UNIONS will send a “clear and unequivocal message that we will fight to defend the right to strike” if the Tories force through their latest attempt to check working-class power, TUC general secretary Paul Nowak warned today.

The widely condemned Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill reveals Downing Street’s determination to “kick lumps out of our working rights” and must be resisted, he told delegates at the Fire Brigades Union’s (FBU) annual conference.

The legislation, currently going through Parliament, could empower bosses and even ministers to sack workers who refuse to cross their own picket lines.