[Politics] Do we need a General Strike?

[Zeberdi]

Border patrol officers (including passport control) have announced strikes between 23rd and 26th December, and from 28th to 31st December, impacting Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow and Manchester airports, as well as the Port of Newhaven. How does this effect people? (American side of our family is due to arrive in UK on 23rd December so that could be plans scuppered for example).

Christmas travel hit by new strikes as Border Force set for airport walkouts

The head of the PCS union says his members are living in poverty and warns industrial action will escalate if the government doesn't get round the negotiating table.

news.sky.com

Airports, Railways, Nurses, Teachers, Postal services etc -

Isn't it about time there was a General Strike to force a Vote of No Confidence and a General Election?

Seems this Government has gone on well past its ‘use by‘ date.

 

[Zeberdi]

Or perhaps people think enough is enough and a General Strike to force an election is not on the way out of all these strike?

 

[macbeth]

no poll?

 

[beorhthelm]

the strikes are about pay. unless Labour commits to meeting the many pay demands, this isnt going to resolve the issue of pay. it might well be good to call time on this government, strikes arent the way to change that.

 

[St Leonards Seagull]

Something needs to be coordinated, the country is on its knees.
Politicians taking the piss, with absolutely no recourse.
I’m sure someone will be along at some point and tell us everything is fine and it’s all a communist plot.

 

[St Leonards Seagull]

the strikes are about pay. unless Labour commits to meeting the many pay demands, this isnt going to resolve the issue of pay strikes. it might well be good to call time on this government, strikes arent the way to change that.

I can assure you 100% the NHS strikes are about far more than pay.

 

[Zeberdi]

no poll?

Done

 

[Zeberdi]

Mods if you want to merge this earlier thread on the widespread strikes with the Role up Role up thread, that’s fine - we seem to have two threads on the same topic!

 

[dejavuatbtn]

I can assure you 100% the NHS strikes are about far more than pay.

Aye, but the overall issue is money. How do the government generate money to improve services and increase pay? Strikes aren’t going to solve the problem. Labour won’t be able to solve the problem. The pot is now more empty than it was when they left. Much is to do with the cost of covid and fuel prices. The covid bit is under control but until the Ukraine issue is resolved things won’t get any better.
Maybe things are bad enough to consider a coilition government, but I suspect that would just generate more disagreement.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

the strikes are about pay. unless Labour commits to meeting the many pay demands, this isnt going to resolve the issue of pay. it might well be good to call time on this government, strikes arent the way to change that.

Quite Labour have gone along the same lines of Tories on what saying what is being asked for is unrealistic.

I guess the difference is both sides might sit down for talks.

It is time for an election

 

[Zeberdi]

An article in the Big Issue giving background and explaining the difference between a ‘National’ and ‘General Strike’ - the last General Strike in this Country was 1926! But it asks if we are anyway heading for a de facto GS.

Will there be a general strike in 2022? - The Big Issue

Britain is experiencing a huge wave of strike action this December 2022 and into the new year, but could it constitute a general strike?

www.bigissue.com

 

[beorhthelm]

I can assure you 100% the NHS strikes are about far more than pay.

i'm sure they have many good reasons, RCN say its a pay dispute.

 

[St Leonards Seagull]

Aye, but the overall issue is money. How do the government generate money to improve services and increase pay? Strikes aren’t going to solve the problem. Labour won’t be able to solve the problem. The pot is now more empty than it was when they left. Much is to do with the cost of covid and fuel prices. The covid bit is under control but until the Ukraine issue is resolved things won’t get any better.
Maybe things are bad enough to consider a coilition government, but I suspect that would just generate more disagreement.

10+ years of neglect to a public service, patients and workers was the crux of the issue.
Unfortunately due to a culmination of the above the only way to keep the existing staff or recruit anywhere near the required number for the system to function is a raise in pay.
This ultimately is due to the neglect over the last 10 years, if nurses were able to go to work in the knowledge that there would be sufficient staffing for their patients to be safe, that would go a long way to solving a lot of issues.
A lot of nurses have had enough and see this as a last way to save the NHS and safeguard patients safety.
This was happening way before Covid and Ukraine. Ultimately if people still want a functioning NHS I see this as a watershed moment. The absolute last thing a nurse wants is to go on strike. This is pure desperation as they see no other way out.

 

[St Leonards Seagull]

.

 

[St Leonards Seagull]

i'm sure they have many good reasons, RCN say its a pay dispute.

More to it than that, see my other post.
Your link confirms that
“We’re defending our profession and our patients. We’ve had enough of being taken for granted and being unable to provide the care patients deserve”.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

10+ years of neglect to a public service, patients and workers was the crux of the issue.
Unfortunately due to a culmination of the above the only way to keep the existing staff or recruit anywhere near the required number for the system to function is a raise in pay.
This ultimately is due to the neglect over the last 10 years, if nurses were able to go to work in the knowledge that there would be sufficient staffing for their patients to be safe, that would go a long way to solving a lot of issues.
A lot of nurses have had enough and see this as a last way to save the NHS and safeguard patients safety.
This was happening way before Covid and Ukraine. Ultimately if people still want a functioning NHS I see this as a watershed moment. The absolute last thing a nurse wants is to go on strike. This is pure desperation as they see no other way out.

Perfect time to look at reforming the NHS, sadly I am not sure any political party can be trusted with doing it.

 

[St Leonards Seagull]

Perfect time to look at reforming the NHS, sadly I am not sure any political party can be trusted with doing it.

Something needs to change, I’m not convinced by Labour, we are at a level of desperation unfortunately, the status quo is definitely not working.

 

[Zeberdi]

Perfect time to look at reforming the NHS, sadly I am not sure any political party can be trusted with doing it.

Then what’s the answer? Because you could equally say it‘s time to ’reform’ public transport - I don‘t mean that in any confrontational way either. The NHS and Education (and to some extent public transport) have been used as political footballs as long as I can remember - maybe a change of Government won’t come from these strikes, and if it did, would it even change anything?

I have some doubt public support for continuing disparate strike action will last, hence suggesting a General Strike might have more impact, more quickly and have more luck in precipitating a change of government. People it seems vote for and support (or don’t support) whatever they feel affects them directly- it’s probably not surprising that the nurses and teachers have the greatest public support for their strike action compared to civil servants and barristers so it’s a little bit pick and choose with the public at the moment.

Strike dates: Who is striking and what pay do they want?

Hundreds of thousands of workers have been taking part in industrial action.

www.bbc.co.uk

However, the current quasi-privatisation of the public sector eg the railway network, education and the NHS makes national strikes much harder - (legal disputes can only be between a worker and their employee - When you have multiple employees within any one sector it fragments the workforce) - Norman Tebbit’s far reaching trade relations reforms under Employment Act 1982 greatly undermined the TUs ability to call legal strike action and the ballots also undermine the chances of national action - for example, in East Anglia, I think we are one of the only regions where the ambulances have voted against strike action but in doing so, undermines public support for strike action everywhere else.

Anyway just some thoughts to ponder

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

I think we certainly need a general striker

 

[Horses Arse]

Yes we do, but I'm very busy so will have to give it a miss