General strike looms as postal workers set to join rail unions in walking off the job

The prospect of a national postal strike at the same time as a national rail strike is likely to set alarm bells ringing in Downing Street.

Boris Johnson has insisted ministers stay out of any pay negotiations for public sector workers but further strikes in the coming weeks and months would seriously damage the UK’s economic prospects as inflation threatens to surge to 11 per cent.

Mr Lynch told Sky News on the first day of the rail strike: “If the Government doesn’t change direction, I believe more strike action is inevitable. We as trade unions need to synchronise.

“If we need to have industrial action, we need to co-ordinate industrial action in every town and city.”

He said the RMT was “very sorry for the disruption”, insisting: “We don’t want to do that [strike]. We want a resolution, but many in the public, like us, are suffering from rampant austerity. The British worker needs a pay rise and job security.”

Executives at Royal Mail and Network Rail, which manages most of Britain’s railway infrastructure, have been increasingly concerned about the threat of concerted action by workers in recent weeks.

‘Leverage our power’

Keith Williams, chairman of Royal Mail, undertook a “root and branch” review of the railways published last year.

Senior sources said both boards have been wary of the close relationship between the RMT’s Mick Lynch and the CWU general secretary, Dave Ward, and putting plans in place to combat a two-pronged attack.

The TUC, the unions’ umbrella movement, said it stood fully behind Mr Lynch’s rallying cry. A spokesman added: “Working people don’t strike for the sake of it – they do so because sometimes it’s the only way to get their employer to listen and act on their concerns.

“Workers are living through the longest pay squeeze in 200 years. They can’t afford to tighten their belts any more, and the TUC will stand alongside workers and their unions demanding better.”

The TUC pointed out that the Prime Minister had “promised a high wage economy” but was now “holding down pay and attacking unions”.