Strikes, strikes and a few more strikes.

I see the Road Gritters are going on strike, good old Unison do it again. Despite being very happy for decades, they now want to go on strike.

Put this alongside the Lazy Buggers on the Tube planned strikes, the Lecturer's guilt edged pensions and strikes, what next...........

We're going to run out of oil drums........

thesilentone wrote: I see the Road Gritters are going on strike, good old Unison do it again. Despite being very happy for decades, they now want to go on strike.

Put this alongside the Lazy Buggers on the Tube planned strikes, the Lecturer's guilt edged pensions and strikes, what next...........

We're going to run out of oil drums........

If businesses didn't have such an ugly culture of greed then we wouldn't need unions.

Kessler wrote:

thesilentone wrote: I see the Road Gritters are going on strike, good old Unison do it again. Despite being very happy for decades, they now want to go on strike.

Put this alongside the Lazy Buggers on the Tube planned strikes, the Lecturer's guilt edged pensions and strikes, what next...........

We're going to run out of oil drums........

If businesses didn't have such an ugly culture of greed then we wouldn't need unions.

Is that all businesses ?

Yorkie Blue wrote:

Kessler wrote:

thesilentone wrote: I see the Road Gritters are going on strike, good old Unison do it again. Despite being very happy for decades, they now want to go on strike.

Put this alongside the Lazy Buggers on the Tube planned strikes, the Lecturer's guilt edged pensions and strikes, what next...........

We're going to run out of oil drums........

If businesses didn't have such an ugly culture of greed then we wouldn't need unions.

Is that all businesses ?

No, there are some decent businesses out there's also a lot which are run by greedy shareholders who care more about lining their own pockets than paying staff a proper living wage. We need unions because we can't trust every employer to treat staff properly, and give them a fair share of the profits. If every employer behaved responsibly, we wouldn't need unions.

Kessler wrote:

Yorkie Blue wrote:

Kessler wrote:

thesilentone wrote: I see the Road Gritters are going on strike, good old Unison do it again. Despite being very happy for decades, they now want to go on strike.

Put this alongside the Lazy Buggers on the Tube planned strikes, the Lecturer's guilt edged pensions and strikes, what next...........

We're going to run out of oil drums........

If businesses didn't have such an ugly culture of greed then we wouldn't need unions.

Is that all businesses ?

No, there are some decent businesses out there's also a lot which are run by greedy shareholders who care more about lining their own pockets than paying staff a proper living wage. We need unions because we can't trust every employer to treat staff properly, and give them a fair share of the profits. If every employer behaved responsibly, we wouldn't need unions.

What a load of nonsense. We don't need unions and we shouldn't have unions.

I thought you had been spying on me bowling.

Yes we do - I work for a large well-known national company and if we didn't have the Union behind us our working conditions would be shite!

chedderbob247 wrote: What a load of nonsense. We don't need unions and we shouldn't have unions.

So who sticks up for your rights when your employer starts taking the piss? Collective bargaining is a good tool to hold employers to account, a group of employees all standing together has more power than individuals.

Personally I believe by far most business is good for the country and is fair in the treatment of their workforce, but there will always be a small minority who are bad employers, similarly I believe there are some unions do try to liaise fairly and effectively between employer and employed, whereas some do have a class war mentality. I would think union membership is on the decline these days as their traditional stronghold large industries such as mining, shipbuilding, heavy industries etc, is either dead or in decline and present day industries such as R&D, design, IT etc are more flexible, have better working practises, better working conditions and the employees probably feel no need to join a union.

I would restrict the road gritters strike from April to Sept.

Meanwhile the unions have shovelled in over £3m to Labour in the last few days

Laffy wrote: Meanwhile the unions have shovelled in over £3m to Labour in the last few days

And?

Kessler wrote:

chedderbob247 wrote: What a load of nonsense. We don't need unions and we shouldn't have unions.

So who sticks up for your rights when your employer starts taking the piss? Collective bargaining is a good tool to hold employers to account, a group of employees all standing together has more power than individuals.

You secretly wanted to be in a gang at school didn't you Kes, come on admit it....

Kessler wrote:

thesilentone wrote: I see the Road Gritters are going on strike, good old Unison do it again. Despite being very happy for decades, they now want to go on strike.

Put this alongside the Lazy Buggers on the Tube planned strikes, the Lecturer's guilt edged pensions and strikes, what next...........

We're going to run out of oil drums........

If businesses didn't have such an ugly culture of greed then we wouldn't need unions.

Tube is nationalised.
Gritters are council.

All well known greedy businesses.

High Street wrote:

Kessler wrote:

thesilentone wrote: I see the Road Gritters are going on strike, good old Unison do it again. Despite being very happy for decades, they now want to go on strike.

Put this alongside the Lazy Buggers on the Tube planned strikes, the Lecturer's guilt edged pensions and strikes, what next...........

We're going to run out of oil drums........

If businesses didn't have such an ugly culture of greed then we wouldn't need unions.

Tube is nationalised.
Gritters are council.

All well known greedy businesses.

I am not sticking up for unions, but I would guess the road gritters are on a pittance compared to tube drivers for doing what seems an equally if not more difficult job.

Perhaps because the gritters can't hold the capital to ransom.

Half the Tube drivers will be voting for Boris, as there over the £80k tax threshold..........


www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/london...reveal-a4018716.html

thesilentone wrote: I see the Road Gritters are going on strike, good old Unison do it again. Despite being very happy for decades, they now want to go on strike.

Put this alongside the Lazy Buggers on the Tube planned strikes, the Lecturer's guilt edged pensions and strikes, what next...........

We're going to run out of oil drums........

It's just a taster of what will happen if Corbyn gets into power.

Bluedazblue wrote:

thesilentone wrote: I see the Road Gritters are going on strike, good old Unison do it again. Despite being very happy for decades, they now want to go on strike.

Put this alongside the Lazy Buggers on the Tube planned strikes, the Lecturer's guilt edged pensions and strikes, what next...........

We're going to run out of oil drums........

It's just a taster of what will happen if Corbyn gets into power.

Ah but these strikes are happening under Boris.

AlbertRoss wrote:

Bluedazblue wrote:

thesilentone wrote: I see the Road Gritters are going on strike, good old Unison do it again. Despite being very happy for decades, they now want to go on strike.

Put this alongside the Lazy Buggers on the Tube planned strikes, the Lecturer's guilt edged pensions and strikes, what next...........

We're going to run out of oil drums........

It's just a taster of what will happen if Corbyn gets into power.

Ah but these strikes are happening under Boris.

I wrote a TASTER of what would happen under Corbyn.

..and it begins. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-50614066

I wonder what Kess thinks of a carer getting just over £8.0 an hour and never strikes V a Tube driver on over £40.00 hour and is always on strike. Similar levels of skill (if anything the carer is more skilled)

The care sector has been de-unionised and splintered into hundreds, if not thousands of small companies. And because it's not great work, no-one wants to do it, so has increasingly relied on immigrants. Put those factors together, and you'll have a better chance of understanding why carers don't strike.

Oh, and we don't want to pay the taxes necessary to pay carers properly.

And because of the low wages, churn is very high, meaning a lot of the training and preparation is often wasted.

CCU wrote: Didn’t realise South Western had become part of the London Underground network?

Never said it was, you assumed it was to do with the link, not me.

It is shocking though that a Tube driver is paid 5 x times more than a care worker for a similar skill level, do you not agree ?

The care workers look like they need a few fat necked bully boys speaking up for them aswell. Or perhaps in Mr Mcdonnel's utopia, the Tube Drivers would take a tenner an hour less and pass that on to the care workers ? What do you think Kess ? Surely that would be better than giving it to the taxman ?

I think of it as care workers need paid more rather than train drivers paid less.
We don't want a race to the bottom.

If there hadn't been thousands of foreign workers to work cheaply and fill the gaps the British workers would have seen their wages increase but instead, the govt won't pay the councils so the councils wouldn't pay the care companies so the companies wouldn't pay the workers what they're were worth.

All because they knew there was a ready supply of East European workers who will not only work for less but will also put up with cost-cutting shit tricks that they have been foisting on their workforce for the last 5 years. If there was no pool of foreign workers the rate would be 50% higher than it is now and they wouldn't be having to put up with the shit from the companies that they currently are.

But yes not being unionised is a big part of it as it's pretty sure that several of the current practices break employment law. An example is many companies no longer pay them not only to use their own cars but many don't even pay the petrol money any more and when you take this into account it means they're not even getting the minimum wage.

I can't believe a union hasn't got a group of workers together and acted on their behalf as a win for them would then be applied right across the industry.

As in most cases, the care they provide is statutory and can't just be done away with so if a union proved what's going on is against employment law everyone would have to cough up their bit till it filtered down to the workers on the ground.

NORTHERNSOUL wrote: I can't believe a union hasn't got a group of workers together and acted on their behalf as a win for them would then be applied right across the industry.

People often talk shit about unions but this is why I think they are important. There are many employers out there who take the piss of their workforce so people need to have the power of collective bargaining, and they need to know they have someone to fight their corner if their employer starts taking the piss.

That’s why we have secret ballots Kes

Kessler wrote:

NORTHERNSOUL wrote: I can't believe a union hasn't got a group of workers together and acted on their behalf as a win for them would then be applied right across the industry.

People often talk shit about unions but this is why I think they are important. There are many employers out there who take the piss of their workforce so people need to have the power of collective bargaining, and they need to know they have someone to fight their corner if their employer starts taking the piss.

Too many out there believe that being in a Union is all gang mentality.

When I used them it was just me, better that way as the message does not get diluted.

Since not working I have still been in the Union and have used them twice - nothing to do with any former employer either.

Being in a Union should I believe only used as something to fall back on should an employer behave in an untoward way and not for a workforce to gang up and strike over a wage rise, I find that side rather crude.

munchymagic wrote: Being in a Union should I believe only used as something to fall back on should an employer behave in an untoward way and not for a workforce to gang up and strike over a wage rise, I find that side rather crude.

If the employer isn't paying staff a fair wage, I think that is behaving in an untoward way and staff are right to demand a proper wage. I agree with the general point though, unions should be something to fall back on if needed and not the gang mentality you talk about.