To be stressed out about pressure to strike

[peppapighastakenovermylife]

Without saying too much, my 'organisation' has announced strike action.

I really do not want to do it but feel awful at not. I wouldnt actually have to cross a picket line or anything (can simply work at home) but feel like I 'should' strike.

The strike is over our pensions. I understand the impact but feel that I can't worry about something now that will happen in probably 35 - 40 years time. I feel pretty lucky to even be able to afford to pay anything into a pension, let alone a company one. The returns are still better than other private pensions. However I understand why some are striking.

It is potentially two days strike. I cannot afford to lose that money. I am the main wage earner and just come off SMP. If I strike food will either be going on the credit card with no clear means of paying it off soon. There are more pressing issues such as redundancy, fuel costs, reductions in tax credits and so on looming. I feel like I need to worry about now rather than way in the future and do not have the 'luxury' that many well paid members of staff might have of not really noticing the loss of a days pay.

Would you strike? Have you gone on strike in the past? I am too 'young' (I wish ) to have really been in this situation before

The square mile generates something like 10% GDP of the entire country. Evil bankers pay a large chunk of public sector salaries/pensions, which might explain why one felt the need to burn money in front of the union march through the city - the public sector burns theirs.

happiestblonde you are so funny. Isn't it you who said that all tax is theft on another thread?

Indeed. Most of the tax is paid by very few people. Of course they don't expect gratitude and none of us have to be liked but if you bite the hand which feeds you ultimately you simply suffer. Tax the rich and reduce the money the poor has. Reduce tax on the rich and there might be more to pay to academics and others. NO one likes that equation though although it's true. When we brought the upper tax rate down to 40% tax revenues went up. It is always the way.

Most of the tax is paid by very few people?
Evidence? I can't find any here.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_the_United_Kingdom

Yup. I'm all for a flat rate of tax too. Nasty, nasty libetarian.

Also, Xenia if 'indeed' your unfounded assertion had any truth in it, that would simply show that a huge proportion of the wealth in the country is concentrated in the hands of too few people, all of whom can surely spare a few quid to pay for a pensioner to have his bum wiped every now and then.

Much of the work done to make this society humane and decent, and to care for the most vulnerable, is done by low paid public sector workers. Of course, they don't expect gratitude and it's probably too much for them to dare to expect a decent standard of living after they've worked hard all their lives...

Xenia's assetion is neither unfounded nor untrue. I do not believe in redistribution and it would be for the best if the private sector took over from the public in every possible sphere - obviously in some areas it can't.

You're using wikipedia as a source? Jesus.

Some Sunday evening reading: www.taxpayersalliance.com/

flat rate of tax? Thats hilarious, bye by NHS, bye bye nursery funding, and a million other things. Flat rate of tax, good joke.

ps, did this turn into a UKIP convention?

Flat rate of tax is fair. It can even increase tax revenues and thus is an NHS preserver. However no political party represents the views of flat taxers in the UK and Cameron hasn't even reduced the 50% rate back to 40% plus NI (which puts us at nearly top rate in Europe now - nice own goal there Labour.... Sweden is 57% without any inheritance tax even these days and a heap more benefits for the 57% than we get for 51 or 52% tax/NI we now have)

Anyway we have rather got off the subject of strikes. The original poster isnt in the union adn doesn't support the strike so of course she may work.

Oh happiestblonde you are using the taxpayers' alliance as a source? Jesus!

At least Wiki is a little more genuinely 'non partisan' than your source!

Yes Xenia fortunately neither flat taxers nor flat earthers are given much credence in the world nowadays

You should feel proud to break the strike. Don't give it a second thought.

proud of being a scab. Well done Thatcher, your children are fully grown.

She is in the union.

Op is a union member Xenia. She said so.

No I am in the union Xenia - just had never really considered the impact of having to strike when I couldnt afford it and didnt agree with it.

I now however am fully briefed on union matters

"Bankers pay the salaries of many of us. "

I expect they could afford to pay the salaries of a few more too.

Especially if the banks actually paid a fair % of their profits in corporation tax instead of the piffling 2.4% Barclays handed over in 2009, for example.

out of stupidity I didnt fully realise that being part of the union would mean I would automatically have to strike.

You said the above on your second poston this thread - then a couple of posts ago you state you are not part of the union?

Perhaps you would care to clarify which statement of the two is correct as it is clear why we thought you where a union member

I would say that I understand about the 'personnal cost' of a strike and not being paid. I am starting to put some money by each month in preparation for if I have to strike. I have been on strike before. Can you have a baked beans or soup month? Also, dont forget that what pay you won't get you also wont be taxed on, so it may not be as much as you think?
The thing with the pensions is that the extra money to put into your pension will come from you and that would be ok, but there will be a set percentage over which you will have no choice. That will impact on your family as much as the other things you have talked about.
Personnaly, I dont mind about the 'average salary' part, it is literally the amount more that I will have to pay now when my children are young and things are already very tight on top of a two year [at least] pay freeze.
I also feel that I would rather know that 'I tried' rather than didn't.
Personnaly, I cant afford to strike either, I am the only breadwinner in my family but I will.

I do also think it is up to individuals to choose. You have that right to choose and that is the beauty of UNIONS. You need to do what you feel is best for you I guess. Good luck!

lego that reminds me that yes the amount lost was not as much for a one day strike as I had assumed it would be.

Before I read this thread I never realised how nasty the union movement is. Just because you don't do exactly what we want you to then your traitor, even though you've paid your money just like those who are "proper" members.

entirely missing the point bna. "the union" is your colleagues, and "they" don't want you to do anything other than what you agreed to when you signed up, and what the democratic process has decided upon.

At the PTA, do you vote whether to do a disco or a raffle, and then if everyone says disco, do you say fuck that I'm having a raffle? Same process.

And if you base your opinion the the entire union movement (whatever you mean by that) on a few posters opinion, you're a moron.

Unions are not 'nasty' movements at all. You can choose to strike or not. If you feel strongly that you don't want to strike, don't. If you feel stringly that you should, then do. They give people strength and a voice if they wish it, and that is a good thing.