The leader of Britain's biggest union issued a strongly-worded warning to the Government that public sector strikes will be launched unless services are properly funded.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis was addressing 3,000 delegates at the Unison annual conference at the Brighton Centre.

In a 20-minute speech, frequently punctuated with warm applause, Mr Prentis said last year's strike by a million council workers was not just about pay, it was also about a "demoralised" workforce.

They were sick and tired of the controversial private finance initiative and of the "brave new world" of public services, where profit was king.

And he pledged: "We will make a difference to the lives of low-paid public service workers."

Mr Prentis said that if funds were not given for local government workers, school reforms and a new pay system in the National Health Service, more strikes would be held.

He added: "We will stand up for our members."

He said Unison would confront new Health Secretary John Reid on the union's campaign to abolish foundation hospitals before they started.

And he said union officials would tell Education Secretary Charles Clarke, face to face, he could not have reforms on the cheap.

Mr Prentis will also team up with other new general secretaries of big unions including Amicus, the GMB and the Transport and General Workers Union to talk about closer links and how to "reclaim" the Labour Party.

And he stressed Unison should work within the Labour Party to return it to its roots and warned that any moves to go outside would "wither on the vine".

Union leaders should not retreat to the bad old days of being in opposition, expecting nothing and getting nothing, he told delegates.

On a wider front, he said Unison had been right to oppose war with Iraq and was right now to demand the country should be returned to the Iraqi people immediately.

He wound up his speech with a rallying call to members to remain united.

Unison had come a long way since it had been formed more than ten years ago from several separate public service unions, all with different practices, he said.

But it had to be united to succeed.

Wearing shirtsleeves and looking relaxed, Mr Prentis laced his speech with jokes.

But if Mr Blair and his Cabinet colleagues were watching his short and powerful address, they would have been left in no doubt Unison is prepared to fight for what it wants.

Wednesday June 18, 2003