UK unions form alliance to rally opposition to spending cuts

UK trade union leaders asked the public to join millions of workers in a campaign to halt Prime Minister David Cameron's budget cuts, the most vocal opposition yet to what the government says will be the biggest squeeze in spending since World War II. Union chiefs including Mark Serwotka of the Public and Commercial Services Union and Dave Prentis of Unison, which together represent about 1.7 million mostly public-sector workers, today said they have begun work to coordinate action and build support for public demonstrations. The unions want to be ready to act as soon as cuts are announced next month.

Widespread public support for the unions' campaign would threaten to derail Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne's program that has so far won the backing of bond investors and ratings agencies. Unions want the government to clamp down on tax evasion by the rich, scrap the nation's nuclear weapons and invest in programs that boost economic growth instead of making cuts to services.

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