Defeat the pay limit

Prime minister Gordon Brown has declared further war on public-sector workers' pay by saying that he wants pay rises this year kept under 2%. This is on top of the same pay limit last year, which meant that most public-sector workers had an effective pay cut when inflation is taken into account.

Added to this attack, the chancellor, Alistair Darling has said that public-sector workers should have three-year pay deals instead of annual.

With rising energy, food and transport costs, it is clear that the government's policies would mean drastic cuts in living standards for millions of workers. The public-sector unions should immediately call a conference to oppose these attacks and be prepared to call national industrial action in a united fight to defeat the government.