Is Government thirsty for more union blood?

He attempted inadvertently to give government a way out of the morass it finds itself in - a  government hated and condemned in equal measure both inside and outside these borders for its handling of the public sector strike.

He declared that the essential services workers sacked during last year's public sector strike had not been offered a fair hearing. He most importantly, ordered government to hire back the employees and provide them with salary arrears.  Being too arrogant to find a settlement on its own, government could have taken this as an opportunity to save face and mend its relations with not just the unions, but also the general population affected by the sackings.