Strike!

We may have a strike on our hands. UNISON are considering one after a pretty measly pay increase offer from those who have decided that they deserve proportionaly more than we mere mortals.

Despite being a union man I tend to find strikes irritating. It has to be said it’s blackmail. That said it’s not unethical. It has been an effective way of demonstrating that employees should not merely be entitled to existence but should receive appropriate recompense for their work and reasonable conditions to work under. The downside is that there are some who would hijack those aims for their own ends. Bob Crowe and his ilk being a case in point.

Unfortunately the Post Office requires reform as the nature of communication changes. The previous terms and conditions most of us can only dream of and many of us would not want as we can see they’re plainly excessive. However some areas are clearly over managed and have introduced ways in which the new managers are paid disproportional more than the people who actually do the work.

We, for example, are having a number of changes imposed upon us by people who believe they should be exempt from such impositions themselves.

MP’s are to get 4 additional days leave next year.
They have protected pensions which allow them to retire earlier than public sector workers with a much better pay level.
They take higher than inflation pay rises.

They are also employed by us. And yet we don’t get to limit their pay increases.

If they really felt so strongly about these issues they would ensure that they set an example rather than ‘we deserve this but you probably don’t so you won’t get it’.

Hence, huge frustration from people and strikes. Unless it’s Bob Crowe and then a sunny day is all the reason you need.

How cynical am I?