We'll *Do Something" about the strikes

I don't think it is more important that families get together at Christmas than people being able to live a decent life during the whole year.
There has really been no alternative for people other than to withdraw their labour. I do hope most people will not turn against the strikers.
The Government won't help, the opposition gives little support. What are people to do?

Glorianny

GrannyGravy13

I know what I think is really important and that is Families being together at Christmas and some of these strikes will prevent that.

I definitely agree to people having a living wage I just do not think that striking is the correct way to achieve it.

So what do working people do when they have sat through meeting after meeting and seen their perfectly reasonable requests refused time after time? When they are being offered a tiny raise which won't cover their costs and leave them using food banks to be able to eat. What would you suggest?

I have posted many times that I do not have the answer Glorianny I wish I did.

Maybe working to rule, no overtime?

I am not sure that those folks who cannot get to family due to strikes will side with the unions despite being sympathetic to their cause.

GrannyGravy13

I know what I think is really important and that is Families being together at Christmas and some of these strikes will prevent that.

I definitely agree to people having a living wage I just do not think that striking is the correct way to achieve it.

So what do working people do when they have sat through meeting after meeting and seen their perfectly reasonable requests refused time after time? When they are being offered a tiny raise which won't cover their costs and leave them using food banks to be able to eat. What would you suggest?

I know what I think is really important and that is Families being together at Christmas and some of these strikes will prevent that.

I definitely agree to people having a living wage I just do not think that striking is the correct way to achieve it.

I think that we probably all want a country where everyone is paid fairly and treated fairly. Practices like zero hour contract suit some people but not those lower paid workers who have to pay their bills.
There are so many professions, businesses and trades that are vital to our wellbeing.
My DH used to get up at 3am to milk cows and was never well paid although I would nave said that providing food was relatively important., we have a tradesman outside our house now who must be freezing so that we won’t be.

If we want good pay and conditions for the people who provide us with what we need then we have to be prepared to dig deeper into our pockets.

The vast majority of us go on holidays, buy clothes we don’t really need ( I could go on and on & I know that I am guilty too)perhaps we have to understand what is really important?

The actions of Thatcher, once in power, and the ease with which she convinced people to vote against their interests, do lend credence (for me) to my belief that once a party is in power it can do whatever it choses to do, so long as it doesn't frighten the horses, i.e. upset most of the electorate.

Ilovecheese

Jeremy Hunt wants less regulation of the banks. I suppose we can look forward to another crash then.

I spotted that! Has he really not learnt anything?

I couldn't abide Thatcher's ideology but I really don't think she imagined that so many of the newly privatised industries would end up being owned by foreign Governments.

(hastily adds I didn't vote for Thatcher, but just like voting for Brexit, no, few had real idea)

MaizieD

Wyllow3

The rail privatisation was imo the most stupid one ever done, fragmenting services in our tiny country, allowing no easy overall strategies and planning:
some companies have failed already and goodness knows how much goes on extra management with the split companies. I know that Brit Rail had its problems but privatisation wasn't the answer. Ideology overrode common sense.

I wonder if people who voted tory in 1979 actually understood what Thatcher's ideology was going to unleash on the UK?

A few: I was pretty alert, but had no idea of the extent.

(Deep down Maisie, for me the worst unleashing was "there is no such thing as society",

in terms of how we now see each other and how we see the role of an involved, caring state as opposed to "free for all" "small state")

Jeremy Hunt wants less regulation of the banks. I suppose we can look forward to another crash then.

growstuff

Maizie

I assume you meant "doesn't depend".

I agree.

I did, growstuff, thanks for spotting that

I would add to my last comment the fact that if it weren't for the buying and selling of 'stuff'. i.e commerce, the financial services industry wouldn't even exist...

Curtaintwitcher

All this will weaken our country even further and make it more vulnerable. What just happened in Germany could so easily happen here....a military take-over might be a good thing though. A bit of discipline is much needed.

Seriously?

Maizie

I assume you meant "doesn't depend".

I agree.

growstuff

Katie59

So you’re condemning the whole financial services sector as not being in the public interest when the whole UK economy depends on the taxation they generate

Errrmmm ... I wouldn't say it's the whole UK economy! The Treasury collects taxes from many other sources.

The UK economy does depend on taxation at all.

The UK economy depends on people buying and selling stuff. Just as it always has done. The financial sector has its place but it's a parasite on the sectors that actually produce goods and services.

By the way Katie59, that's a strawman argument.Maizie didn't claim that all shareholders act against the public interest. However, there is a valid argument when an economy becomes unbalanced, which the UK economy is in so many ways.

Katie59

So you’re condemning the whole financial services sector as not being in the public interest when the whole UK economy depends on the taxation they generate

Errrmmm ... I wouldn't say it's the whole UK economy! The Treasury collects taxes from many other sources.

So you’re condemning the whole financial services sector as not being in the public interest when the whole UK economy depends on the taxation they generate

Wyllow3

The rail privatisation was imo the most stupid one ever done, fragmenting services in our tiny country, allowing no easy overall strategies and planning:
some companies have failed already and goodness knows how much goes on extra management with the split companies. I know that Brit Rail had its problems but privatisation wasn't the answer. Ideology overrode common sense.

I wonder if people who voted tory in 1979 actually understood what Thatcher's ideology was going to unleash on the UK?

growstuff

Katie59 But the people in the pension funds, etc who make the decisions are gambling. Hopefully, they're good at it and make the right decisions, but they're still gambling. They're not investing their own money to grow the economy.

Thanks, growstuff.

Just because we've become dependent on gambling in the financial markets for pension funds etc. does not mean that shareholders should take priority over workers when it comes to distribution of company profits.

We are back to my original contention; that shareholders, unless they are investing in a start up, or purchasing a new share issue, contribute nothing to earning the company's profits.

Withregard to postal workers, no problem for where the money to pay them a reas.onabke l iving wage ca ciome from = The £567 million that has been paid to shareholders!!!!

Katie59 But the people in the pension funds, etc who make the decisions are gambling. Hopefully, they're good at it and make the right decisions, but they're still gambling. They're not investing their own money to grow the economy.

The rail privatisation was imo the most stupid one ever done, fragmenting services in our tiny country, allowing no easy overall strategies and planning:
some companies have failed already and goodness knows how much goes on extra management with the split companies. I know that Brit Rail had its problems but privatisation wasn't the answer. Ideology overrode common sense.

So what exactly are the government doing? I'd really like to know. I see the strikes as justified and quite reasonable - considering that pay has effectively been cut and workers simply can't afford to live on their wages.

“Most shareholders are just gamblers.”

Maizie, you know that’s not true, most shareholders are pension funds and other investment companies who are making money of behalf of “us”. If they didn’t do that we would have no private pensions, no life insurance and no ISAs, they pay dividends which again benefit “us”. There are speculators of course who trade short term, most hold shares long term, you can call shareholding gambling if you want, just like any investment it’s a calculated risk.