Paul Nowak has taken over the job of heading the Trades Union Congress during the biggest outbreak of industrial unrest in a generation, with the leaders of health, rail, civil service, teaching and postal unions increasingly angry at the lack of involvement from government ministers.

Mr Nowak told Sky News the strikes "could end tomorrow if the government was prepared for serious and sensible discussions about pay".

But it came as one cabinet minister said the government was "not going to be held to ransom" by the unions over their demands.

Mr Nowak warned of further disruption if ministers don't come to the table, saying unions have a "responsibility" to support striking workers, "and that means in some circumstances coordinated industrial action".

"Our unions will be continuing to talk in the new year about how we best support and coordinate unions taking that strike action," he said.

"In some cases, that might mean unions taking strike action on the same day and in other cases it will be a rolling wave of industrial action."

The interview came as railway cleaners and road traffic officers became the latest sectors to join strike action sweeping the country.

Nurses, ambulance workers and other NHS staff have already been joined by rail, bus and postal workers in going on strike in December in a row over pay and conditions.

Teachers, civil servants, National Highways employees, airport baggage handlers and homeless charity employees have also walked off the job, while Border Force workers based at a number of airports are continuing with strike action until New Year's Eve.

'No magic wand' to produce money for pay rises

On Thursday, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace insisted there was "no magic wand" to produce the money for above-inflation pay awards unions were demanding, as he rejected Mr Nowak's call for ministers to get round the negotiating table.

The government has accepted recommendations from pay review bodies to give many striking workers below-inflation pay rises, and Mr Wallace said he was not prepared to ignore their advice.

Speaking during a visit to Manchester Airport, where military personnel are covering for striking Border Force staff, Mr Wallace said: "We're not going back to the 1970s where the trade union barons thought that they ran the government.

"They used to meet in Downing Street and tell the Labour government of the day what they're going to do. We're not going to go back to that. We're not going to be held to ransom."

Asked what he would say to workers who felt they had no choice but to strike, he claimed that public sector workers have better pay and conditions than their colleagues in the private sector.

"Many of the striking bodies at the moment have security of employment that their private sector colleagues don't have, many of them have pension schemes that are better, that their private sector colleagues don't have. I think they should reflect on that," he said.

"We're all in this, we all have to try and fix the dangers of inflation that are not helping any of us and across the private sector people have much worse conditions sometimes than the ones currently going on strike and I think I would say to them you should reflect on that."

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'No evidence public sector pay driving inflation'

Mr Nowak said the disputes will only end if there is a way forward on pay "and that's only going to happen if the government sits down and negotiates".

He disputed the government's argument that meeting the pay rise demands will make inflation worse.

"There is absolutely no evidence that the pay of nurses, paramedics and teachers is driving inflation in this country," he told Sky News.

To mark his appointment, the TUC published new analysis it said showed that workers are enduring the longest real wage squeeze in modern history.

Its study suggested that workers have lost £20,000, on average, in real wages since 2008 as a result of pay not keeping up with inflation, and by 2025 the loss will total £24,000.

Nurses have lost £42,000 in real earnings since 2008, midwives £56,000 and paramedics £56,000, with workers facing another year of "pay misery", said the TUC.

Government 'sabotaging' negotiations

Mr Nowak pointed to the rail dispute, saying conditions were thrown in "at the last minute" which "scuppered" a deal that was in reach.

He succeeds Frances O'Grady as general secretary and has said that his priority will be to build a "bigger, stronger and more diverse" trade union movement.

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He signalled the unions could walk away from the system of independent pay review bodies for the public sector saying they were being used by the government as "human shields".

Pay review bodies are made up of experts in their field without political affiliations who take evidence from a range of sources, including trade unions and staff.

However, the bodies are appointed by ministers and there are concerns over their credibility.

Union leaders have stepped up warnings of coordinated strike action as ministers stand firm on their position over pay.

Earlier today Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), told Sky News synchronised strikes is something he would support.

"If people are facing a common attack which is on their living standards, why would they not work together to try and force that attack back?" he said.

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union which represents Border Force staff, also told Sky News strike action is likely to become "co-ordinated and synchronised".