Wishing the UK well on Wednesday...
- Thread starter Euphod
- Start date
BLACKWATCH
Mechanical Engineer
I you mean the strike, it's nothing to worry about, it will pass without notice for most people.
Over here, we're used to this sort of thing & the 'public sector' are well known for being slow to deliver thier services in some areas at the best of times, when it comes down to council workers, even when they do manage to do thier jobs it's not generally a good job, they just don't seem to care less these days. Council bosses are more concerned about thier golf handicap or bonuses than they are about the general public.
But thanks for the thought, hope you don't suffer too much over in the U.S. if it happens.
Over here, we're used to this sort of thing & the 'public sector' are well known for being slow to deliver thier services in some areas at the best of times, when it comes down to council workers, even when they do manage to do thier jobs it's not generally a good job, they just don't seem to care less these days. Council bosses are more concerned about thier golf handicap or bonuses than they are about the general public.
But thanks for the thought, hope you don't suffer too much over in the U.S. if it happens.
The main disruption will be the closing down of schools for the day, it is estimated that 2/3 of schools in England will be closed ( don't know about Scotland, Wales or N.Ireland ).
Working parents with young children will need to arrange care for their kids or, more likely, will need to take the day off work in order to look after the kids - not good for the employers concerned, not to mention the overall knock on effect for the ailing economy!
The kids will no doubt love the day out of school!
Working parents with young children will need to arrange care for their kids or, more likely, will need to take the day off work in order to look after the kids - not good for the employers concerned, not to mention the overall knock on effect for the ailing economy!
The kids will no doubt love the day out of school!
Ed, I'm not worrying in the least about it and I'll be driving quite happily across the picket line at my work. Having spent the majority of my working life in the private sector, I have no sympathy for my public sector colleagues, most of whom have no experience of the private sector whatsoever and don't realise how good they have it, especially now when private sector jobs are vanishing everywhere.
One of the legacies of Thatcher's Britain, regardless of whether or not you thought her a tyrant, is that she more or less neutered the unions so, despite their claims that this will be the biggest industrial action since the 30s, I think they'll be sadly mistaken. The main disruption in the north of Ireland is the fact that the publicly owned transport network is shut completely, along with 90% of the schools. On the plus side, it's only a single day so I reckon the biggest loser will be the economy. Oh the irony.
To try and move this away from being political though, the real dicey thing would be a repeat of the winter we had last year, although I realise that it was mild in comparison to parts of the States and Europe. Us softies just can't handle it these days. Back when I was a lad... *cue Hovis tune.
One of the legacies of Thatcher's Britain, regardless of whether or not you thought her a tyrant, is that she more or less neutered the unions so, despite their claims that this will be the biggest industrial action since the 30s, I think they'll be sadly mistaken. The main disruption in the north of Ireland is the fact that the publicly owned transport network is shut completely, along with 90% of the schools. On the plus side, it's only a single day so I reckon the biggest loser will be the economy. Oh the irony.
To try and move this away from being political though, the real dicey thing would be a repeat of the winter we had last year, although I realise that it was mild in comparison to parts of the States and Europe. Us softies just can't handle it these days. Back when I was a lad... *cue Hovis tune.
amigacooke
Well-known member
I'm slightly puzzled why losing a day's productivity to a strike is economic suicide while losing a day's productivity to a royal wedding is no problem at all. Hmmm ... 
Unfortunately, that instantly reminded me of the winter of 1978/1979, when we (in t' north) had a horribly cold winter combined with mass power cuts due to strikes AND there was hardly any coal and thus had no heating (I grew up in a house without central heating, with a single open coal fire as the primary source of heat in the house).
Now that was a 'bad situation', and makes tomorrow look like a walk in the park.
Of course, being disabled I also have the government trying to kill me by attrition (benefit rise below the level of inflation, rent rises that aren't covered by the reducing badly-calculated housing benefit) to look forward to, yay!
Stationbeem
Over 60's Club
Remember those days as though it was yesterday. Power cuts twice a day, very little coal for heating and having an outside toilet to boot. But for us up here in the North it's a walk in the park. Yorkshire men can take it....
I am working class and proud of it. Worked all my life and what do we get in return....not a lot.
We had a couple of tilley lamps and a primus stove as the power cuts were so frequent. I remember the snow of 78 vividly, although I was but a pup at the time. Getting towed along the main road on my sledge by a tractor was great fun. Probably against the law to do such a thing these days.
You're not the North, you're the South. Or you were to me at that time Scotland is the North. Hehe.
Strange, I come on this forum as a small oasis of calm to read about my special interest in trains (and trainz) and to get away from my stressful daytime occupation working for a local council. I say 'stressful' because for the last few years we've had pay freezes and massive job cuts and spending reductions which have meant that those of us who are left have had to take on significantly increased workloads. But of course the real stress comes from the endless vilification that comes our way from right wing journalists and their fellow travellers acting as mouthpieces, as on this forum, for the millionaire editors and billionaire proprietors who enjoy genuinely 'gold plated' pensions (and salary, bonus and share option packages to boot).
The fact that my take home income has been cut by over 10 per cent in the last two years is hard to take. The total lack of job security even harder. But when the Government propose to impose a 3% 'pension tax' to cut my income still further and threaten my retirement income as well in order to pay down the deficit caused by their friends in the City of London and on Wall Street (the fabled '1%') I say enough is enough.
Tomorrow, I will be proud to be manning a picket line outside my place of work and I'm pleased to say the vast majority of my colleagues, including those who are not members of a union, will be joining us.
Sorry to get 'political', but then again this thread is nothing to do with Trainz and probably shouldn't have been allowed in the first place.
Moderators, please close this thread!
Paul (in a picketing kind of mood)
Stationbeem
Over 60's Club
Just to get this thread trains related......
Trains from Hull will be running tomorrow but on a revised time table due to some mindless yobs causing damage to one of our trains. They left to bicycles on the rails some where near Huntingdon on the ECML.
Details here....http://www.hulltrains.co.uk/latestnews.php
Trains from Hull will be running tomorrow but on a revised time table due to some mindless yobs causing damage to one of our trains. They left to bicycles on the rails some where near Huntingdon on the ECML.
Details here....http://www.hulltrains.co.uk/latestnews.php
There was a time when one would have thought the Unions were wanting to run the country and thankfully those days have gone. There are in fact far too many people working on the public side of things and which contribute little practically to the economic life. I once worked with a Local Authority and the waste and cumfy attitude was obvious. Unless you murdered someone you had a safe job for life! The other trouble is that as Union membership declined it is increasingly there to represent Public Service workers. Even ordinary Public workers will get a better pension than those in the Private in the long run. That it is the rest of us who help fund these pensions is beyond their ken.
The day will make no difference and whoever turns out to walk in some protest will be a minority of those concerned. You just have to see the votes for industrial action to tell the truth! Years ago in the Civil Service I took on these Union wallahs and a group of us fought back on the stupid antics and we won . One woman sniffed at me that she was angry as she wanted to go get her hair done that afternoon! The standard is usually a low turnout and the "winners" a tiny part of the membership.Thankfully rail transport is in private hands except for N. Ireland.
So it won't make any difference here at all Euphod as the bad old days when we were the "sick man of Europe" are ancient history!
The day will make no difference and whoever turns out to walk in some protest will be a minority of those concerned. You just have to see the votes for industrial action to tell the truth! Years ago in the Civil Service I took on these Union wallahs and a group of us fought back on the stupid antics and we won . One woman sniffed at me that she was angry as she wanted to go get her hair done that afternoon! The standard is usually a low turnout and the "winners" a tiny part of the membership.Thankfully rail transport is in private hands except for N. Ireland.
So it won't make any difference here at all Euphod as the bad old days when we were the "sick man of Europe" are ancient history!
Well said Paul, could'nt have put it better.
I'm fed up with us rank and file public sector workers being the easy target for the Governments money saving plans and as much as I can't afford to do it I'll also be on the picket line tomorrow showing my support!
Chris
amigacooke
Well-known member
That's the best thing about working in the public sector, the complete immunity to paying income tax, National Insurance, VAT, vehicle licence fee.
Hang on.
Sorry Paul, I just wanted to wish you guys well on a day that promises to be a little threatening to everyone. Kind of like an impending weather event. No matter what side you're on, I just hope everyone escapes any "drama".
Harhar. Very good.
On a lighter note, I found the 15 pickets at work most intimidating this morning.
On a lighter note still, happy St Andrews Day to all my fellow sweatys!!!
A kind of over simplification maybe?? As it happens the numbers are not what were being claimed. Only 19 Job Centres out of 900 cloed for example (!). The vast majority did not take part in any demonstrations. This often happens in ballots too where only a minority bother. Trains and buses in the country generally all ran except in N.Ireland where the buses and railway controlling company the only one run by the Public Sector. Oh - forgot. The Glasgow Subway was shut as it is a Public lot but would hardly shut the city down as the bus companies and railway are all private concerns.
Didn't effect me either as I still drove trains on Trainz..........!
ps. Thanks for your concern there Euphod but things are fine!
Didn't effect me either as I still drove trains on Trainz..........!
ps. Thanks for your concern there Euphod but things are fine!
Very successful picket at my place on Wed - only 7 in out of about 50 and good to see non-union colleagues staying at home or asking to join. The forthcoming pension tax and the threat to retirement income is definitely concentrating minds.
Sorry to be a bit po-faced above. I much prefer trains on here rather than politics because there's already so much of the latter around (and usually not in a good way) that coming here is a blessed relief and retreat from an increasingly harsh world. I hope we can all at least agree on that.
Paul
Sorry to be a bit po-faced above. I much prefer trains on here rather than politics because there's already so much of the latter around (and usually not in a good way) that coming here is a blessed relief and retreat from an increasingly harsh world. I hope we can all at least agree on that.
Paul