Sal Paradise wrote:This is an interesting dispute and comrade Lynch is a breath of fresh air.

The unions make one good point - the share of profits is out of kilter - you cannot have huge profits and shareholder distribution and then say we can't pay the workers more money.

On the other hand you can't have no compulsary redundancies - effectively saying all workers have a job for life even if that role has been modernised out - that show the union in bad light and gives Boris and his mates ammunition against Labour and their close connection with the unions.

Boris needs a summer of union strikes - it will distract from all his other behavioural mistakes.

wrencat1873 wrote:Hi Sal, I thought you'd emigrated !

The current dispute on the railways will be just the first of many strikes through the rest of this year and beyond.
With inflation now at around 10%, for any worker to be expected to survive with no increase in income or a paltry 1.5/ 2% is impossible.
People need to find some additional income from somewhere, either by achieving a reasonable pay rise or, by moving jobs.

The private sector will take care of itself but, the public sector will be the biggest test of "us and them".

Of course, increasing public sector pay could mean increasing taxes, which are already at record levels overall. However, there is no doubt they Johnson and Sunak have been building up a fair old "war chest" so, the increases in taxation could be mitigated.

I think your right about a wave of strikes suiting the Tories more than they suit Labour though, strikes will be used as a stick to beat The Labour party with and it's therefore little wonder that Johnson was suggesting that the "public" get ready for the long haul.
This could rumble on right up until the next General Election.

wotsupcas wrote:I'm in the private sector and I'll have to survive on a 2% increase.
Public sector workers on average are better paid than those in the private, especially in low skilled jobs.
They can also retire earlier and on better pensions. Oh and on average they work fewer hours and have longer holidays.
But apart from that they are really suffering

Scarlet Pimpernell wrote:I think this is no longer the case because private sector pay was frozen for the last few years . I think your problems are actually more to do with your employer and conditions rather than the sector.
I think you will find that regardless of what de Pfeffel and his colleagues keep stating the vast majority of people are struggling unless you are a pensioner apparently who are due a 10% increase which could be something to do with the fact they are more likely to vote and for de Pfeffel. I wonder if you have tried telling you employer that you are a de Pfeffel voter and must be due more.

wrencat1873 wrote:Yeah, with the public purse supposedly closed, you could be surprised that the pensioners ar in line for an eye watering 10% increase, plus the various other bits of help.
However, when you realise that the vast majority of the blue rinse brigade vote Tory, it all becomes much easier to understand. Cynical move, you bet it is.

As for the private vs public sector, its worth remembering that the public sector have barely come out of their 10 year austerity "pay freeze" so, they are "due" something.
At least you would think so ?

Scarlet Pimpernell wrote:I think this is no longer the case because private sector pay was frozen for the last few years . I think your problems are actually more to do with your employer and conditions rather than the sector.
I think you will find that regardless of what de Pfeffel and his colleagues keep stating the vast majority of people are struggling unless you are a pensioner apparently who are due a 10% increase which could be something to do with the fact they are more likely to vote and for de Pfeffel. I wonder if you have tried telling you employer that you are a de Pfeffel voter and must be due more.

wotsupcas wrote:I'm in the private sector and I'll have to survive on a 2% increase.
Public sector workers on average are better paid than those in the private, especially in low skilled jobs.
They can also retire earlier and on better pensions. Oh and on average they work fewer hours and have longer holidays.
But apart from that they are really suffering