London calling...
- Thread starter Euphod
- Start date
I am afraid you are very wrong there RJhowie. Britain's biggest union ”Unite” and I believe other unions pay the full average salary of anyone taking official industrial action from the union funds therefore no one on strike is at any financial disadvantage to the full-time union employees organising the action or the union leadership.
As for the comment regarding “union Barons” which I take it you mean the general secretaries of those organisations, then they have to be elected or re-elected every five years by a full ballot of all union membership. That would not match my idea of a baron or Lord who is born into that position for life.
Of course your idea may be different RJ but then you would have to describe David Cameron as a “fascist baron” in the same way as you describe Bob Crow the RMT general secretary as a “Marxist Baron”
As regarding the PCS strike it has been called off today following negotiations in which the union claim that over 1000 new jobs will be created in the immigration service. The government claim that those jobs were already in the phase of recruitment prior to the industrial action being called. I find it strange that the government did not advertise that fact or the jobs before the immigration service workers rattled their swords.
As someone who got most of my education through the trade union movement and now run my own business employing seven people I am proud of my trade union past. With several unions pushing “ free lifelong learning” once again to all their members I hope many more will follow my experience to a better future gained through the support of the British trade union movement and their dedicated tutors.
But of course, that would not be something the Daily Mail would wish to tell its readers.
Bill
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Well, I'm hoping I might see the Olympic flame tomorrow. Just to make this topical for a Trainz forum, the flame procession will be running parallel to the former SE&CR railway viaduct and bridges through Coldharbour Lane and Brixton!
Paul (backing off from the politics in a sporting spirit)
Paul (backing off from the politics in a sporting spirit)
Hi Paul And Everybody
well posted Paul, I must admit that as a football fan I did watch the Great Britain women's match this afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed it. The reason I had that time this afternoon was that an appointment in London was cancelled by the customer as they advised me to stay out of London and they would meet me in Swindon tomorrow as they would be only two glad to get out of the capital for a few hours. To follow you on the trainz spirit, I will travel up to Swindon by train and hopefully know which hotel I am meeting them in by the time I get there. Are things really that chaotic in London at the moment, perhaps you could inform us Paul of your experiences.
Following the above e-mail I'm frightened to death to go anywhere near the place.
Bill
well posted Paul, I must admit that as a football fan I did watch the Great Britain women's match this afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed it. The reason I had that time this afternoon was that an appointment in London was cancelled by the customer as they advised me to stay out of London and they would meet me in Swindon tomorrow as they would be only two glad to get out of the capital for a few hours. To follow you on the trainz spirit, I will travel up to Swindon by train and hopefully know which hotel I am meeting them in by the time I get there. Are things really that chaotic in London at the moment, perhaps you could inform us Paul of your experiences.
Following the above e-mail I'm frightened to death to go anywhere near the place.
Bill
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No it is too overly simplewholbr to lump Cameron and Crowe as two extreme opposites as they are not. Crow is far more strident and radical. As for calling off the strike too dashed right it should be called off. Even the union sponsored Labour leader, Millband came out agaimnst it. I would also tell people that the Union concerned came out on strike having only had 20% of the membership voting and their proportion of that amusing. I have no probs with having unions but Union "barons" did exists and throw their weight about like the Middel Ages ones! In more trying times i always reminded folk we elected MP's to run the nation not the unions. I was a member of a union once (didn't pay the political levy) but got out as the idea of democracy was in pring and not reality. i am sure Bill there are admiral people in the Movement but it it not the same everywhere. You I am sure got a goodly feeling but there are others who got something else.
There always seems to be a tendency for radically minded folk to bash away at he Daily Mail as a handy exzcuse when their is weakness in an argument. Or maybe it galls it does so well?! I could do the same with the guff from the Daily Mirror - remember the Ed I mentioned who was sacked for wrong doing?! Anyway such is life in a free society and striking with such a poor reponse at the Olympic Games was a bad PR error. Now I must again with with this break and cup of tea, get back working exceedingly slowly Trainzing across towards Londonderry in this long NIrish and Irish project. So no disagreement there!!
Bobby
There always seems to be a tendency for radically minded folk to bash away at he Daily Mail as a handy exzcuse when their is weakness in an argument. Or maybe it galls it does so well?! I could do the same with the guff from the Daily Mirror - remember the Ed I mentioned who was sacked for wrong doing?! Anyway such is life in a free society and striking with such a poor reponse at the Olympic Games was a bad PR error. Now I must again with with this break and cup of tea, get back working exceedingly slowly Trainzing across towards Londonderry in this long NIrish and Irish project. So no disagreement there!!
Bobby
amigacooke
Well-known member
Interest groups having meetings with the PM to influence policy is not new. I seem to remember that Harold Wilson use to hold 'beer and sandwiches' meetings with his paymasters, union barons such as Jack Jones and Hugh Scanlon.
amigacooke
Well-known member
Now that is a simple question with a complex answer that is out of scope for this forum.
Hi Paul And Everybody
well posted Paul, I must admit that as a football fan I did watch the Great Britain women's match this afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed it. The reason I had that time this afternoon was that an appointment in London was cancelled by the customer as they advised me to stay out of London and they would meet me in Swindon tomorrow as they would be only two glad to get out of the capital for a few hours. To follow you on the trainz spirit, I will travel up to Swindon by train and hopefully know which hotel I am meeting them in by the time I get there. Are things really that chaotic in London at the moment, perhaps you could inform us Paul of your experiences.
Following the above e-mail I'm frightened to death to go anywhere near the place.
Bill
My God Bill! That's a really interesting bit of info, I'm glad to hear that you've solved your appointments plight and hope that you make a speedy recovery from your dread of visiting London.
And as for influences and we elect MP's to run things. We used to get the Union bosses at 10 Downing Street for beer and sandwiches at one time so there is no restriction on power influencing from any direction actually. As for corporate power I would suggest it is an even much greater factor across the pond. It was a rather silly error putting that wrong flag up and I do hope it wasn't the fault os someone from a certain private security firm?!
A few days ago there was a newspaper report about a cafe that put up - think it was doughnuts or something similar in the shape of the Olympic circles and 2 Community Wardens on their own idea came in and told the owner off for using the display illegally and should remove them. You couldn't make this up!
A few days ago there was a newspaper report about a cafe that put up - think it was doughnuts or something similar in the shape of the Olympic circles and 2 Community Wardens on their own idea came in and told the owner off for using the display illegally and should remove them. You couldn't make this up!
Hi Everybody.
aaaaahh the old chestnut about union leaders having beer and sandwiches at number 10. Those were the terrible days when the elected general secretary's went to Downing Street to talk about the British steel industry, shipbuilding industry, coal industry, clothing industry and many more manufacturing industries that we had then in this country. They went there to discuss the future of the industry's and hundreds of thousands that were employed in them.
But of course, Maggie Thatcher declared that Britain no longer needed "the old metal bashing industries" and therefore set out to sell them off to overseas buyers if they were publicly owned or close them down just so we can now import thousands of tonnes of overseas coal and steel as the manufacturing moved their. All I can say is that India and China seem to be doing very well out of our old metal bashing industries.
However, Britain has moved forward into broad sunlit uplands with its one single industry, finance. This industry is uncorrupted by the terrifying threat of trade unions, instead it just rips off all its high-street customers, creates the biggest financial crisis in British history and then goes on to act illegally by artificially setting interest rates which cost every inhabitant of the country money on their mortgages, credit cards, savings and everyday general shopping.
Of course these banking leaders are invited to number 10 Downing Street not for beer and sandwiches (that would be far below them) but for champagne and canapés. There they can happily discuss with our elected leaders that they have in their pockets how much of the public's money they can put into their millions of pounds bonuses for the next year year, what would be the best illegal scheme to make even more billions for their organisations and how to create the next financial crisis that will definitely guarantee the complete collapse of the world financial system. Oh yes Britain is in a far better position now with the bankers going to visit number 10 than it ever was when the union leaders went there.
Just to bring the thread back on topic, well that idiot Nick Romney certainly got virtually every Briton behind the Olympic Games with his criticism of the British organisation of the games even before thay had started. I think if he wishes to be president of the United States he needs to learn some international diplomacy and when to keep his nose out of other countries affairs. He came to Britain and met its prime minister while not even in government in his own country, no other opposition leader has been offered that by this government. He then throws that back in every Briton's face by making comments on things that where none of his business. When the inefficiencies of the games organisation starts to affect Americans here then the American government can comment and he. Until then "shut it"
With friends like that who needs enemies.
aaaaahh the old chestnut about union leaders having beer and sandwiches at number 10. Those were the terrible days when the elected general secretary's went to Downing Street to talk about the British steel industry, shipbuilding industry, coal industry, clothing industry and many more manufacturing industries that we had then in this country. They went there to discuss the future of the industry's and hundreds of thousands that were employed in them.
But of course, Maggie Thatcher declared that Britain no longer needed "the old metal bashing industries" and therefore set out to sell them off to overseas buyers if they were publicly owned or close them down just so we can now import thousands of tonnes of overseas coal and steel as the manufacturing moved their. All I can say is that India and China seem to be doing very well out of our old metal bashing industries.
However, Britain has moved forward into broad sunlit uplands with its one single industry, finance. This industry is uncorrupted by the terrifying threat of trade unions, instead it just rips off all its high-street customers, creates the biggest financial crisis in British history and then goes on to act illegally by artificially setting interest rates which cost every inhabitant of the country money on their mortgages, credit cards, savings and everyday general shopping.
Of course these banking leaders are invited to number 10 Downing Street not for beer and sandwiches (that would be far below them) but for champagne and canapés. There they can happily discuss with our elected leaders that they have in their pockets how much of the public's money they can put into their millions of pounds bonuses for the next year year, what would be the best illegal scheme to make even more billions for their organisations and how to create the next financial crisis that will definitely guarantee the complete collapse of the world financial system. Oh yes Britain is in a far better position now with the bankers going to visit number 10 than it ever was when the union leaders went there.
Just to bring the thread back on topic, well that idiot Nick Romney certainly got virtually every Briton behind the Olympic Games with his criticism of the British organisation of the games even before thay had started. I think if he wishes to be president of the United States he needs to learn some international diplomacy and when to keep his nose out of other countries affairs. He came to Britain and met its prime minister while not even in government in his own country, no other opposition leader has been offered that by this government. He then throws that back in every Briton's face by making comments on things that where none of his business. When the inefficiencies of the games organisation starts to affect Americans here then the American government can comment and he. Until then "shut it"
With friends like that who needs enemies.
Bill, I feel you do have a point there regarding Romney, etc. It seems that in a speech he had to call the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament as "Mr Leader" as he didn't know or remember his name! In addition Obama removed the bust of Sir Winston Churchill from the Oval Office on geeting in there. Now that was given to the USA on behalf of Gt Britain following the 9/11 sadness.
As for the Olympics, again I have to agree with you. Is there anything in the story that the US was to be allowed to bring along it's own army of security after the private security situation here? We replaced them with the British Army which ranks amongst the best of them in the world so how's that for a slap in the face if factual? So often I feel we make an awful big mistake joining in the global nonsense that comes from over the pond. If someone is going to interfere in the internal affairs of a friendly country then there is something wrong.! Let me me also remind wholbr that the agreement agreed to by that clownBlair sees more Britons expedited to the States than the other way round. Somehow the Atlantic Alliance seems awfully one sided!, eh? We have something in agreement at last!
Bobby
As for the Olympics, again I have to agree with you. Is there anything in the story that the US was to be allowed to bring along it's own army of security after the private security situation here? We replaced them with the British Army which ranks amongst the best of them in the world so how's that for a slap in the face if factual? So often I feel we make an awful big mistake joining in the global nonsense that comes from over the pond. If someone is going to interfere in the internal affairs of a friendly country then there is something wrong.! Let me me also remind wholbr that the agreement agreed to by that clownBlair sees more Britons expedited to the States than the other way round. Somehow the Atlantic Alliance seems awfully one sided!, eh? We have something in agreement at last!
Bobby
You are right the current Government under David Cameron is a sick joke they could not even run a shop let alone a country. I will never vote again as Ed Miliband is hardly a much better option.
amigacooke
Well-known member
Union leaders were and are elected to defend their members interests. Whether that interest intersects with the interests of the community at large is once again a more complex answer than this forum can deal with.
As to the fate of British industry, can I suggest that ultimately that is down to economics rather than politics.
amigacooke
Well-known member
You only have the choice of two parties in your constituency?
I totally agree with you, but you have to vote if you want them out of power, because I believe that none votes go straight to the party in power, which means nothing changes, and we are then stuck with the same as we have today, vote brings change, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but we all have to vote to get something different.
And as Amigacooke rightly said, You only have the choice of two parties in your constituency? which I believe is unfair, there should be more choice, we do have other party's to choose from, like the Green party and so on, but they would need a massive majority vote to get anywhere near power, and that means everyone must vote, to make a change.
By the way, I did like the post from Wholbr, and I fully agree with everything he said, I'll vote for you if you go into power.
Joe Airtime