When the governor of the bank of England, Mervyn King, recently addressed the Trade Union Congress, it was only the second time in history that a governor had addressed the Union.

Mr King warned that the government had to press ahead with its spending cuts to cut the country’s record peacetime deficit or the UK could be plunged back into recession.

Bob Crow – a name that all Londoners associate with trouble on the tubes and a difficult commute – led his RMT delegation out of the room before King spoke to watch CBeebies.

It was certainly an apt choice of programme for certain members of the Union are acting like children.

Of course it wasn’t the ordinary workers that led us into financial crisis – it was the government, the banks, the lack of financial regulations and the availability of cheap credit. And, of course, the government and financial leaders could have done more and it is obscene for bank bosses and workers to receive bumper bonuses when most businesses and workers are struggling to get by.

"Before the crisis, steady growth with low inflation and high employment was in our grasp. We let it slip - we, that is, in the financial sector and as policy-makers - not your members, nor the many businesses and organisations around the country which employ them,” said Mervyn King.

But there is no getting away from the fact that spending cuts must be made. It is unsustainable for the country to continue to operate with the current deficit: the issue must be sorted sooner rather than later.

The government will unveil more details of where cuts will be felt when it publishes its comprehensive spending review on October 20th and there is sure to be unrest and industrial action announced follow the review

However, the country is vastly different to the one that was crippled by strikes in the 1970s and, while industrial action will of course prove an unwelcome disruption to business owners, the country will still operate.

While the rest of the country is working, the unions may find themselves with time of their hands as they down tools. Time to get reacquainted with CBeebies perhaps?