[Politics] Strike!

[Frutos]

That union is a bloody joke. About as effective as a f****** chocolate teapot.

From my ex-academic husband's experience with them, I would 100% agree.

Absolutely useless and, in his case, totally in the pocket of the university.

 

[Comrade Sam]

It is sad that this country has some of the harshest anti-union laws in the world. Even nasty dictatorships like China and Iran have greater union freedoms. It was no coincidence that the height of union activity was at the same time that the gap between rich and poor was at its narrowest in recorded history. And it was no coincidence that Thatcher and those that followed have kept up a relentless attack on the rights of workers to organise. I am proud to be a member of my union the NEU and both me and Mrs Comrade Sam owe our way of life to the direct actions of our union. Whilst most unions have been in decline for some time, the NEU grew massively during the pandemic and it has lifted my spirits as I return to teach at schools that had been union waste lands that now have large, young and active union branches. Everyone in work should have the right to protection from ruthless employers, unsafe working conditions, attacks on pay, conditions and pensions. Joining a union for millions is the only way they can do this and with the slashing of legal aid, it is the only way many have access to legal protection. Whilst national strikes are few and far between thanks to Draconian rules on balloting (that don't apply to the elections that appointed most of our politicians) there are consistently small strikes that succeed. Recent strikes have seen victories against some of Britain's most disreputable employers such as Uber, Starbucks and MacDonalds. As the cost of living crisis grows and many, especially public sector workers, see their pay fall behind inflation for over a decade I hope that people look to collective action through their unions to improve their lives. There was a great car sticker in my neighbourhood a few years ago, it read 'The Labour Movement, the guys that gave you the weekend' and good luck to the University Lecturers strike.

 

[essbee1]

From my ex-academic husband's experience with them, I would 100% agree.

Absolutely useless and, in his case, totally in the pocket of the university.

I lost 600 quid over four weeks because of the narrow-minded, ludicrous thinking and stupidity of those w*nkers. For nothing.
I left straight after. My other half was made redundant as part of a restructuring a few years back and what did the Union do to help? A few pointless meetings and
that was it. Unions are dead in this country. Only the emergency workers have any pull these days.

 

[Simster]

I work for Imperial College so I'm very aware of this - it's sort of a secondary job for me. I am not a member of any union so am not on strike.

The main reason some of my colleagues are striking is this "tinkering" to their/our pensions. I have barley seen more than a passing reference to "gender imbalance". As for the reasoning, well I'm in two minds. Firstly, the changes to the pensions being proposed amount to a significant reduction in living standards, with 5 separate small changes. On the other hand, this pension scheme is the best I've ever seen. It is ridiculously generous, but I can understand why changes need to be made.

I don't rely on this job, but if I did I would be of the mindset that I took a small salary in part because the pension scheme was so good. Seeing that eroded makes you wonder what the point of taking the job would be. Personally, the impact of these changes are going to be trivial - I'm part time anyway, so I'll just leave if I don't like it. But if I was a lecturer I would certainly be far more militant about these changes - lecturers can only go from university to university and 42 of these institutions use the same USS pension.

 

[Baker lite]

Welcome to Brexit Britain.

[emoji1787]only post #20 and the dafties are getting uppity.

 

[Wardy's twin]

[emoji1787]only post #20 and the dafties are getting uppity.

it started earlier than that see post #11

 

[studio150]

Welcome to Brexit Britain.

Tut Tut, very off message.

It should be Welcome to Global Britain.

 

[erkan]

Without them I dont think it would take much time before it started moving in the other direction: constant wage dumping, less vacations, longer work shifts, less safety in work places. The historically speaking unique "freedom/strength" of the worker is something that must be defended because there are certainly forces who'd like to destroy it. Whether or not todays Unions are doing a great job is a different question but there is no doubt that a need for workers all over the world to stay organised.

Very well said.

It is especially not very clever for 60 year old white men to miss the point that millions and millions of infinitely more vulnerable individuals have relied on the relative protections provided by the existence of a workers' collective. Without Unions the privileged and powerful would behave as they previously did before they were forced into concessions.

 

[dsr-burnley]

It is sad that this country has some of the harshest anti-union laws in the world. Even nasty dictatorships like China and Iran have greater union freedoms. It was no coincidence that the height of union activity was at the same time that the gap between rich and poor was at its narrowest in recorded history. And it was no coincidence that Thatcher and those that followed have kept up a relentless attack on the rights of workers to organise. I am proud to be a member of my union the NEU and both me and Mrs Comrade Sam owe our way of life to the direct actions of our union. Whilst most unions have been in decline for some time, the NEU grew massively during the pandemic and it has lifted my spirits as I return to teach at schools that had been union waste lands that now have large, young and active union branches. Everyone in work should have the right to protection from ruthless employers, unsafe working conditions, attacks on pay, conditions and pensions. Joining a union for millions is the only way they can do this and with the slashing of legal aid, it is the only way many have access to legal protection. Whilst national strikes are few and far between thanks to Draconian rules on balloting (that don't apply to the elections that appointed most of our politicians) there are consistently small strikes that succeed. Recent strikes have seen victories against some of Britain's most disreputable employers such as Uber, Starbucks and MacDonalds. As the cost of living crisis grows and many, especially public sector workers, see their pay fall behind inflation for over a decade I hope that people look to collective action through their unions to improve their lives. There was a great car sticker in my neighbourhood a few years ago, it read 'The Labour Movement, the guys that gave you the weekend' and good luck to the University Lecturers strike.

If you really think that public sector workers have suffered in comparison with private sector workers, then you haven't been paying attention. But then, that was pretty clear when you said that China have greater union freedoms than the UK.

 

[Brovion]

It is sad that this country has some of the harshest anti-union laws in the world. Even nasty dictatorships like China and Iran have greater union freedoms. It was no coincidence that the height of union activity was at the same time that the gap between rich and poor was at its narrowest in recorded history. And it was no coincidence that Thatcher and those that followed have kept up a relentless attack on the rights of workers to organise. I am proud to be a member of my union the NEU and both me and Mrs Comrade Sam owe our way of life to the direct actions of our union. Whilst most unions have been in decline for some time, the NEU grew massively during the pandemic and it has lifted my spirits as I return to teach at schools that had been union waste lands that now have large, young and active union branches. Everyone in work should have the right to protection from ruthless employers, unsafe working conditions, attacks on pay, conditions and pensions. Joining a union for millions is the only way they can do this and with the slashing of legal aid, it is the only way many have access to legal protection. Whilst national strikes are few and far between thanks to Draconian rules on balloting (that don't apply to the elections that appointed most of our politicians) there are consistently small strikes that succeed. Recent strikes have seen victories against some of Britain's most disreputable employers such as Uber, Starbucks and MacDonalds. As the cost of living crisis grows and many, especially public sector workers, see their pay fall behind inflation for over a decade I hope that people look to collective action through their unions to improve their lives. There was a great car sticker in my neighbourhood a few years ago, it read 'The Labour Movement, the guys that gave you the weekend' and good luck to the University Lecturers strike.

Indeed. And with things like zero hours contracts, the likes of Amazon and the 'gig' economy I'd say Unions are needed now as much as they ever were.

 

[Comrade Sam]

If you really think that public sector workers have suffered in comparison with private sector workers, then you haven't been paying attention. But then, that was pretty clear when you said that China have greater union freedoms than the UK.

Pointless nitpicking, I am well aware of the hardships of those in the private sector, as I referred to several. I was merely pointing out that millions of public sector workers have had bellow inflation pay rises for more than a decade (while their pensions were hollowed out). Many in the private sector have suffered more, especially those with low union levels. Whilst it is infinitely better to be a worker in Britain than China, the actual laws that govern union behaviour are in fact stricter in the UK than in China - that's not to say your more likely to be shot or disappear in China.

 

[TheJasperCo]

Did you know university lecturers are on strike?

"What a great few days of strike action, full of committed picketing and wonderful teach outs. You have done our branch proud, and we have sent a strong message to management. Thank you all for your efforts so far! Together we will win these disputes. "

FFS. Probably 10% of staff where I work are on strike. The smell of winning escapes my nostrils.

Strike action is never great. I am trying to arrange student disciplinary investigations for plagiarism but it is hard to move it on because a key colleague has downed his tool. So, the students are in limbo.

And nobody outside the unis know or care.

Apparently there is a 'gender pay imbalance' and a recently discovered 'ethnic origin pay imbalance' together with the (real issue), pay freeze, and pensions tinkering. But it isn't as if we are miners or dockers, is it?

Plus of course our union has recently 'no platformed' Israel

And thus the diminshing rump of trade unionism disappears in a puff of it's own sad dust. Congratulating itself on saying 'boo' and waving a flag about, to the admiring glances of absolutely nobody.

There were two ballots for strike action amongst academics at my uni recently, but both narrowly missed the threshold required to be valid. The brief email sent from the Pro-VC could barely conceal his happiness!

 

[Eeyore]

Might be a controversial point, but I think Unions have pretty much done themselves out of a job. As in, the majority of labour laws have changed dramatically over the last couple of decades.

Mon wage is a legal right, unsafe working conditions generally have been erased max working hours in certain trades (driving etc..) and so on.

My wife had to join a union in a previous job and when she had an issue with the company, the union rep said they can't or won't do anything about it. Were useless. My one and only experience with them.

Time to duck?

Things are much better. But Unions still have their place. It was only when we unionised a previous workplace that conditions and blatant flouting of legislation stopped. One staff member won a £40k settlement for wrongful dismissal from a tribunal that they would never have got had we not started the ball rolling around that time. There was so much else on top of that too.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Pointless nitpicking, I am well aware of the hardships of those in the private sector, as I referred to several. I was merely pointing out that millions of public sector workers have had bellow inflation pay rises for more than a decade (while their pensions were hollowed out). Many in the private sector have suffered more, especially those with low union levels. Whilst it is infinitely better to be a worker in Britain than China, the actual laws that govern union behaviour are in fact stricter in the UK than in China - that's not to say your more likely to be shot or disappear in China.

So why differentiate between public and private sector workers ? We've all had it / got it hard. Depreciating pensions, pay rises below the rate of inflation ( if a pay rise is coming at all ) etc.

 

[Machiavelli]

Without them I dont think it would take much time before it started moving in the other direction: constant wage dumping, less vacations, longer work shifts, less safety in work places. The historically speaking unique "freedom/strength" of the worker is something that must be defended because there are certainly forces who'd like to destroy it. Whether or not todays Unions are doing a great job is a different question but there is no doubt that a need for workers all over the world to stay organised.

It's been moving in the 'other' direction for decades. There are two distinct disputes here. The first is the USS pension one, which affects pre-92 universities. The other involves the 'Four Fights', with the most important fight in my view being the erosion in pay. Up until this year, real terms pay has declined by nearly 20%, and this year's offer will result in a further 4% fall.
It's a sign of where we are that [MENTION=1200]Harry Wilson's tackle[/MENTION] and all the other comrades piling in behind him regard the action to be such a terrible inconvenience. It's also interesting that everyone's piling in on the UCU, despite the fact that it's not the union that has trotted out derisory pay offers for the past decade but, instead, the employers organisation, the UCEA, who so many on here are keen to mobilise behind.
By the time many new staff reach retirement age, if this pay erosion continues at the trajectory over the past decade, they'll be on close to the Living Wage.

 

[Comrade Sam]

So why differentiate between public and private sector workers ? We've all had it / got it hard. Depreciating pensions, pay rises below the rate of inflation ( if a pay rise is coming at all ) etc.

Indeed, fair point!

 

[portslade seagull]

Did you know university lecturers are on strike?

"What a great few days of strike action, full of committed picketing and wonderful teach outs. You have done our branch proud, and we have sent a strong message to management. Thank you all for your efforts so far! Together we will win these disputes. "

FFS. Probably 10% of staff where I work are on strike. The smell of winning escapes my nostrils.

Strike action is never great. I am trying to arrange student disciplinary investigations for plagiarism but it is hard to move it on because a key colleague has downed his tool. So, the students are in limbo.

And nobody outside the unis know or care.

Apparently there is a 'gender pay imbalance' and a recently discovered 'ethnic origin pay imbalance' together with the (real issue), pay freeze, and pensions tinkering. But it isn't as if we are miners or dockers, is it?

Plus of course our union has recently 'no platformed' Israel

And thus the diminshing rump of trade unionism disappears in a puff of it's own sad dust. Congratulating itself on saying 'boo' and waving a flag about, to the admiring glances of absolutely nobody.

When I used to work at the Post office in the 80s localised strikes seemed to be the norm. We were called out it almost seemed weekly for the most silly reason. We would spend 2hrs by the parcel ramp then the managers would come out say sorry for actually asking people to work rather than gossip the shift away and we would go back in. Most of the strikes always resulted in unlimited OT to catch up

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Out brothers out.

To show solidarity to HWT I will not be using the university car park on Saturday.

I'll use it.

Scab, me?

 

[KZNSeagull]

I keep being asked to join the Union at work (Usdaw). Last time someone I had never seen before rocked up and asked me in a very loud voice on the shop floor why I had not joined, they were quite taken aback when I answered in an equally loud voice "Because I do not want to contribute to your General Secretary's obscene salary". They walked away.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Worryingly, actually very worryingly, I agree with you. The number of applicants I've interviewed that effectively say "well I've got a degree" when asked why they should get the role is astounding. There certainly seems to be a sense of entitlement without realising that almost everyone now has a degree. I don't go into an interview and say "Well I have 9 O Levels".

I suspect it depends greatly on what degree and from where. An upper second from where I work in all subjects associated with my experience means something. Anything less . . . . (lower second and downward) or a dregree from most places outside the top 20 unis ....

I looked into University of Medway when I was pondering applying for a senior management role a year or so ago and read student feedback, and it is horrifying - thin content, no support, everyone gets an 'A' no matter how shit the work....

That isn't to say that some programmes at some 'former polytechnics' aren't great, but do your research if you kid is thinking of applying.

Also, dissing 'everyone' for 'just' having a degree is equally ludicrous. Perhaps moreso.