FirstFT: Sunak under pressure to speed up anti-strike legislation

Rishi Sunak is under pressure from Tory MPs to accelerate new strike-busting legislation, as Britain faces the biggest wave of industrial action since the tail-end of Margaret Thatcher’s government.

More than 1mn days will be lost to strike action in December — the worst disruption in any month since July 1989 — based on unions’ current plans for action by postal and rail workers, NHS staff and civil servants.

Ministers yesterday accused the RMT rail union of “holding the country to ransom” by scheduling walkouts over Christmas, after it rejected a 9 per cent two-year offer from Network Rail. The union has also rejected a separate 8 per cent offer from train operating companies.

But unions have accused ministers of wrecking a potential deal by stopping train companies from raising their pay offers and insisting on changes to working practices.

Transport secretary Mark Harper said last night: “The government has played its part by facilitating a fair and decent offer but, by instructing its members to reject it, the RMT has failed to play its part and our rail network now faces more harmful disruption rather than helpful discussion.”

Five more stories in the news

1. UK financial regulators told to improve transparency In letters to the heads of the UK’s financial regulator and the Bank of England’s regulatory arm, City minister Andrew Griffith stressed that the government wanted “world-leading” effectiveness from the watchdogs ahead of the launch of wide-ranging reforms designed to create a capital markets powerhouse in London in the wake of Brexit.

2. European tech groups lose $400bn in value More than $400bn in market value has been wiped from European tech companies as venture capital dealmaking hit a wall at the end of summer. Europe’s start-ups were beneficiaries of a funding frenzy in 2021, leading to the creation of more than 100 “unicorns” — tech start-ups valued at more than $1bn.

3. China risks 1mn Covid deaths in ‘winter wave’ One million Chinese people could die from Covid-19 this winter if China pursues its pivot from strict coronavirus controls, according to projections by Wigram Capital Advisors. Officials have already started dismantling the system of lockdowns, mass testing, state quarantine and contact tracing.

4. US unemployment rate set to surpass 5.5% The Federal Reserve’s efforts to stamp out high inflation will push the US unemployment rate up to at least 5.5 per cent, according to economists polled by the Financial Times, suggesting waning optimism that the central bank can tame price pressures without causing material job losses.

• Opinion: Workers need more than platitudes about “green jobs”, writes Helen Thomas, as industries confront an inconvenient truth: a decarbonised world is less labour-intensive than a fossil fuel-burning one.

5. US and UK pledge to maintain high levels of LNG trade Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden have pledged to maintain high levels of liquefied natural gas trade between the two countries as part of a new “energy partnership” that aims to reduce reliance on Russia and accelerate the push to net zero.

The day ahead

Economic data The EU publishes third-quarter gross domestic product and employment figures, while France, Germany and Italy report trade balance, industrial production and retail sales data, respectively, for October.

European Intervention Initiative Defence ministers of the 13 countries in EI2 meet in Oslo. On the agenda is regional security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

COP15 biodiversity conference The two-week UN meeting kicks off in Montreal, with officials aiming to agree a deal to save the world’s animals and ecosystems. The conference was originally scheduled to begin in October 2020 but was delayed several times due to the pandemic. (Vox)

Opera Milan’s Teatro alla Scala 2022-23 season opens with Boris Godunov.

FT Global Boardroom Join the FT’s top journalists in conversation with leaders in business and government at our Global Boardroom event from today to Friday. Register here for your free digital pass.

What else we’re reading and listening to

Is Johnson really the emissary that blockchain needs right now? With FTX in tatters, bitcoin in abeyance and the entire fundament of crypto finance in doubt, blockchain is badly in need of an image boost. But are the rhetorical skills of Boris Johnson, who gave a keynote speech at the International Symposium on Blockchain Advancements in Singapore, really what the sector needs, writes Mercedes Ruehl.

It is the west’s duty to help Ukraine win this war While it is painful to suffer the energy shock from this conflict, it is the west’s duty to cope, writes Martin Wolf. It is Ukraine and Ukrainians who bear the brunt of the conflict. We in the comfortable west must give them the resources they need.

Explainer: How the G7’s oil price cap blocked the Bosphorus The disruption to shipping in Turkish waters is the first sign of unintended consequences of the G7’s plan to keep Russian crude flowing while denting Moscow’s revenues. Here we explain the problem in detail while also considering what Turkey wants and who is affected.

The women turning to sex work to make ends meet Financial Times interviews with 23 UK sex workers and 14 charities and advocacy groups suggest that a wave of women are starting or returning to sex work this year, driven in part by the darkening economic outlook.

What employees say about a 4-day workweek A number of UK companies have signed up to trial a four-day week, with no loss in pay for employees. In the second episode of this four-part podcast series about the trial, host Isabel Berwick and Emma Jacobs hear from employees involved, reporting on their concerns about maintaining productivity and time management.

Would you be in favour of a four-day working week? Tell us in our poll.

Christmas drinks

The FT’s Jancis Robinson follows her list of favourite white wines with 45 recommended reds for the holiday season and beyond.