Unions are considering coordinated strike action this autumn in response to the worsening cost of living crisis amid ongoing pay disputes.<\/p>\n
Unison and Unite are expected to table motions ahead of the TUC congress next month that would enable them to synchronise strike dates and targets to ensure the greatest impact on services, the Observer reported.<\/p>\n
Unite\u2019s motion calls on the TUC to \u201cfacilitate and encourage industrial coordination between unions so workers in dispute can most effectively harness their union power to win\u201d, the newspaper reported.<\/p>\n
It comes as industrial action has escalated over the summer in protest at the spiralling cost of living and in support of better pay increases in line with rocketing inflation.<\/p>\n
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, tweeted following a visit to workers striking at the Port of Felixstowe on Friday: \u201cA groundswell of unhappiness over living standards is sweeping the country … The country is facing a moment with clear parallels to unrest over the poll tax, without a shadow of a doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calls for a \u201cgeneral strike\u201d have been supported by union leaders from the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), whose members walked out in separate action this week, which are also said to be submitting motions of support for coordinated strikes to the TUC conference.<\/p>\n
Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT, has previously put his weight behind coordinated industrial action, telling Sky News earlier this week: \u201cI think there will be generalised and synchronised action. It may not be in a traditional form.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a massive response coming from working people, because they\u2019re fed up with the way they\u2019ve been treated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Powers to call a general strike are held by the TUC, which has yet to comment on suggestions of coordinated walkouts. <\/p>\n
The union body\u2019s general secretary Frances O\u2019Grady, who stood behind Mr Lynch at a picket line on Thursday, said in a recent press statement that \u201cthe right to strike is a fundamental British liberty \u2013 and no one takes the decision to strike lightly\u201d.<\/p>\n
Liz Truss, the current frontrunner to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister on September 5, has previously declared she will introduce new laws to \u201chinder unions\u2019 ability to cripple the economy\u201d, including the raising of minimum thresholds for strike action from 40 to 50 per cent.<\/p>\n
The Independent has contacted the TUC, Unite and Unison for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Unions are considering coordinated strike action this autumn in response to the worsening cost of living crisis amid ongoing pay disputes. Unison and Unite are expected to table motions ahead of the TUC congress next month that would enable them to synchronise strike dates and targets to ensure the greatest impact on services, the Observer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n