Militant union barons are plotting a 'winter of discontent' in a bid to secure inflation-busting pay hikes, while hoping 'sympathetic' Andy Burnham will aid their cause. Union sources today revealed that barons are gearing up for national action which could shut down hospitals, schools, and railways after Labour made it easier to call strikes.
Union Plans for Autumn and Winter
Both school and rail union barons are threatening to ballot members in the autumn and winter if their above-inflation pay demands are not met. Health union bosses are expected to hold fresh ballots to keep doctors' strikes going until Christmas, with nurses' walkouts also threatened at some hospitals.
One senior union source said projected rising inflation makes strikes more likely because they will demand higher pay hikes. They stated: 'Given [CPI] inflation could get above 4 per cent this year, you're potentially looking at the sort of winter of discontent we last saw under the Tories.'
Andy Burnham's Role
The source added that barons are hoping Mr Burnham, who has received thousands of pounds in union donations ahead of his expected leadership bid, will win the Makerfield by-election and go on to become Prime Minister because he is seen as more left-wing. 'We'd prefer to see Andy in charge,' they said, adding: 'There's more chance of unions getting what they want. There's an overall sense that Andy is someone who instinctively understands the union movement more than Keir Starmer ever did. That's the game for trade unions. It's a holding pattern at the moment though until Burnham is in play. Just about every union would row in behind Burnham to get him over the line. He understands Labour politics in a way Keir Starmer doesn't.'
Referring to Sir Keir's U-turn over scrapping the two-child benefit cap, a second union source commented: 'We went to Keir collectively over two years ago about scrapping the cap and he just didn't get what the whole point of it was. But now, two years later, he's saying it's the best thing he's ever done. I don't think we'd be in that position with Burnham, he'd understand straight off the bat. It's the same on pay disputes.'
RMT Rail Union Threats
The RMT rail union is threatening a nationwide strike campaign to obtain above-inflation pay rises. Eddie Dempsey, the union's boss, wrote to all his members last month stating he was demanding blanket pay rises higher than the retail price index (RPI) level of inflation with no strings attached. When he wrote to members, RPI was more than 4 per cent, while the officially preferred consumer price index rate was at 3.3 per cent. The latter has since dropped to 2.8 per cent, but experts say it could rise above 4 per cent again later this year.
In his letter, Mr Dempsey told members: 'Our message to the Government is clear: unshackle these pay talks and allow meaningful negotiations to take place, or we will escalate our campaign, including moving towards a coordinated ballot for industrial action across all train companies where we will coordinate strikes to maximise disruption.' The union is understood to be keeping its powder dry while the Labour leadership contest plays out and will not launch any ballots until after the summer if its demands remain unmet.
NEU and BMA Actions
Similarly, as revealed by The Mail on Sunday, the NEU, England's largest teaching union, has warned it will ballot members on walkouts from October unless ministers give them a 'fully-funded pay offer for teachers that exceeds inflation.' The Department for Education has so far offered a 6.5 per cent pay hike for teachers over three years, which NEU bosses branded an 'insult', paving the way for winter walkouts.
The British Medical Association is expected to re-ballot resident doctors over their militant strikes campaign ahead of the current mandate expiring in August. The union is also balloting senior doctors, including consultants and specialists, with the vote closing in July. It wants a 29 per cent pay hike for resident doctors, despite getting 22 per cent less than two years ago, and wants a similar settlement for senior doctors.
Nurses' Strikes and Labour's New Laws
The Royal College of Nursing has also warned that nurses at some hospitals could strike later this year over claims that some entry level 'band five' members spend decades or whole careers stuck at that banding. Under Labour's Employment Rights Act, strikes are to become easier to coordinate. The new law, being phased in over this year and next, scraps the requirement for 50 per cent of members to vote in strike ballots and the need for four in ten to say yes. Instead, just a simple majority in favour of walkouts will be needed regardless of turnout. Mandates for strike action are also being doubled from the current six months to a year, while only ten days' notice of walkouts need to be given rather than two weeks.
While more than 1 million working days have been lost to strikes under Labour, walkouts are yet to be as widespread as under the Tories. Mr Burnham's office was contacted for comment.
