Union leaders were warned that the Government cannot afford inflation-busting pay rises for public sector workers today as the country braces for a wave of brutal Christmas strikes.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said he did not have ‘a bottomless pit of taxpayers money’ to hand out to rail workers, nurses and thousands of others who will walk out in December.
Strike action over pay will see trains stop running and posties refusing to deliver cards and presents in the run up to Christmas Day, in scenes reminiscent of the dark days of militancy in the 1970s.
Tens of thousands of nurses are also due to down tools for two days, the first industrial action in the history of the Royal College of Nursing.
More than 100,000 civil servants are due to walk out, including Border Force staff at ports and airports, potentially affecting holiday getaway plans.
And the Communication Workers Union (CWU) has rejected Royal Mail’s final pay offer and is pressing ahead with more strikes, including…
