LONDON, January 6: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to the media when he visited Harris Academy in Battersea.
Henry Nicholls – WPA Pool/Getty Images
LONDON – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is preparing to meet with union leaders this week in what he hopes will be “constructive” discussions as he seeks to halt nationwide industrial action, even as his government prepares controversial anti-strike legislation.
Tens of thousands of workers have walked out of the industry in recent months to demand better working conditions and pay rises in line with inflation, which is still running at double the UK rate.
UK inflation fell to 10.7% year-on-year in November from a 41-year high of 11.1% in October, and the country’s Office for Fiscal Responsibility predicted that British households would experience the sharpest drop in living standards.
Sunak told reporters during a visit to the school in London on Friday that he sought “a mature and honest conversation with union leaders about what is responsible, what is reasonable and what can be done for our country when it comes to paying,” according to Reuters.
His comments came just a day after his government announced new anti-attack laws to “enforce minimum service levels” across key public services, including the National Health Service, schools, the rail network, the nuclear commission and the fire service.
The law, which Sunak’s government plans to introduce in Parliament in the next few weeks, would allow bosses to sue unions for harassment and to fire workers who take part in industrial action.
Full details of the plan could be laid out as soon as Thursday, according to The Times newspaper, but the initial announcement was met with anger by union leaders.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which has staged its first strike action in its 106-year history in recent weeks, called the move “undemocratic”, while the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said the entire trade union movement would ” fight this pernicious attack on workers by all means available.”
Over the weekend, Sunak raised his tone on the nurses’ strike, telling the BBC he was open to talks about a “responsible” and “affordable” new pay deal, with another walkout on NHS workplaces in England scheduled for January. 18 and 19.
On the same BBC show, RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen called Sunak’s change a “soul of optimism” and called on the prime minister to meet him “halfway”.
Talks between the government and union leaders are scheduled for Monday, but Unite, one of the country’s biggest unions which also represents NHS members including ambulance workers, accused Sunak of “misleading the British public” over pay negotiations.
Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham, in a statement on Sunday, said there had been no progress on the upcoming NHS salary payments (2023/4) while NHS 2022 salary claims were still pending.
“I have repeatedly invited the prime minister to come to this table. All the general secretaries who represent NHS workers are ready to talk to him at any time,” said Graham.
“But this meeting on Monday has been misrepresented at almost every level. It’s not a discussion, it’s not about paying for the NHS now and it’s not with the prime minister.”
Graham added that while Sunak “accepts the need to make real progress on current pay claims, there will still be strikes on the NHS this winter.”
A total of 2,600 Unite ambulance workers are set to strike on January 23 with further action in Wales on January 19.
The NHS is facing an unprecedented crisis, with hospitals full, patients lined up in corridors and ambulances queuing outside emergency departments unable to release patients or respond to new calls. Health trusts and ambulance services across the country have declared “critical incidents” in recent weeks as services have been overrun.
Sunak held an emergency meeting of health chiefs at the weekend and said “severe and radical” action was needed to guide the NHS through the crisis.
The national rail network has also been severely disrupted by strikes over the past four weeks, with the latest 48-hour walkout by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union leaving only one in five trains in Great Britain running on Saturday.