Thatcher has died

Here here.

I would like to pay tribute to Lady Thatcher without intending to offend those who disagree with her policies. Many of her detractors were children or not even born during her time in office so I think they should think before speaking (or writing). To my generation she put the "Great" back in Britain at a time when our country was the laughing stock of Europe. She was unafraid to make a decision and unlike today's politicians - of all persuasions - she jolly well stuck to it. The Poll Tax was the fairest method of all citizens contributing to the services provided and was scuppered by those not paying anything, afraid they would have to pay their share. A great, great lady who loved her country and did her best for it.

Unions no longer needed?

From FT.com 7.4.13 : "Employers Increase Zero-hours Contracts
"Zero hours contracts are creeping into white collar work as a broader range of employers adopt an idea originally devised to help retailers and restaurants manage busy periods.

"David von Hagen, an employment lawyer, said "It is cheaper as you only pay when you need them. ....... In the future, there are probably only going to be a few uber professional white collar sectors that might remain untouched".

"There are now almost 100,000 Zero hours contracts used in NHS hospitals, up 24% in the last two years, according to Freedom of Information requests."

The incidence of women on maternity leave being made redundant is becoming more common. Those women not in unions are particularly vulnerable as they would have to take a case to an Employment Tribunal without assistance. Employers hope that women finding themselves in this situation will just "go quietly" and, apparently, in most cases they do.

www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/23/pregnant-wait-till-boss-hears

And, there is now a fee for taking a case to an Employment Tribunal. This ranges from £390 to £1,200. Those who are on minimum or low wages would find it difficult to fund this.

The Health & Safety Executive are changing the regulations regarding wearing hard hats on construction sites. These rules are being incorporated into another set of requirements and the union UCATT is concerned that by doing this the rules are being diluted.

Re: Health & safety risk assessments having to be filled out for "insurance purposes" - isn't this the assessments that insurance companies require in order to provide employers with cover, rather than to do with H&S rules?

You know, you've made me remember the way she quoted St Francis of Assisi when she first became Prime Minister..something about bringing peace and harmony to us all. Yes, it is unfair of us, as a Christian society, to dislike her given that her policies were based on Christian values .

Watching and listening to some of the behaviour and comments shown on the tv it's hard to believe that traditionally we Brits live in a Christian Society.... Stones being thrown comes to mind...My thoughts go to her family and friends. God Bless Margaret Thatcher

Well I'm sorry but I did think that an anyone working in HR would be intelligent enough to know the system. It seems bluebell did not agree with me.

It seems we have different views about what is 'unpleasant and argumentative'. I think her post to me was argumentative. I think using those 3 letters was worse than merely 'unpleasant' I found it offensive.

Yes, I think the language used in bluebell's post was rude and offensive. I would have thought you'd be asking her if it was necessary to speak to another poster in that fashion, vampirequeen.

It appears you think I'm so petty that I can't accept that others might hold views that are different to my own.

I posted because I thought your remark about intelligence was unpleasant and argumentative rather than simply being a comment forming part of the discussion between you and bluebell.

vq of course it is. If you read right back you will see that after being unpleasant to another poster she claimed the union had done something for her daughter in order to justify the union. She then went on to say her daughter worked in HR. I simply said that I thought someone in HR would know how to do that themselves and wouldn't need the union and then she was very unpleasant to me and used a 3 letter offensive word. Are you saying that is acceptable?

Is it because I don't agree with everything you have said about Mrs T that you complain to me but accept her behaviour?

Movedalot....is it necessary to speak to bluebell in that fashion. No matter how clued up you are on employment law it must still be distressing to find your job is at risk and that your employer is trying to do it when you are least able to fight your corner.

bluebell you do seem very irate about nothing. I am sorry but I assumed your daughter, and also you, were intelligent enough to know these things. I have commented before on 'assumed' so should not have done so. I do apologise for the 'artificial indignation' under the circumstances of my mistake.

I am sorry, I had no idea I spoke for the whole of Gransnet, when was that decided? It missed me.

Who am I? Well, I am an intelligent person who does not share all your views. Presumably that means I'm persona no grata to you.

Like others on here, I cannot say It has any effect on me as she had a good long life and what a wonderful nursing home to end the last days of your life in ( the RITZ ). Pity a lot of old people did not get the same treatment and have spent years watching their families struggling because of her stubborn policies.
I no doubt people see it as wicked and disgusting to speak ill of the dead
but we have to have lived the life she left them with, to understand.
To top it all the same poor people I speak about now have to pay her funeral costs ! is that fair?

Oh the joys of the permanent way Tegan I remember years ago when my late husband worked on the Railway he got a radio message telling him to watch out for a dead dog on the track. He stupidly asked what kind of dog it was (why on earth it would make any difference is beyond me) It's a Golden Labrador came the reply. "What colour is it?" he asked. "Black" came the reply.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

I think that working on motorways/roads has a high accident/fatality rate. I only know that because my son was going to work on them but ended up working on train tracks instead. I was quite worried at the time until I realised it was so much safer than road work, because the whole track is closed down. So many idiots on roads ignore any warning signs.

Does dislike of Bob Crow mean that all unions are to be demolished?
I well remember the Herlald of Free Enterprise - what an ironic name - when management had ignored the frequent warnings of captains and engineers that some system was required to show the bridge when the bow doors were shut. They were ignored, with a hideous loss of life.

Somebody remind me - how many prosecutions have there been for corporate manslaughter? How many individuals were punished for the Paddington and other rail crashes?

Well said POGS the voice of reason. I too have said things on both sides of some arguments but it seems that there are people on GN who only remember the ones they feel are the opposite of their own beliefs.

It is such a shame people have to take sides rather than being objective.

bluebell I think the boot is on the other foot. You chose to read my post like that. I am quite sure your daughter knew what the situation was and knew she had nothing to worry about. Most women who are on maternity leave are aware of the situation let alone one who worked in HR. Come of it, we don't need the artifical indignation!

I think there will be a lot of GN's who will 'think' I am anti union. Actually I am not.

I do think that the the reason for that was infact the Laws introduced by Margaret Thatcher which gave credability to the democracy of the union member to have his/her opinion heard. This was most certainly not what was happening and why so many people refer to this country as 'The basket Case Of Europe' prior to Margaret Thatcher being PM and the early days of her leadership.

The thread has developed, as it does, into discussing 'todays' union activity. That for me would be another day a another dollar. I have made my comments re the union activity, prior to, Margart Thatcher and the early days of her office when the 'union leaders might' was so destructive both to the private sector and the public sector workforce, such as miners, steel workers etc. This period of time caused job losses in all geographical areas of the country and included many variences of employment.

I will remind people MORE PITS WERE CLOSED IN THE 1960's THAN IN THE 80's. Where does the then PM Harold Wilson ever get such hostility for his deeds to the closures of pits and the ruination of communities.

As Neil Kinnock is reported to have said , a point I believe reiterated by the odd Labour MP yesterday in Parliament at Thatchers Tribute, "I don't blame her(Thatcher) for taking advantage of the circumstance". "I'm much more inclined to blame SCARGILL for the appalling defeat HE inflicted on the coal mining communities of Britain".

I think what I am saying is the likes of Red Robbo and Scargill were so highly in control of Britain they lost any credability from the ordinary working classes, albeit outside the mining areas and steel works etc.,. Now I think there is more respect for unions, although I suspect that many of us are worried about the same thing happening all over again, soon. Union Leaders talking of violence and 'war chests' are not in my opinion doing the union reputation much good.

Take for example the Birmingham Council having to pay and back date wages to women who are/were classed as doing a similar/same job. That is good union diplomacy and cannot be argued with. I remember a woman where I worked being sacked by a manager because she has not rang in sick, she had fallen in her home, lived alone and had slipped a disc and could not possibly get to the phone. Her daughter found her the next day. The union quite rightly faught her case, I know it should never have been executed in the first place. However that is good union work and without it I totally accept we would all be the worse for it.

So I am not anti union. I am however worried the likes of Red Robbo have returned and I think this summer may make me rethink my stance all over again, how sad is that.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Hope you added all that to the cost of the job gilly

Respect gillybob!

Blimey I wish we could sell out. Fat chance there is of that.

Retirement????? what's that? They will carry me and DH out of here in a box.

I kid you not Movedalot (oh that rhymes) . We have to carry out a full risk assessment for every tiny little thing we do and some of the so called risks are ridiculous. We once did some work for a large (well known company in the NE) and did our usual risk assessment. Their Elf 'n'safety bod rang to say the assessment was not thorough enough and we needed to go into much more detail before we could commence work. I decided to play them at their own game and although it took me ages it was worth it just imagining the look on his face when he got it !

Risk: Getting to factory. could jam fingers in van door, could hurt back carrying tools into back of van, van could crash on the way to factory etc.

Action: Engineer to wear thick gloves in order to minimize risk of hurting fingers, employ 2 labourers to help carry tools, send advance warning to have all other traffic removed from roads between 9am and 10am etc.

Risk: Engineer cannot drive with thick gloves.

Action: Remove think gloves upon entering van.

You get the picture??? Happy days.

gillybob been there, done that, even the floor scrubbing Very lucky to sell out and retire early. It's not just the unrelenting work, it's the pressure of being where the buck stops.

moved it's funny unless you're in a rush - it's also a permanent state of affairs it seems on some motorways, especially the M25.

I used to laugh at the US with their disclaimers but as gilly said, it's about legalities. Sure lots of it comes down from the EU. Gives lots of people work that's for sure.