JEREMY CORBYN received a standing ovation at the TUC Congress in Brighton yesterday.
He gave a speech at the Brighton Centre in which he voiced strong support for unions and their campaign for a decent pay rise for nurses, teachers, civil servants and other workers.
Leaders of unions representing millions of workers expressed anger at a Government announcement of a two per cent rise for the police and prison officers, branding it “divisive”.
After his speech he told reporters that unions were right to be sceptical about the Government announcement.
He said: “Unions have a right to ballot their members on industrial action. Surely it is the role of the Government to respond to concern and anger.”
Labour will lead a Commons debate on the public sector pay cap today. Mr Corbyn said he has a message for the DUP, which is helping the Conservatives retain a Commons majority.
“Are you really representing the people who elected you by denying people the pay rise they deserve,” Mr Corbyn said.
Labour rejected the Government’s attempt to “divide and rule”, pledging that a Labour government would end the pay cap.
Unions representing civil servants, higher education staff and some prison officers are holding industrial action ballots, while the TUC is organising a national demonstration in October.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said the pay offer to police and prison officers, on a day when RPI inflation increased to 3.9 per cent, was “pathetic”.
The GMB said it was “robbing Peter to pay Paul”, while Janet Davies from the Royal College of Nursing said “vague signals” were not enough.
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