We'll *Do Something" about the strikes

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.

Like what?
I understand the pay issue, but for the postal workers, they’re handing over their jobs-which they may never get back. Firms e.g. Curry’s are already turning to other providers.
Where will all the money come from to make these pay rises-and will success turn into a never ending cycle of strikes.

(Just a note - Ambulance are not emergency services, they new a class below, "essential services")

Winter of discontent? I still remember 1978 to 9 when even some gravediggers went on strike and along with the rubbish piling up in the streets was enough to put Maggie Thatcher in power!
A change of government is probably a good thing.

It’s too late for the current and proposed round of strikes over Christmas, they will happen because there’s no way he will get any legislation through before then. I think the situation will get much worse very quickly if he tries to introduce a no strike clause, this could well bring the government down.

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

I understand the pay issue but if inflation then rises, that pay increase will be worth less.

Royal Mail say they are losing £1million a day through strikes, so where do the posties think the pay increase will come from? I order a lot of goods online and deliveries are very rarely via Royal Mail these days, mostly from DPD, Evri/Hermes, etc.

It's not up to the Posties to work out where the money will come from. That's what management are for. If an organisation can't organise itself well enough to pay its employees a suitable wage, or collaborate with them to come to an agreement, then the management aren't doing their job.

If people can't strike, they will be taken advantage of by the kind of management that thinks it can get away with it. Not all managers are like that, not by a long chalk, but some are.

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?

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?

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.

No perhaps about it.

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..

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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 .

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.

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 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.

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.

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 "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?