cross-posted from: kbin.social/m/workreform@lemmy.world/t/339006
Resolution Foundation report says much of industrial action ‘fuelled’ by public sector workers’ anger over falls in real-terms pay
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The Resolution Foundation, which focuses its research on low- to middle-income households, said many of the strikes were “fuelled” by anger among public sector workers over real-terms pay declines, which amounted to an average cut of more than 9% since 2021, adjusted for inflation.
Together, these publicly funded industries, which account for 69% of trade union membership in the UK, have been responsible for 96% of all days lost to strike action since 2021, according to the thinktank’s report.
On Friday junior doctors embarked on their fifth round of strikes, which could result in the total number of appointments cancelled owing to industrial action hitting 1m.
Members of the UK’s biggest rail workers’ union also plan to stage fresh strikes on 26 August and 2 September.
Nye Cominetti, a senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said the recent strikes by teachers and junior doctors “reflect the fact that real-terms public sector pay has fallen severely in the past few years, as well as the stress and difficult workplace conditions frequently reported by workers in these sectors”.
The recent pay squeeze in the public sector appears to have contributed to a larger increase in vacancies, the Resolution Foundation said.
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JoBo@feddit.uk 1 year ago
This seems naive when the Tories are in power and would love it if the public sector disappeared. And the opposition are determined not to oppose them at all.