Further strikes over public sector pensions are possible as union leaders consider whether to accept the government?s revised pensions offer, he said.
?It is not a foregone conclusion that all union executives will feel that they can live with this. Bear in mind, the industrial action is only suspended. It has not been called off. We can switch the industrial action back on if it goes wrong,? he said.
The concessions granted after the one-day November strike have encouraged public sector workers to consider industrial action to defend pay and jobs as wage freezes and further staff cuts loom in 2012, Mr Sutton said.
"Local government has been on an absolute pay freeze for two years. Council leaders are warning it may be the same. Then there is the juxtaposition of those issues with huge job losses. There is to be 710,000 in the public sector in total, half of which have already gone. Next year we will have pretty well run out of those who would volunteer for redundancy so you start getting into compulsory redundancies. That is when your members start kicking back.
"This year was hard, 2012 is going to be much, much harder. November 30 was a real boost for the unions. It has given the whole union movement a lot of confidence going into next year. People will say, ?after November 30 we ended up in a better place?.
?My hope is that it will lead to more realistic negotiations, that the Government will not just think that the public sector is there for the taking. We have shown there is still spirit amongst public sector workers, that they are prepared to stand and fight.?
A spokesman for Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office Minister who led negotiations with union leaders, said: ?We have enjoyed good relations with the unions every step of the way. We will not get drawn into commenting on any speculation into what may happen in 2012.?
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