As dozens of nurses stood on the picket line outside hospitals in Durham and Darlington, a leading union boss says support behind the calls for better pay is better than ever.

Health workers, teachers, railway staff, and postal workers are just some of the thousands who have took strike action recently as trade unions remain in pay disputes with the government.

With more strikes announced, unions have warned that the dispute will continue if a fair deal isn’t reached.

One of the key negotiators with the government on achieving a fairer deal for workers is Paul Nowak, the new General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) who visited the North East on Wednesday.

Instead of strike apathy settling in, Mr Nowak believes support among peers and the public is increasing.

“We are seeing rising anger from workers across the public and private sector because they are being expected to take a real terms pay cut,” he told The Northern Echo. “People are feeling after a decade of squeezed wages that they just cannot afford to carry on like this.”

The Northern Echo: Striking nurses on the picket line at University Hospital North Durham Striking nurses on the picket line at University Hospital North Durham (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

It is now down to the government to play its part and offer a better deal on pay, Mr Nowak says. He spent the morning on the picket line with striking Environment Agency workers in Newcastle and soon hopes to be talking to ministers.

He said: “I’ve said the prime minister needs to empower his ministers to sit down with unions. It’s incredible that it’s taken six months to get to that point. Last Monday we had the beginnings of those conversations but I don’t think we’re near a resolution yet. We need to see ministers moving from talking to delivering.”

There’s no sign of the public’s support of the strikes waning just though, and he says it’s the government that will continue to be questioned for not settling the disputes not the workers.

“The public will start asking hard questions of the government: when will you solve these disputes and are you playing politics?” Mr Nowak added. “I think the public’s sympathy will remain with their friends and colleagues.”

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The Northern Echo: Wednesday saw the start of two-day strike action from some nurses Wednesday saw the start of two-day strike action from some nurses (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

A Labour government would make any negotiations easier, he admits, and would be “much more focused on the priorities of working people” but his priorities remain with standing up for working people.

He added: “These strikes are not political. At the heart of each dispute is the concerns of working people. When I speak to ambulance workers or teachers, they’re not interested in the politics they just want a pay rise

“I just hope the government step up to the plate, take responsibility, and deliver the much-needed pay rises.”