Unions say strike payments are needed to compensate workers who lose their wages when they take part in industrial action. A TUC spokesman said: “When workers make the difficult decision to strike, they lose their pay and depend on the support of union strike funds to feed their families.”
But the doubling of some strike payments has raised suspicions among ministers that the bodies have been damaged for a fight with the government and are preparing for the crippling strikes this summer.
Unison’s most recent financial statements show that the agency’s finance committee agreed to increase the “strike pay” from £ 25 a day to £ 50, payable from day one. [of a strike] instead of the fourth day, “he added,” Unison must put itself and our members in the best possible position to win disputes. “
According to its accounts, Unison had a “strike fund reserve” of £ 34.2 million in December. Unite has a strike fund of at least £ 35 million, which union officials cited to encourage members to support industrial action at the polls.
Kwarteng said the figures showed that “militant unions” had been quietly accumulating reservations in order to unleash a summer of chaos this year.
He said: “It is clear that they have been planning this for a long time. Looking at the figures, this plan is designed to inflict maximum damage on millions of people for as long as possible.
“We are looking for all possible ways to ensure that public services can be maintained.”