We'll *Do Something" about the strikes

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.

Much more sympathy with public sector strikers now than 30 years ago because much greater awareness of corporate greed as shown in directors' salaries, also more threats to working conditions and job security.
Plus govt mismanagement of just about everything and conspicuous waste of huge amounts of money and behaviour like that of Baroness Mone. It isn't to be wondered at workers are using the only counter-weapons they can.

Anybody else think we’re heading towards a general strike?

The problem I’m sure is that parcel delivery persons are paid way less than Royal Mail employees.

Unless anyone knows different

That aside 90% of my mail is junk mail

I agree we are sending more parcels, but I think it’s the courier service which has and is benefiting from this.

The courier companies deliver seven days a week from early morning till late evening, you can order something from Amazon in the morning and it is delivered the same evening. Unfortunately the Royal Mail as it stands cannot compete with Evri (Hermes), DPD etc.

For the RM to continue it has to refresh its business model to make it current for 2022 and beyond.

As for the NHS, I think the elephant in the room is agency staff. It must be disheartening to be doing the same job alongside a colleague you know is earning twice as much because they are there via an agency.

If the Trusts can afford agency staff it’s not rocket science to pay their contracted staff more without the agency fees, they are finding the money at the moment! Why has nobody put this to the government (or have they)?

I have listened to many discussions regarding the various rail workers who are striking and again some of the sticking points seem to be modernisation.

The one that sticks in my mind is that there is rolling stock fitted with diagnostic equipment that can detect faults on the rails quicker than the current system of men walking the lines which is in itself dangerous . The unions are not fans of this apparently.

All organisations have to move forward and in doing so have to find a way to take the workforce with them. To not do so will leave the U.K. as a 20th century backwater as opposed to a 21st century forward thinking Country.

The above needs direction and leadership from the very top, Government. For too long the Conservatives have been obsessed with untying links with the EU and the Labour party has been infighting and navel gazing.

I truly hope that by the next election that all parties have a manifesto of hope and innovation, but I will not hold my breath.

I dread to think what Sunak has in mind. Make the right to strike illegal? Let's not forget that the Tories brought in huge restrictions on that already and that strikes only go ahead when a large proportion of the workforce agree. The terms and conditions attached to the rail settlement would cause problems for all travellers. As for where will the money come from? Well the bonuses and wages of those at the top could be used to help out and the massive profits made could be cut. As Mick Lynch says "there's plenty of money in the economy, it's just in the hands of the wrong people".

I think that Royal Mail are one of the worst employers.

Just ask your local postie what is happening to Royal Mail before you make assumptions about pay and the unions. Management want to make thousands of them redundant. They want temporary contracts. They want to change their working hours. They want Sunday deliveries. Etc etc and all with a ridiculously low rate of pay.

Would you walk around carrying a heavy bag for hours in the pouring rain for £10 an hour?

Grannygravy but we are sending more parcels. They should be able to make enough profit from that to subsidise the letter post. I would have preferred the Royal Mail not to have been sold off, then the letter post could possibly have been treated as a public service.
As regards cheques, it wasn't really us that wanted to stop sending them was it, more the lack of bank branches to take them to.

The "government" is apparently compensating the rial companies in tens of millions until the strikes are over.WHY not just pay the bloody rises or is giving money to the working classes the biggest tory taboo?

Ilovecheese

Volver is correct. It is up to the royal mail management to find a way to pay their employees properly. If they can't do that they are not fit for their position.

I think the problem with the Royal Mail is that the way we correspond and do business has changed so much over the last decade that they need to totally rethink their business model.

Emails have had a major impact as has people using bank transfers instead of sending out cheques, we no longer send out invoices all is done online. We have gone from approximately 200-250 postal transactions a month to less than 50 and I know we are not alone in this.

They simple cannot continue to loose millions each month it is not viable.

The rail operators and rail union were ready to sign and agreement last spring.

The government refused to let them sign off.

This is down to the government.

As are so many of the strikes.

I found this on twitter this morning. This is the list of conditions being attached to the less than generous pay offer 4% next year & 4% the year after) that the RMT has received.

Looking at that list I'm not at all surprised that the RMT is intransigent. Would you care to even travel (usually at great expense) on the railways with so few staff left to look after passengers and passenger safety?

Just remember, the train companies are paying their directors and shareholders very handsomely. They are trying to impose these conditions in order to continue to collected their handsome remuneration.

I know this is concentrating on the RMT, but other workers are in a very poor position, too.

Volver is correct. It is up to the royal mail management to find a way to pay their employees properly. If they can't do that they are not fit for their position.

If they hadn't squandered billions on useless PPE projects which only lined the pockets of their cronies, they could easily afford to give all these workers a decent pay rise. And if you remove the right to strike, you're on the start of a very slippery slope.

In France some doctors and nurses are on strike today - our surgery is closed. They want to raise the cost of visiting the doctor to €50 instead of €25 - it has been that price for almost 20 years I think. The European average charge is €45 .

In Germany they try to take down the government...

(heard on the lunchtime news yesterday) Far Right Nutters!

I too remember the winter of discontent in the 1970s. I do believe we are heading for a general strike.

This is the British way. In France they take to the streets and burn cars.

Shinamae

volver

I've been pleasantly surprised by the support that seems to exist quite widely for the strikers in all sectors. Nurses, railway workers, teachers, posties...

Perhaps people can see that society needs these people and that they are being taken advantage of?

I think Carers should be included in that.. most carers are still working for minimum wage and no strike action from us..

Absolutely Shinamae.

GrannyGravy13

This will be unpopular but I do not think emergency services should be allowed to strike.

I am not sure what the solution is though.

Maybe not to waste billions of public money on vanity projects and contracts to mates, who then don’t come up with the goods, remember the useless PPE supplies.
Then there might be money in the coffers to give hard working people a decent wage and improve the public services.

volver

I've been pleasantly surprised by the support that seems to exist quite widely for the strikers in all sectors. Nurses, railway workers, teachers, posties...

Perhaps people can see that society needs these people and that they are being taken advantage of?

I think Carers should be included in that.. most carers are still working for minimum wage and no strike action from us..

No perhaps about it.

GrannyGravy13

This will be unpopular but I do not think emergency services should be allowed to strike.

I am not sure what the solution is though.

Neither do I but in order to take away that right, there has to be something in place to repay them and to ensure they are well paid. Something like the triple pension lock. The police aren't allowed to strike and I assume the armed forces aren't either so there is a way of doing things for our emergency services to ensure they are well cared for in return for their good service.

I've been pleasantly surprised by the support that seems to exist quite widely for the strikers in all sectors. Nurses, railway workers, teachers, posties...

Perhaps people can see that society needs these people and that they are being taken advantage of?

Katie59

The Army will step in and provide a basic service some essential workers will be ordered back to work. We will all suffer a lot of inconvenience, as usual.

The government could do much more but won’t, they want “unreasonable” workers to take the blame

Including the Gurkhas there are only 84,000 army personnel, many of whom are on active service in the UK and abroad. With the best will in the world those army personnel who are available for deployment will make only a minute difference if key workers across a range of sectors strike.
How do you think the government could ‘order’ people back to work Katie59, I honestly can’t see that happening?