A staggering 1.7 million workers could soon go on strike – welcome to the second winter of discontent

THE comrades are on the march. Against a backdrop of economic turmoil and rising inflation, a rebellious mood is spreading across the country.

So far this fall, 1.7 million workers on the state payroll have either voted for industrial action or are in the process of voting.

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This week, the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, which represents rail workers, announced a new series of strikes spanning eight days over Christmas and New Year, aimed at maximizing the misery endured to the public over the festive period is added.

Blackmail is the only word for the union’s methods.

Hardline RMT’s feisty £84,000-year boss Mick Lynch denied he’s like the Grinch, the character from the famous children’s story who tried to ruin Christmas.

But the sarcasm written all over his face told a different story.

Huge perks

His apology for the “inconvenience” to rail users was also unconvincing. He’s not sorry at all.

In fact, he revels in his undemocratic, unaccountable power to shut down the network.

There is absolutely no justification for these new rounds of industrial action in support of massive wage demands and defense of antiquated labor practices.

At a time when many households are struggling, train drivers are enjoying an average salary of £59,000 with huge benefits and scope for overtime.

Similarly, the average wage for other staff on the network is £45,000 – well above average earnings.

It is estimated that the rail strike has already cost the UK economy £1.2 billion.

Similarly, the Royal Mail has lost £100million to industrial action by postal workers, who this week also announced another round of work stoppages in the run-up to Christmas over their wage claim.

When unaffordable demands are agreed, they increase the spiral of inflation. This is exactly what happened in the late 1970s, when Jim Callaghan was Labor Prime Minister and Britain was known as ‘the sick man of Europe’ because of industrial chaos.

“There is madness in the air,” Callaghan’s aide Bernard Donoughue wrote in his diary as anarchy worsened during the winter of discontent of 1978-79.

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As unions flexed their muscles, bodies were dug up, patients were denied entry to hospitals, and garbage piled high in the streets.

The riots have not yet plumbed those depths, but they are moving in that direction. Militancy has gripped much of the 5.7 million public sector workers, fueling a huge wave of potential strikes that could paralyze essential services.

Strikes today are mostly taking place in the public sector because that’s where the unions are strongest and management is weakest.

Strikes today are mostly taking place in the public sector because that’s where the unions are strongest and management is weakest.

In addition, most state services are monopoly providers, making them more vulnerable to exploitation and blackmail by unions.

In the past five years, 20 times as many days have been lost to strikes in the public sector as in the private sector. In the past year, the lost days of public employees were 100 times higher.

The growing scale of militancy is already becoming clear. In 2019, 19,500 days per month were lost to strikes. By July, that number had risen to 87,600. The combined total for August and September is now close to 560,000.

Hardly any area of ​​the public sector is free of work stoppages. Members of the Royal College of Nursing have just voted for the first strike in their 106-year history to support a 17.6 per cent wage claim.

Other health unions are electing their members for walkouts, including Unison, which represents 350,000 NHS workers, the Chartered Institute of Physiotherapy and the 173,000-strong British Medical Association, whose junior doctors are campaigning for a 26 per cent pay rise and will hold a strike vote in January.

Similarly, the Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents civil servants and is led by leftist arsonist Mark Serwotka, has just backed a series of mass walkouts.

Hardly any poverty wages

At universities and colleges, the disruption continues because of a longstanding dispute over salaries, pensions and working conditions. They could soon be joined by teachers, school principals, firefighters, ambulances and local authority workers.

Certainly many public servants are doing a heroic job, particularly in the NHS, schools and emergency services. But the complaint should not be overstated.

For example, the average teacher salary is £39,000. Hardly any poverty wages.

In addition, public employees generally enjoy better job security, far more generous pensions, longer vacations, shorter hours, and more flexible work patterns than their private-sector counterparts.

Nor would the workers win if the government gave in to their wage demands. Such a step would massively increase the cost of public services and could only be covered by higher taxes.

According to the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies, a pay rise of 10.1 per cent – the level of inflation in September – would cost £18bn across the public sector as a whole.

For the good of the economy and the needs of the British public, the government must stand firm against this mass irresponsibility.