Sir Keir Starmer has been warned by a senior union leader that a Labour government must give public sector workers a pay rise or face potential strikes this year.
Matt Wrack, president of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), said he recognised the “financial constraints” that an incoming Labour administration will face, but warned “something will need to be done” about public sector pay amid the cost of living crisis.
He also urged Starmer not to “backtrack” on Labour pledges to improve workers’ rights and suggested there were arguments with the leadership over how “substantial” the proposals should be in the party’s election manifesto, ahead of a crunch meeting between the party and unions to agree the policy document on Friday.
Mr Wrack spoke after Starmer came under pressure to explain how he would resolve the NHS junior doctors’ strike in an ITV election debate on Tuesday night.
Asked by reporters if more strikes were likely under Labour due to its plans to repeal some Conservative anti-strike laws and whether there could be another wave of industrial action over winter, Mr Wrack stressed his experience with the Fire Brigades Union showed collective bargaining allows unions and employers to reach settlements without strikes, citing the example of the deal struck this year.
But he added: “An incoming Labour government has to take account of the fact that people have struggled over 14 years particularly on the back of the cost of living crisis.
“And something has got to be done to address that in people’s pay packets.
“I get that they’re going to be under financial constraints and so on, but something will need to be done about it.
“Otherwise, you may see people taking further industrial action.”
Mr Wrack also laid down a marker ahead of the crunch Clause V meeting to agree Labour’s manifesto on Friday, at which the Shadow Cabinet, Parliamentary Labour Party, national policy forum, trade union members and the National Executive Committee will agree the party’s policy offering to voters.
The union chief said there should not be “any let up at all” in Labour’s workers’ rights pledge amid long-running fears the package could be watered down under pressure from big business, while stressing “that’s not about falling out with Keir Starmer”.
He said unions would hold Labour to account on its pledge to begin legislating for the protections in the first 100 days, while suggesting that there was a live debate behind the scenes on how explicit the manifesto should be on the policies.
“I get how policy officers for the leadership may be arguing to make it as brief as possible and some of us may be arguing, maybe arguing that it should be more substantial than that, then that’s the debate that’s going to take place through those structures.
“And yes, undoubtedly, we will want to hold an incoming Labour government to account on what’s in that manifesto.
“But let’s be clear, they’ve been making these pledges on the new deal for more than a year. – Very clearly at conferences at the TUC, both Angela Rayner who’s lead on it for them, but also Keir Starmer himself.
“I don’t expect him to backtrack, it’s a vote winner and it will substantially improve the lives of millions of people.”
Mr Wrack also dismissed a Tory attack that the package amounted to “French-style union laws” as a “daft soundbite” while revealing some workers wanted to see more militant action, while stressing he did not advocate it.
“I just think it’s a daft soundbite, frankly, from them [the Tories].
“Actually, interestingly, I’m not advocating that style of industrial relations, but I have heard working people here saying we should be a bit more like the French occasionally.
“We should be quicker to protest and we might achieve more.
“But I’m not advocating that.
“But I just think it is a daft soundbite.”
Election 2024
The general election campaign has finished and polling day has seen the Labour Party romp to an impressive win over Rishi Sunak‘s Tories.
Sir Keir Starmer and other party leaders have battled to win votes over six weeks, and i‘s election live blog covered every result as it happened. Tory big beasts from Penny Mordaunt to Grant Shapps saw big losses, while Jeremy Corbyn secured the win in Islington North.
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK also outdid expectations with four MPs elected.
But what happens next as Labour win? Follow the i‘s coverage of Starmer’s next moves as the new Prime Minister.
Responding to comments from the TUC that industrial action could continue, Starmer said “tough decisions” would have to be taken on matters of spending.
“In government, we will have to take tough decisions in relation to all matters to do with finance and that’s why as we go into the election, we’ve been very clear that economic stability is one of the first steps that we will take in government,” he said. “And that means that we have to be very careful not to make commitments that we can’t keep.”
Starmer added: “And when it comes to pay settlements, of course, these are periodic. All governments go through these negotiations, but there’ll be tough negotiations because the economy has been very badly damaged by this government.”
