Unison women's conference: General secretary Dave Prentis has told delegates to the National Women's Conference that the union was prepared to strike against proposed cuts to public services.
Addressing the annual conference in Gateshead, Mr Prentis called on the government to listen to the voices of women and continue to invest in public services to help stabilise the economy and save jobs.
"Cuts to jobs and services coupled with a pay freeze are a double blow for women who rely most on public services and make up two-thirds of the workforce," he told hundreds of delegates from across Britain.
"When money is tight, incidents of domestic violence increase, but funding for women's refuges and services is often top of the list for spending cuts."
Mr Prentis attacked "city slickers" who damaged the economy, raked in huge bonuses and then told hard-working families to tighten their belts.
"To politicians who dance to the bankers' tune I say this - don't think we will stand by while you slash our services, freeze our pay and sack our members. We are prepared to take industrial action to defend our rights," he said to loud applause.
"Rather than attacking workers' pay and pensions to plug the national deficit, the government should target the pension packages of the super-rich and freeze bankers' pay and bonuses."
Mr Prentis addressed delegates' concerns over the possibility of a Tory win in the forthcoming general election and called for mass mobilisation to re-elect Labour.
He added: "Shadow chancellor George Osborne is looking to finish what Thatcher started. But if Gordon Brown thinks that our hatred for the Tories is enough to keep Labour in power, he should think again."
Speaking about prostitution before a motion was proposed, Mr Prentis backed calls for legislation to decriminalise prostitutes and criminalise punters and pimps - the Swedish model - as the best way to curb trafficking and sexual exploitation.
The union leader also expressed concern about the "rising threat" of fascism and urged the government to ban far-right groups such as the English Defence League.
Mr Prentis, who is facing a union leadership election, was endorsed by the conference as its preferred candidate. The result of the election will be announced in June.
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