The scale of industrial unrest by workers across the country has been revealed in new figures showing that Unite has been involved in over 800 separate disputes in 20 months.
More than 310,000 members of the union have taken some form of industrial action in rows mainly about pay.
General secretary Sharon Graham said around £350 million had been won for union members since the start of Unite’s drive to achieve pay rises.
Companies are making a huge amount of profit yet workers face real-terms pay cuts, so I want to make sure we expose their ability to pay— Unite general secretary Sharon Graham
She has been on countless picket lines over the past year, as Unite has been combining strikes with a forensic study of the accounts of any company involved in a dispute.
“Companies are making a huge amount of profit yet workers face real-terms pay cuts, so I want to make sure we expose their ability to pay,” she told the PA news agency.
Ms Graham is bringing Unite officials from different sectors of the economy together as part of her strategy, which has already led to double-digit pay rises in some private firms.
“We are putting our foot on the accelerator,” she added.
