Unions reject ‘daft’ idea of 15-minute walk-out

The prospect of the biggest strike for decades will come closer this week when unions representing hundreds of thousands of public-sector workers announce the results of industrial action ballots in the bitter row over pensions.

The dispute worsened at the weekend after unions attacked a minister for making a “daft” suggestion that public-sector workers would not lose any pay if they only go on strike for 15 minutes during a day of action later this month.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said that the government was willing to accommodate some kind of “token action” when workers strike on 30 November.

Public-sector workers would be allowed to down tools for a 15-minute protest without losing pay if trade unions called off full-scale strikes, he said.

Brian Strutton, national officer of the GMB union, who has attended a series of meetings with ministers this year over the planned pension reforms, said: “Maude’s proposal for a 15-minute strike is a daft idea. We are asking members to vote for a strike, not a tea break.”

TUC general-secretary Brendan Barber added: “The way to resolve this dispute is to make real progress and acceptable offers in the negotiations.”