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Unions push for showdown over pay Unions back 'co-ordinated' action
(7 minutes later)
Public sector workers are threatening to take "co-ordinated industrial action" against the government's below-inflation pay settlement. Unions have voted to take "co-ordinated industrial action" against the government over its below-inflation pay settlement for public sector workers.
Unions say a rise of 2.5% in two stages is not enough and could cost Labour votes at the next election. The TUC annual conference heard that, unless a 2.5% rise in two stages was improved upon, there could be a series of mass strikes this autumn.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown received a muted response when he told the TUC annual conference on Monday that the deal was needed to keep inflation down. Mark Serwotka, leader of the Public and Commercial Services Union, said many workers were on "poverty wages".
Delegates will vote on Tuesday whether to push for a campaign of strikes. On Monday Gordon Brown said the pay deal was needed to keep inflation down.
'Unity'
A motion from by the PCS and the National Union of Teachers said many public sector workers earn as little as £11,000 a year.
To loud applause from TUC delegates, Mr Serwotka said: "When Gordon Brown slams the door in our face, we have to say we aren't accepting it. Unity is strength."
Steve Cox, of the Prison Officers' Association, added: "None of us want a repeat of the winter of 1978. However, if the government continues like this, we have to be ready for action.
Our members are not the cause of inflation; they are the victims of it Mark SerwotkaPublic and Commercial Services Union Q&A: Public sector pay Spotlight on Brown speech Is strike action likely?Our members are not the cause of inflation; they are the victims of it Mark SerwotkaPublic and Commercial Services Union Q&A: Public sector pay Spotlight on Brown speech Is strike action likely?
A motion from by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) says it "deplores" the "pay limit" set by the government and recommends that unions "discuss coordinated industrial action". "If we are left with no alternative, we will all be out on the street."
PCS members at the Department for Work and Pensions have already rejected a three-year deal by an overwhelming three to one and are likely to be balloted on possible strike action within weeks. PCS members at the Department for Work and Pensions have already rejected a three-year deal by three to one and are likely to be balloted on possible strike action within weeks.
Mark Serwotka, PCS's general secretary, said: "Our members are not fat cats, on inflation-busting salaries.
"They are not the cause of inflation; they are the victims of it."
'Walkout'
A separate proposal from the National Union of Teachers warns that "unfair, discriminatory or demotivating public sector pay policies" are not compatible with high-quality services.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain are to address the TUC conference, amid a growing mood of anger at the pay settlement.
Prison guards have staged a walkout, while teachers, police and nurses have been among workers protesting at Mr Brown's public sector pay deal.Prison guards have staged a walkout, while teachers, police and nurses have been among workers protesting at Mr Brown's public sector pay deal.
But, in his first address to the TUC as prime minister, Mr Brown said "pay discipline" was "essential to prevent inflation, to maintain growth and create more jobs - and so that we never return to the old boom and bust of the past". But, in his first address to the TUC as prime minister, Mr Brown said on Monday that "pay discipline" was "essential to prevent inflation, to maintain growth and create more jobs - and so that we never return to the old boom and bust of the past".