RED LEN: I’M LIKE MANDELA
On the day unions threaten wave of illegal strikes over public sector pay, union baron’s astonishing outburst
Len McCluskey compared himself to Mahatma Gandhi and nelson Mandela last night as his fellow union barons threatened a wave of illegal strikes.
The hard-Left leader of Unite sparked outrage by suggesting that unlawful industrial action was no different to landmark campaigns for civil rights.
Despite ministers scrapping the 1 per cent public sector pay cap yesterday, he repeatedly refused to rule out agitating for above-inflation rises. Mr McCluskey suggested unions had a duty to defy a legal requirement for strike action to be approved by a ballot of more than 50 per cent, saying the threshold was ‘artificial’.
‘If that means we are outside the law, then so be it,’ he said. ‘The reality is that the law is wrong and it has to be resisted. I daresay if you’d have been interviewing Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi or the suffragettes you’d be telling them that they were breaking the law.
‘When a law is wrong, not only is it important to stand up and say so, it is our duty to resist.’
Two other unions – the PCS, which represents civil servants, and the GMB general union – also refused to rule out unlawful action yesterday.
And Labour frontbencher Richard Burgon
refused five times to rule out his party’s support for illegal action.
Leader Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to scrap the pay cap completely if he gets into Downing Street.
But it was Mr McCluskey’s remarks that sparked particular outrage last night.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, Tory MP for North East Somerset, said: ‘To compare himself to such people shows the vanity of a peacock. Breaking the law in a democracy is fundamentally different from doing so in an authoritarian state. Our laws are validated by the consent of the people.’
Conservative MP Nadine Dorries said: ‘It’s appalling that Len McCluskey is trying to evoke the memory of the suffragettes, who fought so hard for women to secure the vote; and heroic campaigners like Nelson Mandela who languished in prison for 30 years as part of his brave fight against the inhumanity of apartheid.
‘Rather than following in the footsteps of these greats, he simply wants to hold damaging strikes on a tiny turnout as part of his bid to further his own agenda and topple the democratically- elected government. His deluded self-importance is frightening.’
Fellow MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘Illegal strikes are just that – illegal. Despite Red Len and his union barons’ hollow boasts, no one can be above the law otherwise our society descends into anarchy.
‘It’s outrageous that McCluskey holds himself in the same esteem as these historic greats. His greatest achievement is taking over the Labour Party and dictating their hard-Left policy.’ A Downing Street spokesman also condemned the rhetoric, saying: ‘It is irresponsible for unions to condone breaking the law.’
Union bosses yesterday lined up to reject the Government’s pledge to scrap the 1 per cent pay cap for prison officers and policemen – with one leader dismissing the ministerial offer as a ‘pile of crap’.
They said that any increase in pay needed to be above inflation, and had to apply to all public sector workers.
It has been suggested that unions could launch coordinated strikes over the issue.
Speaking at the Trades Union Congress in Brighton yesterday, PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said he wanted to see rolling strikes from January.
The action, which would create havoc in the courts and other vital public services, would go ahead unless November’s budget announces above-inflation rises for all public sector staff.
Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, raised the prospect of 1970s-style action lasting weeks on end – saying one-day strikes were not enough.
Mr McCluskey, who is a key ally of Mr Corbyn, said there was such ‘palpable anger’ across the country that he believed coordinated action was likely and would be widespread. On Tuesday the TUC voted to press ahead with coordinated action – including strikes where necessary – unless ministers scrap the public sector pay cap, which has held down rises to 1 per cent a year since 2010.
Delegates demanded a pay hike of at least 5 per cent for all public sector workers, costing £9billion.
They said they wanted ‘restorative’ pay rises and ‘catch-up pay’ to address the fall in the value of wages thanks to seven years of pay restraint.
And they rejected piecemeal offers for some workers and not others. Three unions – the Prison Officers’ Association, the PCS and the University and College Union – have already announced plans to hold an indicative ballot on industrial action.
But to be legal, any strikes have to meet certain conditions laid down by trades union legislation. The current law, introduced last year, said that a strike ballot can only be valid if turnout equals at least 50 per cent of all members.
In addition, ballots for industrial action in important public services will require at least 40 per cent of members to vote in favour of action.
These include people working in the fire services, health, education and transport.
PCS leader Mr Serwotka said his union would do all it could to meet the threshold.
But he said he would consider illegal strikes in certain circumstances, telling reporters: ‘I believe the law is unjust. I would look at what our members say. If you had 49 per cent of people voting, voting 99 per cent yes for action, I think you have an overwhelmingly moral and just case to say the law is illegitimate. I am saying that if the law was constraining the overwhelming view of people from taking legitimate industrial action, that would be wrong and it shouldn’t stop people protesting.’
Tim Roache, general secretary of the GMB, raised the prospect of illegal strikes at a fringe event.
He said: ‘Of course our members will exercise their right to strike, without their right to strike our members are slaves and we would never, ever accept that.
‘We need to make absolutely clear that we are united.
‘Yes, we will share experiences, yes we will come up with a common agenda, and wherever that takes us: Whether it takes us into strike action, whether it takes us into unlawful action.
‘In pursuit of the right of our members to get a decent pay rise right across the public sector, the GMB is proud to stand alongside the FBU, the PCS, and all other unions.’
The Government attempted to dampen trade union anger by announcing that prison officers will get a 1.7 per cent rise, while the police will get a 1 per cent rise plus a one- off 1 per cent bonus for the year.
‘You’dbe tellingthe suffragettes, Mandela orGandhi theywere breaking thelaw’