UNIONS have rejected Nigel Farage’s calls for the organisations to link up with Reform UK.
Farage made the invitation after polling showed that growing numbers of organised workers backed his party.
In a video message posted to social media, the Reform UK leader said: “I want to say to the trade unions, I want to welcome them if they want to affiliate with our party given the sheer number of their members that are voting for us, I want to make this personal invitation to union leaders to come to the Birmingham NEC to our conference in early September and I’ll sit down, I’ll meet you and talk about policy because we are on the side of working people.
“Reform’s voter base are working people. So I want to do all of those things. I also think there are some historical injustices such as the British Steel pension scheme, which is a case of very, very bad mis-selling which we would like to help you sort out.
“So this is an open offer to the unions, saying: come and talk to us, come and meet us, many of your members want you to do it and you will find with us – whilst there will be disagreements - there will always be an open door.”
But union bosses said his overtures were a “con” and said the Clacton MP was an enemy of workers’ rights.
Andrea Egan, the general secretary of Unison, said: “It’s a con to think Nigel Farage and his rich cronies are interested in unions for anything but cold hard cash.
“They don’t believe in basic rights or fair pay and consistently voted against every measure to improve them.”
Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, added: "If I had a pound for every politician who said they are the party of workers' I’d be a rich woman.
"Reform have shown absolutely no evidence that they are friends of workers. Not signing up to the Employment Rights’ Act, inferring privatisation of the NHS and threatening local authority pensions seems the exact opposite.
"What needs to happen now is for is the Labour Party to stop dithering and be the voice of workers. A little less conversation – a little more action."
A GMB spokesperson said: “Mr Farage and his Reform MPs say one thing to workers and do another.
“They voted against sick pay and other essential safeguards. They even want to prevent people organising to make work better at places like Amazon.
“Now they want to stop low-paid working women getting access to their pension scheme.
“We see them for what they are – rebadged Tories after union members’ basic rights.”
Steve Wright, general secretary of the Fire Brigades' Union, said: "Nigel Farage is a Thatcherite who is an enemy of trade unions and has consistently opposed extending employment rights, as well as workers taking strike action in defence of their jobs.
"As a former Tory party member in the 1980s, Farage was a cheerleader for Thatcher‘s war on the miners and the biggest onslaught on trade unions since the Second World War.
"As an MP, Farage opposed the introduction of Employment Rights Act to ban zero hour contracts and outlaw fire and rehire.
"Farage's deputy Richard Tice has repeatedly stated that Reform wants to raid the pensions that firefighters and other public sector workers have paid into.
"Firefighters and other workers will see this ludicrous stunt for what is by a party led by multi-millionaires that is a threat to the working class.
"A failure to properly listen to working people has opened the door to the nightmare of a 'far right' government led by Farage coming to power.
"The Labour government must urgently change course, by introducing a wealth tax to properly fund public services, pensions and increase pay for all workers."
Maryam Eslamdoust, general secretary of the TSSA, added: "The interests of working people are not safe in the hands of Reform UK, a party whose leaders want to protect their own interests at the expense of everyone else.
"A Farage-led government would rip up the Employment Rights Act and launch even worse attacks on workers' rights than Thatcher.
"Union members will not be conned by this ridiculously and desperate gimmick from Farage."
Farage’s intervention came after polling showed that support for Labour and Reform was tied at 28% among union members, with Labour suffering a 20-point drop since the last General Election.
Reform meanwhile gained 12 points, according to the survey by JL Partners for The Times.
It also showed that among members of Britain’s two biggest unions – Unite and the GMB, both affiliated to the Labour Party – Reform had the lead, six points ahead of Labour and nine points, respectively.
