Could people with finance jobs in London see a return of the dark days?

While not everyone now working in the City will remember the dark period of the early 80s that saw workers from various industries across the UK striking, those who do may be feeling concerned that they can draw parallels with that time and today.

Indeed, with employees of businesses such as British Airways, the London Underground and BT, among others, either striking or threatening industrial action, people with finance jobs in London may be wondering if today's austerity is the start of harder times to come.

Back in the early 80s, the announcement that pits across the country would be closed led miners to go on strike, with violence breaking out on the picket lines.

It was to mark a clear divide between the workers and the government - led by Margaret Thatcher - and was a time that many people have still not forgotten.

However, with the booming period that peaked in 2007, where credit was more readily available, financial services providers seemed safe, unemployment was falling and house prices were on the rise, Britons may have had little fear that similar problems would one day surface.

But the following economic downturn had a deep impact on the country, leading to wide-scale redundancies and rising joblessness, while many consumers found that they could no longer access credit at a time when they needed it the most.

With the economy now out of recession and businesses beginning the long road to recovery, is it safe to say that the country is out of the woods?

Not according to Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), who recently said: "The recession was even deeper than we thought and that leaves the recovery looking even more fragile."

He was commenting on the public sector cuts the government has imposed in an effort to make headway into the UK's deficit.

"An entirely avoidable double-dip now looks more likely. The price that we will have to pay in jobs and damage to our social structures makes that a very frightening prospect indeed," Mr Barber warned.

But while the problems that could now be facing the public sector are widely reported, how will people in the City find that these issues affect their own working lives?

Sarah Butcher, writing for eFinancialCareers, recently claimed that many bankers are still waiting to hear any announcement on their bonuses this year.

But they may have a while longer to wait, with City minister Mark Hoban exclusively telling the Guardian this week that people working in the financial services sector need to be demonstrating the same "pay restraint" that has been asked of their counterparts in other industries.

He also announced that the government is "actively looking at" the possibility of introducing a financial activities tax, while it is also exploring the costs and benefits on remuneration and profits of implementing this duty.

"While banks have served the country well in the past, serious mistakes have been made in recent years," Mr Hoban said.

He claimed that now is the time for banks to restore their reputations by treating businesses, savers and borrowers fairly, noting that "their fate is in their hands".

It could be said that despite fears over regulations, pay freezes, tax and strikes, above all employees in the City want to help build a stronger and safer financial services industry, which could even play a part in ensuring these days of austerity are never returned to.

All stories