The Conservative leader on Bury council has launched a blistering attack on teachers, rail workers and junior doctors who are considering striking for better pay.
Opposition leader Coun Russell Bernstein said ‘shame on any teacher’ who takes strike action and said any who did would be ‘ignoring their responsibilities’. During a speech at a meeting of Bury’s full council this week, Coun Berrnstein also condemned striking rail union members for ‘not wanting to modernise’ and claimed junior doctors who are considering balloting for industrial action are ‘expecting money trees to pop up’.
The comments came as the council debated a Conservative motion which called on Bury Council to write a letter to the the TUC asking them to withdraw support for the current action by the RMT transport union and to urge all trade unions threatening industrial action to cease to do so.
READ MORE:
The motion also called on the the council to convene an emergency meeting of Bury’s Teachers Joint Consultative Committee to make clear that any potential industrial action set against the background of normalisation from Covid-19 will be damaging to children in Bury and to write a letter to the British Medical Association outlining the irresponsibility of any industrial action by junior doctors.
Coun Bernstein, said: “We need to carry on supporting the most vulnerable in society and looking to provide measured support to all. No wonder trade union membership stands today at six million down significantly from the 13 million back in the halcyon days of the 1970s.
“As we prepare for a period of sustained industrial action across the trade union movement, let’s look at some of the reality that this irresponsible action will bring. We see rail unions not wanting to modernise, the same industry that the Conservative government committed £16 billion to, to keep trains running through the pandemic.
“I’m sure many of the people who will not be able to travel to work or go on their hard earned and long awaited holiday while the train drivers strike would love to earn the salaries that some of the striking train drivers are demanding with their inflation busting pay rises. Teachers are saying that if a 12 per cent pay increase is not met, they too will ballot up for industrial action.
“This coming when children and young people can finally start to think about having a normal year of education. They should be doing all they can to provide reassurance normality and support but teachers are threatening to ignore their responsibilities and go on strike.
“I say shame on any teacher who strikes to try to force and inflation busting pay award.”
What do you think? Have your say in our comments.
In May this year Coun Bernstein, along with his fellow Conservative members and the controlling Labour group, voted to accept an increase in councillor allowances which saw a pay rise of more than 20 per cent to members. The increase, which was the first in 11 years, was recommended by an independent panel who found that councillors in Bury had one of the lowest paying allowances schemes in Greater Manchester.
The acceptance of the recommendations saw the opposition leader's allowance rise from £17,365 to £21,654, an uplift of 24.7 per cent.
Conservative councillor Luis McBriar also supported the motion condemning industrial action.
He said: “This motion is to support hard working people, the self employed, the people who want to travel to work and small businesses. The hospitality industry is just getting its head above water. When people can’t get to these venues because of transport strikes they will go bust.
“Of course we appreciate the public sector but the NHS have been offered 4.5 per cent and teachers a five per cent pay rise and the union bosses say it’s a kick in the teeth. What’s a kick in the teeth is parents taking unpaid paid leave to look after their children because teachers want to go on strike because their union say five per cent isn’t enough.”
Labour councillor Nathan Boroda spoke against the motion calling it ‘childish political games’.
He said: “As the cost of living crisis continues to bite, families and parents are having to make incredibly difficult choices, choices between heating their homes and feeding their children.
“But the Conservative group has chosen to bring a divisive motion to divide workers from one another at this difficult time when they’re already exhausted. drained and fighting to stay afloat. The one thing that this motion misses that the Conservatives have been in government for the last 12 years and ultimately, the causes of these strikes are rampant inflation, stagnant wages and anaemic economic growth.
“The great irony of this motion is that just a couple of weeks ago, Conservative MPs en masse, including the MP for Bury North, James Daly, chose to withdraw their labour in order to force a change in leadership at their workplace.”
The motion was defeated with Labour members and Radcliffe First councillors voting against.
READ NEXT:
-
Leave a message of support for Team England in The Commonwealth Games
-
Male stabbed and woman hurt at street party - a boy, 14, was arrested
-
Person whose mate was sick at bar sends £20 tip to member of staff who had to clean it up
-
Sainsbury's drivers forced to drive without air conditioning during heatwave due to 'insane' reason
