tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post3581300318043047867..comments2024-03-04T17:54:32.559+00:00Comments on Iain Dale's Diary: Banning StrikesIain Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-8710698658461920372010-10-24T21:31:48.159+01:002010-10-24T21:31:48.159+01:00Absolute garbage Iain. It is every working man and...Absolute garbage Iain. It is every working man and woman's right to withdraw their labour. <br /><br />I'm not one normally to agree with Bob Crow but he is right when he says that it is not his members who got us into this mess but it is them who will pay the highest price.<br /><br />Cameron and Osborne and the muppets who cheered and applauded them after the announcement of the cuts should hang their heads in shame and so should you for the tone of this article. I thought that we were all in this together,clearly not!Jon Gaunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02497320835194390889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-41702733121016074652010-10-24T16:47:51.560+01:002010-10-24T16:47:51.560+01:00phenomenon not phenomenaphenomenon not phenomenaO'bhoughtyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01595864207653481268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-50396246399985201132010-10-24T14:14:34.078+01:002010-10-24T14:14:34.078+01:00We can see the way the 'Far Left' responds...We can see the way the 'Far Left' responds to the Law on Industrial Strike action by attempting to strip that same law of any teeth whatsoever. As I posted upon my own little site, John Mcdonnell <a href="http://mikecunningham.wordpress.com/2010/10/23/an-error-in-translation/" rel="nofollow">tried and failed with his 'Minor Errors'</a> farce, not because the Bill ran out of time, but because the majority of Labour M.P.s want nowt to do with the wild-eyed bunch he leads.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-49257767078064862602010-10-24T12:06:42.305+01:002010-10-24T12:06:42.305+01:00@Paul Halsall:
Yeah, but nobody's forcing them...@Paul Halsall:<br />Yeah, but nobody's forcing them to work - they can always quit.<br /><br />This is something I've personally done on multiple occasions when I've been in conflict with an employer.<br /><br />Seems to me like unions and their employers are in bitter and abusive co-dependent relationships and lack the "cojones" to do anything about it other than whine, strike, and indulge in passive-aggressive points scoring. Either split up and move on, or get to marriage counselling (i.e. binding arbitration), but stop trying to get the kids to say they love <i>you</i> more...The King of Wronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04439966612208152425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-79311300662447311852010-10-24T10:29:07.112+01:002010-10-24T10:29:07.112+01:00Imagine what would happen if, God forbid, there wa...<b>Imagine what would happen if, God forbid, there was a major terror incident on a strike day.</b><br /><br />Did you read about one persons experience at the 7/7 bombing at Aldgate? <br /><br />Where groups of brave firefighters refused to go down to the platform before a risk assessment was made? <br /><br />Or how survivors pushed past them begging them to go down to the platforms and help people who were dying?<br /><br />The main purveyors of Health and safety in the Fire Brigade are the Unions and there will be stories coming out of the ongoing inquest of our <i>brave</i> firemen.Curbishlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10448537046738555753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-75567343001301764692010-10-24T09:55:11.143+01:002010-10-24T09:55:11.143+01:00"And the only other sanction an employee has ...<i>"And the only other sanction an employee has against an unreasonable employer is to leave their job which somewhat skews the negotiating relationship."</i><br /><br />Yes, skews it back. If I buy my potatoes from a shop and the shop puts up the price or demands I do X or Y to get my potatoes, I need to be able to change shop and stop paying them if I so choose, otherwise it is extortion, theft, breach of contract. If I demand the shop lower prices or serve me on bended knee, the shop, in turn, has the right to show me the door. <br /><br />A worker is selling not potatoes, but renting their labour, experience. If one demands what the other will not accept, both need to be able to walk away from the deal.<br /><br />If this is not possible, then one is enslaved.Roger Thornhillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591327286533118901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-33275017699246831192010-10-24T00:42:29.843+01:002010-10-24T00:42:29.843+01:00I am no lover of Unions because they are perceived...I am no lover of Unions because they are perceived as dinosaurs. Some are run by communists - or at least by people who give evry impression of being communists.<br />We live in a democracy so these people are "outsiders". So is the "governemnt" oddly enough. The "government" - political party irrelevant - has for 50+ years treated workers in "essential" services like shit. "Government" has assumed that such people have a vocation - in this "government" is mostly right - and will never strike so as not to harm their fellow citizens.<br />"Government" has used this fact to suppress salaries and impose employment conditions which the private sector would think long and hard before introducing. The effect is that this particular group of public sector workers does not have vast pensions (my own is barely into 5 figures) and ends up paying for the "fat cats" of the sector.<br />What is needed is for some decent human beings to become politicians, recognise the contribution this group of people make to society, pay them properly in the first place and curb the pay and benefits of bureaucrats who contribute nothing to their fellows.<br />Continued exploitation by the "government" is no longer an option.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15333501249832195399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-80975442011333437572010-10-23T20:14:27.806+01:002010-10-23T20:14:27.806+01:00Your right bewick, our GMB convenor is an out and ...Your right bewick, our GMB convenor is an out and out cock, they wont even have the "cajones" (sic) to ask. (But if they do they should include "Kiss my swingers" as an alternative response.)King Athelstanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08796189127188811779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-34631025203665135482010-10-23T19:48:23.859+01:002010-10-23T19:48:23.859+01:00"Doesn't mean employers shouldn't be ..."Doesn't mean employers shouldn't be able to fire strikers for breach of contract."<br /><br />Well, in some circumstances they still can.<br /><br />But the small amount of protection strikers get is in return for the onerous requirements on unions and members to give notice of the strike thus undermining its effect.<br /><br />And the only other sanction an employee has against an unreasonable employer is to leave their job which somewhat skews the negotiating relationship.<br /><br />Banning strikes = fascism, end of.Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03710776765139258627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-4894032377563890002010-10-23T19:43:09.446+01:002010-10-23T19:43:09.446+01:00Some people seem to be under the impression that w...Some people seem to be under the impression that workers in the UK have the right to strike without fear of dismissal. Although this right exists in almost every other European country, it has never existed in UK law.<br /><br />Grunwick ring any bells? Wapping?<br /><br />Of course some won't be satisfied until it's made a capital offence.Jimmyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01542633492362670045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-182750821321821982010-10-23T19:41:57.156+01:002010-10-23T19:41:57.156+01:00Some people seem to be under the impression that w...Some people seem to be under the impression that workers in the UK have the right to strike without fear of dismissal. Although this right exists in almost every other European country, it has never existed in UK law.<br /><br />Grunwick ring any bells? Wapping?<br /><br />Of course some won't be satisfied until it's made a capital offence.Jimmyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01542633492362670045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-17483266561071441662010-10-23T19:35:50.401+01:002010-10-23T19:35:50.401+01:00@ mostly ordinary
A tit has a use. Bob Crowe does...@ mostly ordinary<br /><br />A tit has a use. Bob Crowe doesn't<br /><br />To others. Unless the law has changed and I missed it then an employer can indeed sack strikers but has to sack them all and not take a few back.<br />Now it may be self-defeating to sack all striking firemen since there would not, as there seemed to be for BA, a supply of people who could be quickly trained.<br />So the firemen are blackmailing the employers. And so is it true in most strikes.<br />How many employers say accept our terms or you're sacked? Pretty well none So the blackmail is one way only Guido! That is no worker has to be a slave. They can just leave.bewickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02808667730361613052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-87257987502461127392010-10-23T19:30:02.723+01:002010-10-23T19:30:02.723+01:00It's time strikers were on the receiving end o...It's time strikers were on the receiving end of their own action. How about shopkeepers, publicans, indeed anyone providing and kind of service to refuse to serve tube train drivers on strike days? Onviously impossible to enforce but a little sign in the window of every establishment "No service for Tube Drivers today" might get the message across to Bob Crow's sheep.<br /><br />(Paul Halsall: how come you have internet access living in the Nineteenth Century? Remarkable)AndrewSouthLondonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16938615481406315985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-27253604115560127042010-10-23T19:15:30.963+01:002010-10-23T19:15:30.963+01:00You can't ban strikes when even the government...You can't ban strikes when even the government cannot be trusted to uphold its end of an arbitrated binding agreement let alone any other unscrupuolous employer.<br /><br />Put a 50 - 75% of workforce vote ruling on it but banning strikes just gives dodgy managers and companies licence to take the piss.Norton Folgatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03852825967140111979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-69133146537333373212010-10-23T19:13:09.864+01:002010-10-23T19:13:09.864+01:00How about any voting rules enforced on unions also...How about any voting rules enforced on unions also be enforced on politicians and the electorate as a whole? What if you couldn't form a government if you didn't have the majorty support of the entire country, not just the ones who voted?Rich Johnstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08094139982498797455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-35177349306018366332010-10-23T19:06:46.478+01:002010-10-23T19:06:46.478+01:00I agree that it is time to implement a ban on stri...I agree that it is time to implement a ban on striking by essential workers.<br />I also believe it is time that action was taken against some of the more militant Unions, and the intimidation of Union Members into voting in favour of strikes, as well as the intimidation of working employees that choose to cross picket lines.<br />If an employer intimidated their employees in the way some picket lines, with Union backing, intimidate continuing workers, the Unions would be up in arms, and rightly so.<br />They would be taking cases to Employment Tribunals, claiming compensation on behalf of intimidated and bullied staff.<br />It is time employment law was added to to recognise the part Unions play in the workplace, and the damage they can similarly inflict on employees.<br />Laws should be introduced that ensure that the Union is responsible for the actions of any person acting on behalf of a union, or during Union sponsored industrial action.<br />Where there is bullying of employees, both the employee and the employer (where they have suffered damage), should be able to claim compensation from the Union.<br />Cases could be heard at an Employment Tribunal, as they are for employer / employee disputes.<br />An employer could take a case against a Union, or could support an employee who has suffered intimidation into voting a certain way, or into not crossing a picket line.<br />It cannot be right in todays society that a willing worker is subjected to name calling, and worse, for crossing a picket line.<br />The Unions must be held accountable for this intimidation, just as they insist an employer should be for bullying in the workplace.Eddie 180https://www.blogger.com/profile/13431191567949672191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-82370779675582979602010-10-23T18:52:06.433+01:002010-10-23T18:52:06.433+01:00The surest way to solve this problem is not blanke...The surest way to solve this problem is not blanket bans on strikes, except where ILO regulations allow.<br />It is to legislate for 100% democracy in our society and in our unions. Thus, legislating for compulsory voting in Euro, national and local elections would see off the BNP and other fringe parties (including the Greens) for good.<br /><br />Compulsory voting by union memberships for their executives etc, plus compulsory voting for ballots on strike action, with no strike legal unless at least 51% of the eligible membership vote in favour would wipe out the huge majority of strikes. <br /><br />Most strikes take place after ballots actually voted on by a small fraction of the membership.<br /><br />Compulsory voting for the executives etc would wipe out the SWP and other Trots and far left groups who have come to take over and dominate the unions which are responsible for the majority of strikes.JudyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13761251948249988945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-77360632987873966302010-10-23T17:55:15.076+01:002010-10-23T17:55:15.076+01:00Seems counter-productive where you're trying t...Seems counter-productive where you're trying to get more people engaged in politics to gimp the Unions. Banning strikes is regressive, Bob Crowe may be a tit but his members should be allowed to take the ultimate sanction.Mostly Ordinaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11940615088493840939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-12287691576730611462010-10-23T17:39:53.482+01:002010-10-23T17:39:53.482+01:00So, no increase in hours, no job cuts, no closure ...<i>So, no increase in hours, no job cuts, no closure of fire stations, no change in rest periods, no reduction in pay. Yet the FBU sees this minor tinkering with shift patterns as a reason to bring its members out on strike and put the public at risk.</i><br /><br />If this is true what say those saying peopel have "a right to strike"? Shouldn't that "right" come with some sort of fail-safe tied in with responsibility and common sense? It seems some are saying that if a member breaks a toenail they could all go out on strike.Span Owshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10144861546996033462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-85019865315355355162010-10-23T17:37:30.007+01:002010-10-23T17:37:30.007+01:00Interesting Iain, would like to see more of these ...Interesting Iain, would like to see more of these "proper" opinion pieces from you.Michael Heaverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815028897338910665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-75832543852365870092010-10-23T17:22:41.057+01:002010-10-23T17:22:41.057+01:00The right to strike is a fundamental human right, ...The right to strike is a fundamental human right, to force people to work is to enslave them.<br /><br />Doesn't mean employers shouldn't be able to fire strikers for breach of contract.Guido Fawkeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15091277669318213298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-20723333255697728872010-10-23T17:17:12.576+01:002010-10-23T17:17:12.576+01:00No strike should go ahead without 100% of the affe...No strike should go ahead without 100% of the affected workforce being balloted and a minimum of 51% of those approving of the strike call. If less than 100% cast their vote then the strike cannot go ahead. I would also like to see trade unions and the officers of those unions be legally liable for any losses or damages caused by strike action to any third party.Fenrirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15147430683644664928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-22256513755986342522010-10-23T17:01:10.152+01:002010-10-23T17:01:10.152+01:00Strikes are quite simply, a form of bullying, whic...Strikes are quite simply, a form of bullying, which is totally outdated in the 21st century.<br />All employers and unions should be forced by law to accept compulsory arbitration for those matters which cannot be resolved by negotiation.Donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16203730611620941266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-73991532109913452392010-10-23T16:40:44.315+01:002010-10-23T16:40:44.315+01:00What's wrong with working 2 jobs? And what is ...What's wrong with working 2 jobs? And what is the benefit of changing the shifts to 12 hours? If there is no real benefit of changing the shift patterns then I'm on the firefighters side.<br /><br />As regards curbing union's rights, give the authorities an inch and they'll take a mile. At times like these, with such hostility being thrown in the unions' faces, you just can't trust them to be fair.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06700000391117667931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-12494247943454623892010-10-23T16:27:27.743+01:002010-10-23T16:27:27.743+01:00@Halsall. Gordon already unleashed a debt hell on...@Halsall. Gordon already unleashed a debt hell on this country. Yhis is a foolish post. A Labour debt denier indeed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com