Just 16% of public sector employees say they trust their senior leaders, according to new research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

The CIPD’s quarterly Employee Outlook survey also shows that 54% of public sector staff agree most people today are not willing to lose pay by going on strike, compared to 47% in the private sector, but more than four in 10 employees are in favour of banning public sector workers involved in the delivery of essential services from striking.

Mike Emmott, CIPD employee relations adviser, says: “Trade unions have the power to disrupt only if employees trust them more than they trust management. The fundamental need is not to ‘manage the trade unions’ it is to manage the employment relationship and communicate the case for change.

“However it is also incumbent on the government to consider the policy options open to it for reducing the risk of disruptive and damaging industrial action by public service employees, such as banning strike action of those involved in the delivery of essential services. If the government was forced to go down this route it would be a sign of its failure to make the case for change to public sector employees.”