U.K. unions are ready to take on the government if it attempts to strip away workers' rights, the head of the Trades Union Congress — the umbrella movement for the U.K.'s major unions — has said.

BBC news reports the U.K. government has promised to change the rules on taking strike action. TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said it was "a cynical move to distract from the chaos they have caused.” But a government spokesperson said it wanted to ensure the public did not pay the price for "disproportionate strike action.”

O'Grady said the TUC had taken legal counsel over whether the government's plans to change rules governing industrial action breached the law. Workers were facing two decades with no real wage growth, once inflation was taken into account, she said.

At the TUC conference being held Oct. 18-20, unions are expected to vote in favor of coordinating any strikes.

There has already been a wave of strike action affecting postal, communication and rail services. Barristers and dockworkers have also been on strike.

The government has said it will do what it can to minimize disruption, and said it is confident its proposals are compliant with the U.K.'s domestic and international legal obligations.