How Bob Crow is saving the economy

Aditya Chakrabortty:

[Y]ou don’t have to love Bob Crow to see that he is effective at fighting for his members’ interests — not just against Transport for London, but Heathrow Express and a whole bunch of private transport firms. Similarly, if the Westminster classes mean what they say about narrowing the gap between the rich and the rest, MPs have to concede that unions unafraid to use their bargaining power are essential in doing just that. Yet many of the ministers who talk about tackling inequality are this week laying into the teachers, jobcentre clerks and other public servants preparing to strike to protect their wages and pensions.

There’s more to this than fairness; it’s also a matter of having sounder economies.