UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has lashed out at Mick Lynch, chief of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), accusing him of being a Grinch who wants to “steal Christmas.”
In an article for a British media outlet on Sunday, Sunak wrote that “rail workers and border officers have been offered deals that are fair – and affordable to taxpayers.”
“An increasing number of union members want a deal. They are tired of being foot soldiers in Mick Lynch's class war. Labor back the Grinches that want to steal Christmas for their own political ends. We are doing everything we can to ensure people get the Christmas they deserve,” the Prime Minister argued.
He also warned that “all massive pay hikes would do is kick us [the UK] into an inflation spiral and we would all be worse off.”
The remarks came as the UK media outlets cited unnamed sources as claiming that Lynch is "bricking it" that he has "gone too far" and prompted public fury by tarnishing Christmas with industrial action.
“He is the tribune of the people who is now wrecking Christmas. He is worried about being hated,” the sources claimed.
Lynch hit back at his critics, pointing out that “clamping down on wages is the sort of tactic we had in the depression in the 1920s and 30s, which impoverished people.” According to him, RMT doesn’t “want to go back to that.”
This followed the RMT boss announcing a blitz of winter rail strikes in November, also referring to the press often comparing him to the Grinch, a fictional character from a 1957 children’s book.
“I'm not the Grinch, I'm a trade union official, and I'm determined to get a deal (with the government)," he said at the time.
The UK has been hit by the biggest wave of industrial unrest since 1980, with public servants demanding pay raises and expressing dissatisfaction over the worsening economic situation in Britain.
Annual inflation in the UK reached 11.1% in October before slowing down to 10.7% in November. According to the Bank of England, the UK economy has entered a recession expected to last until the second half of 2024.