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British union calls for general strike

24 May 2011 23:44 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A leading British trade union has called for a 24-hour general strike in a show of opposition to the government’s "vicious" spending cuts program, APA reports quoting Press TV.

At its annual conference, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) unanimously backed calls for the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to co-ordinate a nationwide walkout against the government’s "attacks" on pay, pensions and services.

Delegates at the Bournemouth conference also agreed to moves aimed at coordinating campaigns and strikes with other unions.

Speakers lined up to attack the government over the cuts, saying they were hitting workers and families hard and were leading to cuts in essential public services.

The union’s Eastern regional secretary Paul Moffat said the young, elderly, schools, police and prisons were all being hit by spending cuts, accusing ministers of having "no regard" for their actions.

"The attacks are causing irreversible damage to public services. Many unions are moving towards co-ordinated action and we must be part of itâ€, said Moffat.

"This crisis was not caused by us, or our families, but we are paying for it. We need to work together with other unions, and the TUC should co-ordinate a 24-hour strikeâ€, added the union’s general secretary.

"If the Tories carry on it will be too late and we will be back to the levels of inequality not seen since Victorian times", he added.

The conference, which represents over 200,000 postal, telecoms and finance workers, voted unanimously to support calls for a general strike.