A union leader has warned that scores of workers could go on strike in the coming months in the battle for better pay.
In Sharon Graham’s first year as general secretary of Unite, the union’s members have fought for better pay in more than 450 disputes. Unite said eight out of 10 have been won, securing £150m in new wages and benefits for union members, with 76,000 members taking industrial action to secure the wins, reports Wales Online.
Ms Graham said: “The two words that unite all the individual strikes taking place are ‘pay cuts’. Workers are simply no longer prepared to accept poverty wages, especially when they know employer after employer is guilty of rampant profiteering.
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"Since I was elected, 76,000 Unite members have taken industrial action in pay disputes. That’s put £150m more in their pay packets. There could be hundreds of disputes involving tens of thousands of workers over the coming months if employers continue to offer real terms wage cuts presented as pay increases. Summer of discontent? We’ve had the spring, summer, autumn and winter of discontent with austerity every single season.”
She further added: “Calls for wage restraint by companies who are fuelling soaring prices are contemptible. It’s time to stop telling workers to pay the price for inflation and instead do something to tackle excessive profiteering.
“Unite makes no apologies for backing workers fighting for a better deal. If employers can pay, they should pay. If they won’t pay, eventually they will pay when Unite organises the fightback.”
The warning comes as families across the UK struggle against high inflation, with the costs of food and energy rising. Householders are bracing themselves for higher energy bills in October after the new price cap was announced.
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