Millions in recession - TUC chief

2:08am Saturday 6th September 2008

The leader of the TUC has warned the Government it would lose support at the next election if it did not take action to help people cope with the economic downturn.

General secretary Brendan Barber said bluntly that millions of households were already in recession.

Mr Barber said unions would continue to press for a windfall tax on energy companies and changes to the tax system in a bid to help "ordinary people".

Mr Barber refused to be drawn on whether he wanted Gordon Brown to stand down as Prime Minister, but he criticised the Government over public sector pay and warned there could be further industrial action before the end of the year.

In his opening address to the TUC Congress in Brighton on Monday, Mr Barber will hit out at the "yawning chasm" between the super rich and the rest of society. He will blame "greedy" bankers and higher world demand for oil for the credit crunch and will accuse governments of listening too much to big business.

He will say: "It's not fair that employees are facing a fall in their living standards while top bosses see their pay packets go up by 20% or even 30%. It's not fair that workers pay more tax on their earnings than people who earn 100 or even 1,000 times more, and it's not fair that pensioners and low-income families are living in fear of a cold winter while energy companies post huge profits and speculators rake it in."

Mr Barber will say that the next election will be about the economy, and about who will be on the side of ordinary people, adding: "With three quarters of us saying that the gap between the rich and poor is too wide, now is the time for decisive action, not cringe-making praise for the wealthy."

Mr Barber will urge the Government to curb "greed" at the top and address "desperate conditions" at the bottom, claiming that two million workers faced exploitation.

Ministers will be urged to change the tax system to stop the rich "getting away" with not paying their share, help vulnerable workers and take more steps to build more affordable houses.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Mr Barber said the Government had "got things wrong" on public sector pay, predicting that unions would work closely together to win decent increases for teachers, civil servants and staff in the NHS and local authorities.

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