Unions want the best possible deal to take to their members to vote on. I have got no problem if my union reps want to stir the pot to get there. Every person regardless on if they are unionised should want the maximum pay for the work they do.
I'll give an example of my current union pay negotiations. We asked for an 8% pay rise at the end of last year (that was based upon the RPI inflation figures from October last year). Our offer (after 3 rounds of negotiation) was 4.5%, a £200 tax free one off payment and a commitment to improve role progression throughout the year. That offer was taken back to the union membership and was voted on (we accepted on Friday last week).
That offer was higher than any of the company sites that are not unionised (2.5%). Now I work in the private sector so the pay 'pot' comes from profits
I don't want to see Mick Lynch on my TV but only because if he isn't, then it means his membership have been offered a fair deal and his membership are happy.
Of course, ive made those same points myself, don't knock the unions, it's there job to get the best deal for their members, if it wasn't for unions then our standard of living wouldn't be anywhere near as high today and that applies to people who are not it a union who think they got where they are today all down to hard work. naïve beyond belief.
One of considerations Unions have working out their demands is the health of the companys itself. they employ top accountants to come up the facts and figures to justify their demands, this is not a criticism of Mick Lynch as it applies to all big unions but I doubt if he works out all these facts, they are given to him by accountants, so this also has to be recognised when wage demands are made, the Union has their job to do and that's fighting for the best pay and conditions for it's members, the management has their job to do and that's keeping the company solvent by refusing to pay more than the company can afford, that's what I mean when I say that's just the way things are.
The question was would a Labour government have the same attitude as this Tory government, no they wouldn't as they've explained what the Torys are doing, the Torys are politicising the strikes, that's a very dangerous game, it's taking us back to the 60s/70s, the last thing we want to do is to force the unions to react the same, I hated the unions when they went political but what do they expect if the Torys are making the strikes political. I still hate it today but the Torys can't have it both ways, they can't make wage demands political to win votes and expect union bosses like Mick Lynch not to fight back by fighting politically as well.
Labour will be reasonable, they will meet the unions, they will not orchestrate strikes for political gain that would never be a vote winner for Labour anyway.
Will the unions be reasonable, we shall see.
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