Communist Party general secretary Robert Griffiths writes of today’s pay announcement, “Rishi Sunak, the mega rich PM, has conceded pay rises that he knows won’t affect inflation – because wage rises aren’t the cause of inflation. The real culprit is profiteering by big business. Even these wage rises will still mean a massive real terms pay cut and drop in living standards for working people. And these still had to be fought for tooth and nail by workers.
Those unions which accept the awards, should take time to grow unity across their sector and prepare for the next phase of the fight. Those which fight on, primarily in the private sector, need solidarity and support.
The Communist Party has said that this is a war to decide which class will pay for the crisis and mismanagement of the economy. Each strike and campaigning struggle is a contribution to the cause for workers. We urge each union to continue the fight for full funding of services, public ownership of key utilities including water and energy, rail, health and local government – backed by strike action and mass public campaigning for a change of government.
The fact that Starmer refused to back even the same Pay Review Body recommendations is a damning indictment of the rightward thrust of the Labour Party and failure to support trade unions”?