• Registered: 2022-01-21
  • Posts: 1,588

Topic: Strikes

Yesterday I saw a chart showing some of which groups are sriking which days.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/20653167 … -christmas

The chart does not have anything about a strike by nurses. or ambulance staff.

I had not seen anything previously about a food delivery strike.

I am wondering what effects some of the strikes will have.

Strikes by nurses and ambulance staff could potentially have the effect of people dying when they need not die.

But will the on-the-ground effect be that staff who are working will just try to get through the day as best they can, then people go back to work, that's that as far as management is concerned, resentment amongst staff towards how people regarded the strike (on a "neglected their duty" to "defied the union vote" spectrum) that quite possibly might go on for many years until people retire or leave due to the bad atmosphere?

But what effect does a Royal Mail strike have? Some combination of mail piling up and delivered later than it would be, together with people not posting items.

What effect does a strike of beer delivery have?

As for rail strikes, what effects will they have?

Bitterly cold weather with snow is forecast.

On a bitterly cold day with a rail strike, will people who normally go to work by train just have a day off work? Will it be just get through the day, the strike took place, back to normal, so what, nothing changes?

William

  • From: Essex England
  • Registered: 2022-01-30
  • Posts: 165

Re: Strikes

Cards on the table. Normally I would be supporting the workers in their actions, as long as it was the very last resort and were at their wits end on how to get more out of their employers for a fair  wage.

However, this time around, I see no point whatsoever in even asking for a pay raise. Do they not realise that inflation is going through the roof and working people will need to adjust their way of life to accommodate inflation as it is. Why should rail workers be exempt from the ravages of inflation? Medical staff I have a bit more sympathy for, going over and above, putting their lives at risk during the pandemic, I would not be doing their job for a million pound a week.

The reality is that everyone is in the same boat now, no set of workers are worth more than any other set of workers. It's a hard life, and until this passes all we can do is to tighten our belt and get on with it.

  • Joe
  • Joe
  • Member
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  • From: Cornwall
  • Registered: 2022-01-23
  • Posts: 144

Re: Strikes

What a lot of union members don't realise is that for every week they are on strike they will need a pay rise of ~2% just to break even for their lost wage/salary for that week. The longer the strike action the more pressure on the union reps to get a high settlement that exceeds the break even percentage and shows a true gain in wage/salary over the coming 12 month period.

The obvious outcome post strike for industries like train and royal mail are that consumers will be faced with increased prices.

..and were at their wits end on how to get more out of their employers for a fair  wage.

A similar statement can be used by employers " how to get more out of their employees for a fair  wage (without working any harder). i.e. Productivity increase.

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.
  • Registered: 2022-01-21
  • Posts: 1,588

Re: Strikes

There is also another potential problem.

If an employee is in an employer's pension scheme that has benefits if the person dies or is injured so that he or she can no longer work, that benefit covers events nothing to do with their work, provided it is not in connection with other employment.

The situation if the death or injury occurs after the person has gone on strike but not yet gone back into work is unclear.

Also unclear is if an employer tops up State Benefits to salary level if the employee is off sick, what is the situation if the employee goes on strike then becomes ill while on strike, maybe needing to go to hospital for weeks. Other strikers go back to work, but that person does not. Does the employer top up the person's State Benefits if the person has not actualy physically gone back on duty after striking?

William