“Striking” – Red v Blue – The Continuing Saga

Further to my Blog of Nov 10 – “Striking” – Are you workers for real,  it would appear that the disputes are no nearer resolution and there are others now festering, having been encouraged by disharmony being recorded in the News.

I reiterate;Strike action never provides a satisfactory outcome in the long run; believe me I have seen enough to know…….

I have been observing how the two sides of the disputes seem to be getting more entrenched in their positions.

I also see that strikers are potentially alienating the very people whose support they need or would like, the general public.

I have had to negotiate many things in my time, and as with all disputes or negotiations, to reach a settlement, it requires compromise.

Now I recognise that before this occurs the game of overstating your hand is required to allow movement to occur, but I feel that the militant union leaders are playing fast and free with their members livelihoods and the employers are taking a tough stance to protect their industry.

Everyday you strike you lose part of the very wages you are seeking to improve.

Striking does not reinforce your position and provide harmony, it antagonises the very employers who are key to resolving the dispute.

Without the employer, you don’t have a job to withhold your labour from, without a job, what’s the point of striking for more money.

The current ‘cost of living crisis’ is not caused by employers but by world events.

Wake up and smell the coffee, to achieve a resolution you need to negotiate sensibly and at some point, compromise, this requires both sides to compromise.

Striking more, just prior to Christmas when many small businesses make their major profit for the year is depriving them of their living as well as disrupting everyone that uses your services at a very sensitive time of the year.

Whether you are a Rail Worker, Border Control Staff, NHS Nurse, Mail Worker, or anyone else that believes striking alone will achieve the demands are undermining the very arguments they may have.

I have, as always sort to consider both sides of the arguments, and is always the case, my Red v Blue argument seems to be proven right.

Depending on where you support sits, you are unwilling to see the other side of the argument and your position becomes more entrenched

If you are a Union supporter, the employers and for some reason also, the government are unreasonable and need to give in and provide a realistic wage increase and stop seeking to undermine workers’ rights and practices.

If you support the Employers, they need to stay strong against unrealistic union wage demands. The new working practices are needed to make the industries profitable to pay for realistic wage increases, but excessive wage rises will have to be paid by someone and that will either be the public or reduced services and redundancies, you can’t have it both ways.

Depending upon whether you are a red or a blue, you will not change, the other side are wrong and you are right, end of the story……… but that isn’t the end of the story.

A compromise will finally be reached as with all negotiations, that is certain.

Neither side will be happy, they never are, but what always happens is the outcome is a solution which will be agreed by both parties, of which neither side will be satisfied, but they will both acknowledge it is the best that can be done in the circumstances, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week or month, but it will be agreed, eventually.

In the meantime, who suffers, not the Union Leaders, not the Employers, not the government, but the Striking Workers and the General Public

My advice, to both sides, compromise, agree a solution and get back to work and give the UK the services it demand……you know it makes sense.