Mr Johnston’s standpoint in the piece is that the public sector unions are the last bastion of militancy in the trade union movement, and his comparisons are with the old printing disputes at Wapping or with the recent postal workers strike. His thesis is that both those groups set themselves against the so called modernisation of services and his implication is that a wave of public sector strikes would be in a similar vein.
However he himself suggests that the strikes are likely to be about spending restraint and government policy on jobs and wages including a public sector pay freeze, or pension rights or higher contributions or later retirement. How any of these issues could be in any way identified as modernisation of services? Not to put too fine a point on it, they are bread and butter service conditions issues.
If any government chooses to impose a policy that has the effect of worsening pay, pensions or conditions of service, they must surely expect that those workers may wish to take action against those changes. Why would they not? Mr Johnston suggests that such strike action would be unwelcome to an incoming government as they have far grander plans to be getting on with. There is a way to avoid it.
Well the suggestion in the piece is that public sector unions may be bought off by the retention of the trade union modernisation fund. However, for those about to be hit by pay cuts, pension cuts and job cuts that is unlikely to be anything of a consideration. Any trade union that wishes to be taken seriously by its members is unlikely to indulge in that kind of game playing. If a new Tory government seriously wishes to avoid industrial strife it may wish to reconsider its plans for the public sector.
Nevertheless, at one point in his article Mr Johnston states that “It will not be like Margaret Thatcher taking on the miners in the 80’s. That was long planned for”. That starts an unexpected train of thought. Why is the Torygraph highlighting the prospect of public sector industrial action if the Tories win power? Why is such action already being posed as opposition to service modernisation? Perhaps the Torygraph readers are being prepared for a fight that the Tories know that they are going to have and are already preparing the ground? Just a thought...
But if the Tory party is preparing its weapons, then perhaps some strategic thinking in the unions is also called for?