In a defiant response to the Labor leadership as he once again joined a picket line, the MP rejected Starmer’s claim that he had been sacked for making policy “on the hoof” as he stood alongside striking workers during rail action. It was the unions that “showed real leadership at this time,” he added. “At the end of the day I thought it was time to be really clear about where we stood and I stand with ordinary British workers,” Tarry said, giving new interviews after joining striking workers from the Union of Workers in Contact. (CWU) on Friday morning in central London. “I didn’t do politics. All I said is that surely it should be right to make an offer to workers in this country that matches inflation, because otherwise all they’re being offered is a pay cut in real terms,” he told Sky News. Tarry’s comments came as thousands of BT and Openreach workers went on strike across the UK on Friday in a dispute over pay. The CWU said it would be the first national telecoms strike since 1987 and the biggest ever among call center workers. Another strike will take place on Monday after union members voted in favor of industrial action in protest at a £1,500 pay rise. Starmer, who ousted Tarry from the front of the party earlier this week as shadow bus and local transport minister, has previously warned shadow ministers not to join the protests, although several did during the latest rail strikes in June and they didn’t lose their jobs. The Guardian understands Tarry was told he was fired because he said it was “not acceptable to offer below-inflation pay rises” because it would be a real-terms pay cut for workers. Tarry was told that Labour’s position was that it was left to ministers and unions to negotiate the terms. This dispute is likely to cause significant concern from unions about Labour’s position, including those affiliated with the party. Tarry said on Friday: “It’s not about me or Keir Starmer. This is about the Labor Party showing that it is on the side of ordinary British workers in this country. “I think it is fundamentally wrong to ban Labor MPs from picketing. It shouldn’t happen, it should never happen. It’s caused a complete car crash in a week when we should have been talking about what we’re going to do to raise wages for the British people.” Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Asked if a general strike was a prospect, Tarry said he didn’t think it was on the cards, but that unions needed to work together to fight back against the government. “It’s the people who are showing true leadership right now. They are the people who stand up for British workers,” he said.
