Strike!

[Fab Foodie]

Strikes
The chancellor says the government will legislate to tackle “militant trade unions” from closing down key infrastructure through strikes.
The laws will require unions to put pay offers to a member vote, to ensure strikes can only be called once pay talks have genuinely broken down, he says.
Aubrey Allegretti: Looming across the country this winter are a set of strikes that seek to draw attention to the paltry pay offers for public service workers – including across rail services during the first and last day of Conservative party conference next month.
Any threats to curtail the powers of trade unions will get the Tory benches behind him feeling perkier.

 

[newfhouse]

Braverman will no doubt soon force them back to work at gunpoint, to cheers from Tories and their enablers.


View: https://twitter.com/fredi_acorn/status/1575124857246912515?s=21&t=2tZcBAHE4JOcHAl3Hw3a4w

 

[Deleted member 28]

What are people's opinion on the recent BT strike? (if anyone had even noticed that is).

Pay award of £1500 across the board which equates to 8% for the lowest paid down to 3% for the highest earners already paid out in April.

There's been 2 x 2 day strikes up to yet with another 4 days planned for October.

Are the good people of this forum in favour or do they think the CWU has got it wrong? (members were balloted and voted for industrial action).

 

[newfhouse]

(members were balloted and voted for industrial action).

Nobody chooses to strike without good reason so I’m prepared to trust their judgement. There was 90% support at BT and 95% at Openreach as I understand it.

Unsurprisingly it seems there’s more to the dispute than wages. From the CWU:

Prior to this industrial action the CWU was already dealing with a difficult set of negotiations on the wider structure of BT, where many of our members were facing job losses and downgrading of terms of conditions – including imposed new pay rates which we believe undervalue the work. In an attempt to reach a solution to BT’s Transformation Programme, the CWU agreed with BT an in-principle framework agreement in July 2021 to increase job security and maximise the number of UK direct labour jobs by discussing retraining and reskilling, voluntary redundancies and foresight of workplace closures to help mitigate compulsory redundancy. Negotiations were long and protracted, but unfortunately these havehalted since the dispute began in March 2022. This is causing yet more unrest amongst the workforce.

 

[Deleted member 28]

Nobody chooses to strike without good reason so I’m prepared to trust their judgement. There was 90% support at BT and 95% at Openreach as I understand it.

Unsurprisingly it seems there’s more to the dispute than wages. From the CWU:

Prior to this industrial action the CWU was already dealing with a difficult set of negotiations on the wider structure of BT, where many of our members were facing job losses and downgrading of terms of conditions – including imposed new pay rates which we believe undervalue the work. In an attempt to reach a solution to BT’s Transformation Programme, the CWU agreed with BT an in-principle framework agreement in July 2021 to increase job security and maximise the number of UK direct labour jobs by discussing retraining and reskilling, voluntary redundancies and foresight of workplace closures to help mitigate compulsory redundancy. Negotiations were long and protracted, but unfortunately these havehalted since the dispute began in March 2022. This is causing yet more unrest amongst the workforce.

Believe you me, its all about pay.

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...penreach-workers-stage-second-strike-over-pay

 

[newfhouse]

Believe you me, its all about pay.

I accept you may be closer to it than I am. Without other information I still trust the 95% vote.

 

[Deleted member 28]

I accept you may be closer to it than I am. Without other information I still trust the 95% vote.

You're correct the vote was for industrial action, my question was do people on here think receiving a £1500 pay rise justifies striking?

Everything has been done above board I hasten to add but personally I was happy with the pay rise, I'm asking what others think about it?

 

[newfhouse]

You're correct the vote was for industrial action, my question was do people on here think receiving a £1500 pay rise justifies striking?

Everything has been done above board I hasten to add but personally I was happy with the pay rise, I'm asking what others think about it?

It’s roughly the rise I have just been offered and like BT it is a flat payment at all grades. It is a real terms pay cut for anyone over median salary. I would understand and support my colleagues if they chose to strike, but that won’t happen.

 

[theclaud]

Pay award of £1500 across the board which equates to 8% for the lowest paid down to 3% for the highest earners already paid out in April.

What was the raise Foodbank Phil got and how much has he made out of Kwarteng's tax bung?

 

[Deleted member 28]

What was the raise Foodbank Phil got and how much has he made out of Kwarteng's tax bung?

Dunno, what does that matter?

Have you an opinion on the question I asked?

 

[theclaud]

Dunno, what does that matter?

Have you an opinion on the question I asked?

Of course I have. But for the moment I'm just enjoying the rare sight of you almost managing to express one yourself. And yes I think it does matter if the already phenomenally wealthy CEO of an organisation trousers a 32% pay rise to take him up to £3.5 mil, plus another half a mil dividends and a massive tax bung, while his call centres have to set up food banks for their own staff.

 

[Deleted member 49]

View: https://twitter.com/Dkell999/status/1577617078315622402?t=FvT96OoE3_TvpB-FDP5FHA&s=19

 

[PaulB]

Braverman will no doubt soon force them back to work at gunpoint, to cheers from Tories and their enablers.


View: https://twitter.com/fredi_acorn/status/1575124857246912515?s=21&t=2tZcBAHE4JOcHAl3Hw3a4w

Chapeau to the Southampton dockers!

Next, the doctors to back their nurses.

 

[Deleted member 28]

Of course I have.

So what is your opinion, do you think receiving a £1500 consolidated pay rise warrants striking?

 

[Bromptonaut]

So what is your opinion, do you think receiving a £1500 consolidated pay rise warrants striking?

Presumably they're striking for a pay rise.

Without knowing more about the background and, in particular, any conditions attaching the the "£1500 consolidated pay rise" there's not enough evidence to make a conclusion.

It's a favourite tactic of both employers and the media to present the most favourable and simplistic interpretation of a pay offer, or people's earnings generally (qv train drivers) to try and paint industrial action as unfavourably as possible.