The Government should be taking the fight to the unions

It is hard to understand why the Government hasn’t been more aggressive in tackling the militant unions holding this country to ransom. Polls show some sympathy for public sector workers whose wages are outstripped by inflation, but that is no excuse for letting patients suffer and even die unattended, and popular opinion can be turned around with proper campaigning, resolve and planning.

Sir Edward Heath is frequently cited by modern Tories as an example of what not to do: here again the comparison is inescapable. Heath also didn’t want a fight with the unions, so he created new structures for negotiations and limply asked the unions to follow them. The unions, calculating that Labour would give them a better deal, created havoc for Heath and bided their time till another election – by then the Tories were unpopular across the board. Reform was picked up by Margaret Thatcher who, yes, made concessions and chose her battles wisely, but pushed through modernisation. Today, such vision is sorely lacking. In the case of the RMT, one wouldn’t know it from the current chaos but the strikers are arguing from a position of weakness, thanks to changing patterns of work and new technology.

The future of rail is driverless: Denmark is automating its entire Copenhagen network, so why can’t we? It would require heavy investment over a long period, particularly to upgrade signalling, but given the price of being held hostage by union dinosaurs this should be the number one priority. When it comes to other unions, the Government appears as if it is beginning to soften. It would be better off properly and professionally taking the fight to public opinion.