Spending review: Survey warns unions face public anger if they strike

PUBLIC sector workers face a backlash from the public if they go out on strike over cuts, a new survey has revealed.

A study of 2,000 employees has shown that six out of ten claim they would lose sympathy with the public sector workers if there was widespread industrial action, such as is being threatened by some of the unions.

The survey, which was conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), was carried out among employees from both the public and private sectors.

the CIPD also said its study, published ahead of Wednesday's Comprehensive Spending Review, found that half of workers were more concerned about damage caused by strikes than by spending cuts.

One in two of those questioned said most people were not willing to lose pay to go on strike and more than a third said industrial action in essential services should be banned.

Mike Emmott, the CIPD's employee relations adviser, said: "These findings show that it is not just the government that has to tread softly in terms of how spending cuts are implemented.

"The survey showed trade unions, too, must understand that many private sector employees have already suffered pay freezes or cuts, job losses and cuts to pension entitlement and will be sensitive to any rhetoric by union leaders threatening strike action which does not appear to appreciate the sacrifices already made by those in the private sector."