Why the unions are right to strike (and why the govt must stand firm)

In his first speech to the TUC as the Labour leader, Miliband stood firm on his position despite widespread unhappiness with his criticism of the industrial action on 30 June, when three education unions and one civil servants’ union joined forces in a mass walkout. Miliband has indeed misjudged the union mood on public sector pensions – an area of the so-called spending ‘cuts’ that has become a red line issue for the labour movement as a whole. Yet, the union battles we have seen so far are mere skirmishes when compared to the war that lies ahead. A 9 September deadline to submit ...