I think the government, such as the pathetic incompetent crew in Westminster call themselves, may have misread (not surprising as they seem illiterate in many ways) the public mood to recent union action. Of course the die hard and nearly dead will condemn union action action that delays their hip replacements and doctors appointments, the self employed bigots (who always seem to have time to call radio phone-ons) will bemoan the public service workers that they are too thick to realise that they rely on them. The general public who have suffered under austerity, then the Boris debacle, then austerity again, are sympathetic to the need to pay public sector workers fairly. The self employed with brains also realise that they need customers with money to spend on their products!
The public are also becoming aware of the massive fraud they have been subjected to by this bunch of shysters who call themselves a government.