Strike out the unions

IN another troubling echo of the 1970s, trade union militancy is infecting ever more sectors of the economy.

This time, the hard-Left barons have called an eight- day strike at Britain’s biggest container port in a pay dispute.

This malignant walkout threatens a supply chain meltdown, with shops empty of some goods, customers inconvenienced, businesses damaged and the country another shove closer to recession.

Yet the Unite union refuses to consult members on a substantial wage rise offered by port chiefs. Why not? Because its true agenda is to foment industrial strife in a bid to weaken the Tory government.

The next prime minister must crack down on these cynical antediluvian throwbacks.