The Tories & Unions clash over the "day of action"

Following the strike in the public sector today the Government claims on the turnout and impact:

• Support for the strike has been poor, with turnout down compared to previous occasions. We expect the total turnout to be less than half a million, well short of the numbers claimed by the Unions.
• Civil Service turnout likely to be fewer than 80,000 - just 18% of the workforce. We believe this to be the lowest number ever for a national strike. We have robust strike reporting arrangements in place, unlike the Trade Unions.
• All job centres are open.
• Four out of five driving tests went ahead today as planned.
• Majority of schools are open in England and Wales. The Local Government Association estimate 95% of local council staff to be in work.
• Fire services in England continuing to operate with robust contingency plans in place. Many local refuse, leisure and social care services are contracted out and unaffected by the strike. Overall impact on public services overall has been limited.
• Where services have been affected, these have been mitigated by a surge in demand for some online services. This is testament to the Government's digital transformation plans for public services.
• Measures ensured there were no unplanned closures in the courts.

Commenting the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude said: "We want to thank the vast majority of public servants who turned up for work as usual today. Our official estimates are that fewer than half a million took part in this strike action - well short of the inflated claims of union leaders. Within the Civil Service, there has been the lowest recorded turnout for a national strike. Every Jobcentre opened, the majority of children went to school as normal and fire services continue to operate with robust contingency arrangements in place. As part of our long-term economic plan, this Government has had to take tough decisions, including to restrain public sector pay. The blame for today's disruption rests with those union leaders who pushed for unnecessary strike action with weak mandates."

The government have outlined what they call "tough choices" in response to today's strikes:

• We recognise the frustrations of those that chose to take industrial action today. But hard choices are necessary to secure and consolidate economic recovery. Our children and grandchildren will be forced to pay for generations to come if we borrow heavily.
• Public sector pay has grown by more than the private sector since the start of the recession, and average pay remains higher in the public sector.
• Restraining pay protects jobs. This Government has saved £12 billion pounds that would have otherwise have to come from cuts to jobs and public services if we hadn't taken action.
• The Civil Service are asking for a 5% pay claim, which would cost 18,000 civil service jobs.
• Legitimacy
• There is no justification for taking strike action on such low turnouts or old mandates.
• The NUT mandate is nearly two years' old (Sept 12), while fewer than 20% of local government union members voted for strike action (or less than 6% of all local government workers).
• Raises serious questions on need to look at reforming rules that govern Trade Union ballot. 

Responding the GMB union said that there are more people on strike than union members as school and council staff, union members or not, are very angry and it's time someone listened.

The GMB commented on the impact of the strikes today in schools and councils. Brian Strutton, GMB National Secretary for Public Services said "From ringing around GMB regions and branches our information is that over 1 million workers are on strike in councils and schools. The majority of schools are closed or partially closed. Council services are significantly affected. However a number of our members have been released to work so that we do not endanger life and limb. But the bottom line is that there are more people on strike than just union members and we've been overwhelmed by the support. Local council and schools staff, union members or not, are very angry and it's time someone listened."

Also commenting on the "day of action" across England and Wales, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), said: “Thank you to all the teachers who took strike action today alongside five other public sector unions. We know this is not a decision that was taken lightly. Extraordinarily the Government’s response to today’s action has been to completely ignore the issues and instead seek to reduce people’s right to strike. There is no point pontificating on the fact that citizens have the right to strike if every time they do so they are vilified. It is a clear indication that this Government does not want to listen to our concerns, nor do they want them drawn to the general public’s attention."

Continuing Ms Blower said: “The reason why this dispute is so long running is due to the absolute failure of this Government to engage in any meaningful discussions on the main issues of our dispute. The responsibility for today’s action lies fairly and squarely at the door of Government. It is high time that we saw some significant movement. Teachers love their jobs but unless their concerns on pay, pensions and workload are addressed teacher recruitment will certainly become an issue.”

Unions warn UKIP favours scrapping rights to maternity leave, sick pay and paid holiday

Poster launched by 'Unionstogether' this morning

Trade Unions for Labour launched a poster campaign on today to 'warn' workers that UKIP favours scrapping basic rights for workers to maternity leave, sick pay, and paid holiday. The message will be taken on the road over the Bank Holiday weekend to highlight UKIP’s hidden commitment to scrap the workplace rights, including paid holiday, maternity leave and sick pay relied upon by the 31 million working people in the UK.

This campaign by unionstogether, the campaigning voice of the trade unions affiliated to the Labour Party, is to take on the serious threat to working people posed by UKIP. Launching the campaign, chair of TULO and leader of the GMB union Paul Kenny, warned that Nigel Farage and his party want to take working people back to the ‘dark ages’.

Supporters of unionstogether, who are ordinary union members, were invited to vote online to choose the message they thought most important to Britain’s workers. The message, chosen by thousands, will now adorn a mobile billboard, touring the country to urge people: ‘don’t let UKIP steal what matters to you’.

It says that the campaign draws attention to some of UKIP’s lesser known policies, put forward just last year in their Small Business Manifesto. Donation for unionstogether were crowdsourced from their supporters to fund a tour of marginal seats across the south east. They are seeking to raise enough money to take the message out across the country over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Paul Kenny, GMB General Secretary and chair of unionstogether, said “Nigel Farage is just another banker, trying to flog his snake oil while forgetting to tell us about the small print. While UKIP like to portray themselves as the only party that is in touch with working people, the reality is that they support a range of anti-worker policies including scrapping the right to maternity leave, sick pay, and paid holiday leave.

Continuing Mr Kenny said: "He really does not want people knowing that UKIP will take Britain’s working people back to the dark ages, scrapping basic rights we fought hard for and relied upon by the 31 million workers in this country to make life fairer like maternity leave, sick pay, and paid holiday leave. He can’t swerve the fact that these were written in his name, these are his policies. The ordinary working people who took part in our poll made it clear that they want to expose UKIP for what they are, dangerous, so that is the message that we are taking out to our communities.”

GMB backs report critical of school packed lunches

A decent school lunch really makes a difference to children's educational outcomes which is why we've been campaigning for free school meals for all kids says GMB. GMB, the union for school meals staff, welcomed the official report published today on the quality of school packed lunches.

Brian Strutton, GMB National Secretary for Public Services, said “GMB members in school kitchens have been speaking up for some time about the terrible quality of packed lunches that some children are sent to schools with. We hear horrific reports from of young kids coming to school with a few biscuits, or a couple of slices of plain bread, or even nothing at all. Often our members give them some school food and the schools will often try to take it up with the parents but still it goes on"

Continuing Mr Strutton said: "So we welcome this official report today that backs our members' first hand experience. Unfortunately a poor quality packed lunch is often a cheaper option than paying for school meals and even parents that are entitled to claim school meals for free often do not want the stigma of doing so. GMB has long argued that the solution is free school meals for all. Bad food means bad behaviour and poor concentration; a decent school lunch really makes a difference to children's educational outcomes. That is why we've been campaigning for free school meals for all kids."

Concluding Mr Strutton said: "We could make a real impact by introducing free school meals in all primary schools at a cost of around £900m. This is about the same cost as the proposed married couples tax relief. I think the money would be better spent on free school meals to bring to an end this packed lunch scandal and actually help our children grow healthily and learn better."

GMB disturbed by Ed Balls 'no hope' message

The GMB Congress is now meeting in Plymouth. There are 500 lay GMB member delegates in Plymouth till Thursday 6th June. Delegates are members who have been elected to represent over 620,000 members from every part of the UK and Ireland. They are employed in every sector of the economy.

Brian Strutton, GMB National Secretary, said “Delegates at GMB Congress are disturbed that Mr Balls was arguing for continuing this government’s austerity plans for at least two years after the next election and possibly beyond.

What makes this a really perplexing speech is because everyone who wants to support Labour is crying out for a new hope and a new direction. Indeed this seemed to be the message coming from Ed Miliband but now Mr Balls has out Osborne'd Osborne.

Saying so far in advance of the next election that Labour will do nothing substantially different until at least 2017 shows a complete absence of aspiration for ordinary working families. They want to hear that Labour will get them out of this coalition government mess not leave them stuck in it.

Furthermore, the idea floated by Mr Balls that Labour would end the principle of the universal winter fuel benefit is a retrograde step which will be highly divisive, unfair and yield little real benefit. Badging it as a contribution to the health and care budget holes is laughable.

What isn't so funny is the repetition of the belief that public sector workers pay has to be kept down to preserve jobs. This is a fake Tory argument that Mr Balls shouldn't be peddling.

Ending universal benefits and carrying on with pay restraint are against GMB policy."

Trade Unions and Labour high command square up over public sector pay

Labour high command is facing growing anger from unions today over public sector pay amid warnings that the party will lose the next election with a "watered down" version of the Government's policies. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls was the target of attacks for sticking by his support for the current freeze on the pay of millions of public sector workers - a stance which saw him heckled at the recent TUC Congress.

GMB leader Paul Kenny has drawn up a dossier of "Balls Ups" he said were made when Mr Balls was in government, which he plans to read out at a fringe meeting at Labour's annual conference in Manchester this afternoon. Yesterday Mr Kenny told Iain Dale on LBC that Mr Balls could give "a headache to an aspirin" Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, warned that Labour will lose the next election if it does not connect with workers, saying that the public sector pay freeze was also starting to have an impact on workers in private firms. 

The row initially broke out on the first day of Labour's annual conference and was threatening to overshadow events in the coming days, when the party is planning to turn its fire on the coalition and present Ed Miliband as a credible future prime minister. The Labour leader hit back at the unions, saying Mr McCluskey was "wrong" to oppose a public sector pay freeze and insisting Labour under his leadership would be "the party of the private sector" as much as the public.

He sought to use the row to show that the movement was not "pulling our strings", telling BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: "It's not going very well for him is it? You can't say at one and the same time that Len McCluskey is saying 'you're wrong on pay restraint' and then say we're giving in to him and he is pulling our strings."

Asked about the pay freeze, Mr Miliband said: "He is entitled to his view but he is wrong. We've got the right policy to say we put jobs in the public sector ahead of pay rises. That's what we said we would do this parliament. It is a difficult decision but it is the way to keep jobs in the public sector." The row will flare up again on the conference floor this afternoon when union officials will call for the party to condemn the government's pay freeze.

In a speech to delegates, Mr Kenny will say that Labour will have to go into the next election with a leadership the public can connect with, not those "damaged or dented by past mistakes which have not been owned up to." 

The Labour party conference will be debating a composite put forward by the Trade Unions on fair pay. The composite say the Tory-led coalition are "cutting too hard and too fast" it also calls for the scraping of proposals for regional pay and calls for the Labour leadership to fight for a "living wage". The government have imposed a pay freeze for public sector workers, Labour propose a One percent rise the unions oppose Labour's line.