Some of my family were going to come up this weekend but that's now goosed, but I'm more or less sympathetic to the strikers. I wonder how many public sector workers voted Tory?
I do think they should expect to take a little hit in the current economic climate but having said that most of them have been shafted for a few years now, certainly since covid, and there are other factors like working conditions.
The rail workers are asking for 7% which is well below inflation and seems pretty reasonable to me. The fair pay for nursing campagn is asking for for 5% above inflation which would currently push it North of 17%. Teachers in Scotland are asking for 10%, which to me sounds about right.
Yeah as someone not massively impacted by the strikes, and therefore coming from a privileged position, I'm all in favour from what I understand.
For eg the RMT is not about just cash, it's the work terms and conditions which are sucky and I'd like a union to fight for me if they were being imposed. the timing is also imposed since the proposed changes are due to come in shortly so not even the 'they're ruining Christmas' arguments sway me
The Johsonesque 'it'd cost every household £1000 to provide the demands' from Sunak is the usual shameful divisive deceit and if it were only that I'd support the strikes, the lying fuck
good luck to them and hope they get what they ask for
The government response has been woeful
Regardless of where anyone sits on strikes they should be pissed off at the government's head in the sand tactics. Different governments will obviously lean more one way or another but their role should be to mediate and represent the tax paying public. Especially as most of those striking are tax funded, subsidised or run gov approved and legislated effective monopolies
The media especially the BBC are cunts for only ever talking about money not conditions.
From there I'll take each strike on its own merits but it's pretty tough to not support the workers across the board.
I find the emotional blackmail of "you're ruining soldiers' (who get paid less than you!) Christmas, because you're greedy!" So fucking annoying.
Along with something along the lines of "but they'll do it anyway and not complain because they have a sense of duty".
1. It's not the rail workers or nurses or lorry drivers or postal workers that decide what to pay soldiers. If their salary is too low that's on the government.
2. It's not the workers who decide to crash out the military everytime something needs sorting, like the fire strikes, or the Olympic Games, or flooding, or oil tanker strikes, or whatever else, it's the government that do that.
3. They will fucking complain, and whinge and moan, because they are pissed off that they're getting fucked around again. But they will do what they are told, not because they are super dedicated civic minded heroes, but because they don't have a choice. What they will do though is sign off and leave the military.
It’s really tough to go on strike legally these days, if the unions have managed to meet the threshold for doing so, then things must be pretty bad for its members.
Good luck to them but I hope it's sorted soon. It took me three and a half hours to get to work this morning and we're still catching up from missing post at the tail end of last week. So yeah...as someone who works a ridiculous distance away without the possibility of WFH, doing a job that relies on Royal Mail deliveries ngl it's getting on my tits.
Talking more specifically on these current strikes.
I think it reflects the total failure of the Tory government(s) that have led to conditions that make people want to strike. It also shows Sunak's weakness that so many are going ahead. The unions smell blood.
The public who arent striking can sympathise with workers more than usual and it seems the support is there, the piss weak gov have no support so cant counter it.
I am 100% behind anyone wishing to strike and support my fellow union members completely.
This government must stop vilifying those just trying to earn a fair wage.
I'm not personally impacted by the strikes and in the other thread I posted about just being told I'm getting a promotion and pay rise so in many ways I have nothing to strike over and no reason to complain. I'm extremely lucky and privileged here.
However you don't get anywhere in society by pulling up the ladder behind you.
I will join any picket line and offer whatever help I can to my fellow workers.
Fuck you Tories
Not everything is The Best or Shit. Theres many levels between that, lets just enjoy stuff.
Latest poll has the Tories on just 69 seats (nice).
Maybe Sunak should look at doing something about these ever increasing strikes rather than banging on about Albanians.
I'd guess the gov cant afford Z without taxing the rich or pulling services back into public ownership.
Aye. They have painted themselves into a corner with greed and sheer incompetence. Did they not think that strikes were likely? This has been brewing since the bank bailout and the austerity measures. I'm surprised it took this long - Brexit distracted people from the fact that they were getting fucked over for several years of course. COVID only turned the temperature up. Kind of a perfect storm.
Mrs Prime is a postie, and she’s lost a lot of money by striking.
The proposals from the Royal Mail are horrendous though, and the lies of losing £1m a day, or week, or whatever they’re claiming pales compared to the hundreds of millions being paid to shareholders.
Lots of these unions being forced to strike, are representing workers who worked through the pandemic, rather than being furloughed, and were ‘clapped’ on the doorstep on Thursday evenings.