Contributions
1,819 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Industrial ActionIn the politest possible way, I think that once we have been going for an hour, some of the questions that were written in advance and possibly even handed out by the unions have…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionI am pretty sure the hon. Gentleman has been in the Chamber from the beginning, otherwise you would not have called him to speak, Mr Deputy Speaker. He will therefore have heard…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionAll of us want our kids to be able to get to school, and the example in Scotland demonstrates that strikes occur regardless of who is in power at a particular moment, but the hon.…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionI simply make the point that it is not the case that we have frozen recruitment, because we have 44,000 more nurses, not fewer—that is an increase rather than a decrease. It is…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionAt least we know where the hon. Gentleman stands: against the instructions of his Front Bench, it is on the picket lines. He is one of the people who has helped to extend the rail…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionThe questions from Labour Members have remained remarkably consistent throughout, and I am not sure whether they have been handed out by their Front Bench or their union…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionI would be interested to hear from those on the Labour Front Bench whether it is their policy to pay a 19% pay rise and, if so, whether they can explain how they will raise the…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionMy hon. Friend makes an excellent point. We have talked about workers getting to work and people losing their salaries because of these strikes, but children and their education…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. We are on the side of people who are working hard, who are trying to get on with their lives and livelihoods, and who are concerned about their…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionIt is obviously not true that there has been a pay freeze for 10 years. The right hon. Gentleman stands there and makes that claim, but as I just mentioned, because the NHS was…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionMy hon. Friend makes an excellent point, and it brings me on to an important consideration, which is the disparity between the public sector settlements on offer and the average…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionI do not know whether I am correcting myself or the hon. and learned Lady, but I was not saying—I did not mean to say, at least—that striking workers pushed up interest rates. It…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionI have heard some stuff at this Dispatch Box, but the idea that this is the most authoritarian Government—has the hon. Gentleman seen what happens in truly authoritarian states,…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionThe Bill is being introduced today. My hon. Friend is absolutely right about this. We have seen that the RMT has not put the offers to its members, which, as I mentioned before,…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionMinimum levels of service in education and elsewhere will of course help. Again, I want to stress to the House that we do not necessarily want or wish to introduce legislation in…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionMy hon. Friend is right. These so-called forever strikes, which have continued for month after month on the railways, are particularly hurting rural communities. It is easy…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionI appreciate that the hon. Gentleman is an enthusiastic supporter of everything that the unions do, and they are an enthusiastic supporter of the hon. Gentleman. [ Interruption. ]…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionThe hon. Gentleman raises a good point, which I am pleased to answer. When strikes are taking place tomorrow and we are not able to get a simple answer to the question of what the…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionThe hon. Lady described people as working in “servitude” if there are minimum service levels, but I point out to her that they would be paid for that servitude. At Network Rail,…10 Jan 2023HANSARD Industrial ActionThe hon. Lady might want to inquire of Members on her Front Bench—most of them are gone now, but one or two are still here—whether they would support a 19% pay increase. If they…10 Jan 2023