The London Times September 9 1996
BLAIR HEADS FOR CLASH WITH TUC ON NO-STRIKE PACKAGE
By Philip Bassett and Philip Webster
RADICAL plans to prevent a Labour government being derailed
by a wave of public sector pay strikes are to be put forward
by the Labour leadership tomorrow in a move that threatens a
confrontation between Tony Blair and the unions.
Union leaders gathering in Blackpool yesterday on the eve of
the TUC conference dismissed the idea of compulsory binding
arbitration in pay disputes, one idea likely to be floated
in a speech by David Blunkett, the Shadow Employment
Secretary.
Labour leaders are planning to consult employers and unions
over the coming months on ways of resolving public sector
pay disputes, the issue on which the last Labour Government
lost office in 1979.
Although union leaders last night cautiously welcomed the
principle of action to avoid strikes, they dismissed
compulsory arbitration which many see as a backdoor way of
banning strikes.
Labour sources confirmed that the party will advance a
number of proposals for consideration, including the use of
compulsory binding arbitration, as well as increasing the
role of the official conciliation service Acas and the
possible creation of more review bodies to fix pay in line
with those operating for teachers, nursesand others.
Speaking on Sky TV, Mr Blunkett said it was important to try
to remove trade union and industrial relations issues from
the political battleground, and to modernise Labour's
approach to them. "Let's look to the future at the kind of
relationship and the kind of labour markets we are dealing
with, rather than the factory-gate megaphones."
Mr Blair will address a private dinner of the TUC's
governing General Council tomorrow, and Mr Blunkett's speech
will come as postal workers' leaders meet to decide on more
strikes and a day ahead of the next round of strikes by
conductors in some regional rail companies on Wednesday.
Labour's proposals prompted a mixed range of reactions.
Ken Jackson, general secretary of the right-wing AEEU
engineering workers' union, called on the TUC to offer to an
incoming Labour government binding arbitration as a way of
avoiding strikes, suggesting the establishment of fast-track
arbitration appeal units to which employers and unions
involved in disputes would present their cases. John
Edmonds, of the GMB general union, criticised the proposal
for compulsory arbitration as unworkable in practice because
it would give control of a key element of government
spending to third parties.
John Monks, TUC General Secretary, welcomed talks to avoid
disruption through strikes. He also urged Labour to promote
more positively its proposals on new employment rights and
res ponsibilities. Rodney Bickerstaffe, general secretary of
the biggest union, Unison, whose members are key public
sector workers, insisted on the validity of strikes, saying:
"The strike weapon is not outmoded." Bill Morris, the TGWU
transport union leader, called for a "new settlement" but
was sceptical about the value of compulsory arbitration.
