labour Warns Rishi Sunak’s Failure To Negotiate On Strikes Is Sabotaging UK – The UK economy faces a “massive hit” in 2023 because Rishi Sunak’s government is refusing point blank to negotiate with unions over ending public sector strikes, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has told the Observer in a marked escalation of rhetoric from Labour. This week will see five consecutive days of shutdowns on the rail system but Reeves says ministers appear to have “given up” on governing altogether and are instead seeking confrontation with the unions for political reasons.
“The Tories’ approach is increasingly reckless in allowing these strikes to continue with no effort to resolve them,” she said. “We need trains that run, ambulances that arrive and hospital beds available in a functioning economy and society. Under the Tories we barely have any. And our economy is not going to get back to growth when people can’t get to work or to restaurants, pubs and theatres. Sitting on the sidelines is now just another way in which the Tories are sabotaging the UK economy.”
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The remarks by Reeves will be seen as more clearly supportive of the unions’ and public sector’s cause than Labour has been to date. Party sources say that if and when Labour comes to power there will be a “reset” to ensure that public sector pay keeps pace with inflation and that vocational jobs such as nursing are truly valued. Describing the refusal to discuss pay with the unions as a “total abdication of responsibility,” Reeves said: “The fact that Tories are happier to see a massive hit to the economy and prolonged chaos and misery than sit in a room with ordinary working people and negotiate with their representatives is unforgivable.”
“These disputes will be resolved only by negotiating fair pay deals with compromise from all sides. The government has refused to resolve disputes, because the Tory party is so hopelessly divided on everything else that confronting trade unions is the only thing left to unite their MPs.” Increasingly, business leaders are also concerned at huge additional damage to the economy if strikes continue, warning that businesses are being “hammered.”
Jane Gratton, head of people policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said strikes would be a disaster for firms that rely on extra takings in the festive season to see them through January and February. “Getting people to negotiate has to be the top priority,” she said. “Where this can’t happen, a basic level of service must be maintained to allow the wider business community to continue to operate.”
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A Conservative spokesperson said: “The Labour party continuously fail to put forward a credible plan to tackle the issues we face. We are doing all we can to mitigate the impact but Labour should call on union bosses to be reasonable, stay around the negotiating table and call off these damaging strikes.” Ministers have said they have accepted the recommendations of the NHS pay review body, but there was not a “bottomless pit” of money to meet union demands.
