Public backs trade unions

The public is firmly onside with trade unions when it comes to acting to prevent the mistreatment of workers, a poll for Unite revealed earlier this week.

Nearly seven in 10 (67 per cent) support unions taking action to push back against employer abuses. 59 per cent of Conservative voters and 81 per cent of Labour voters share this view.

The poll comes as Sharon Graham, the union’s general secretary, visits picket lines in support of workers facing assaults on their pay and living standards, including a fire and rehire wage grab at Weetabix and pay disputes on the Woolwich Ferry and Blackburn and Burnley General Hospital.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “People have had enough of workers paying the price while the boardrooms sit pretty. The strong public support for unions acting to defend workers underscores this so employers need to sit up and take note.

“The message is bad bosses beware. Unite is committed to defending the jobs, pay and conditions of working people and we will be relentless in pushing back in any and all attacks on our members – and we have the public on our side,” she added.

Unite’s poll – carried out by Survation – also reveals that 56 per cent of the public believes the financial costs of the pandemic have fallen on the poorest. This includes 56 per cent of Conservative voters and 60 per cent of Labour voters.
The survey moreover found that of the public, 41 per cent, believe that employers have taken advantage of their workers during the pandemic, with 38 per cent thinking they haven’t.

By Barckley Sumner