Union leader urges civil disobedience over cuts

Councils, health authorities, police forces, Government departments and other public sector bodies across the country have all taken an axe to jobs in recent months after having their budgets slashed.

One leader warned yesterday that co-ordinated industrial action was "inevitable" as the TUC prepared to drawn up a campaign of protests against the Government when its annual congress opens in Manchester today.

Delegates will be asked to support joint union industrial action as well as other forms of protest, with a national demonstration being planned for next March which could attract hundreds of thousands of people in the biggest show of public anger in a generation.

Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union, said a campaign of civil disobedience was needed.

"Maybe we need Batman climbing up 10 Downing Street, Spider-Man on Buckingham Palace as part of peaceful demonstrations of civil disobedience.

"This is an opportunity for the entire trade union movement to come together and mobilise support. Unions should also link up together because we are confronting the same enemy, otherwise they will be picked off one at a time."

He even suggested that people could sit down on roads to highlight their opposition to cuts.

The calls came after Business Secretary Vince Cable last week warned unions not to talk themselves into a "winter of discontent" and insisted the Government was not seeking confrontation.

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union, said industrial action was "inevitable", adding that unless unions worked together to fight back the future was "bleak".

"Over 100,000 civil service jobs have been cut over the past six years and we are now being hit by closures and cuts even as the sword of Chancellor George Osborne hangs in the air."

Mr Serwotka said the cuts would be on a totally different scale after next month's comprehensive spending review.

He added: "We ain't seen nothing yet. People are very worried and demoralised and are just waiting for things to get worse.W

Poorest hit hardest: Page 4.