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

Ther you go, OP, a pat on the back from two of the most rabid rightwingers on mumsnet- you must be so proud if you're really lucky then you might get a round of applause from Chil, Nice Guy or Lady of the manor next.
I'd definitely rather get the thumbs up from Jeyaben Desai!!!

See - Xenia and Happiestblonde sum up my main worry. A) We cant afford to pay these public sector pensions and B) If we do, what other cuts are going to be made to make up for it.

I will not cross a picket line and if asked I will give up my wage.

I have leant two main things from this thread

1. How the union works (thank you - very helpful )

1. How scary some union members can be! If this reflects the true attitudes of the union then I think that makes my case to leave more than not being able to afford to go on strike. I wouldnt want to be somewhere where people have such low views of others (and yes I know you would prefer people 'like me' not to be in it anyway before you respond).

Leant? Learnt...!

I wouldn't call myself 'the most rampant rightwinger' but I am a libertarian yes, socially as well as wrt the economy.

1. We can't afford them
2. Precisely with the cuts, IMO they do not go far enough not because I want cuts but because they are not actually going to dent the financial mess we are in.

DP is public sector and (used to) vote Labour but even he understands this has to happen and has left his union. Unions are often bullies - just look at Bob Crow and the pleasure he gets in disrupting the lives of Londoners whose taxes keep him going.

peppapighastakenovermylife ime a lot (not all, but certainly the ones who shout the loudest) share views similar to those posted here.

The last strike where I worked a couple of years ago I escorted some non-union members (I'm also not a member) across the picket line as they'd been so scared and intimidated about doing it. The union were advising non-members to strike to show their solidarity, advice that could have resulted in disciplinary action for non-members.

Incidentally, the strike changed absolutely nothing bar costing people a days pay.

Leave the union and you save money by not having to strike and not having to pay your subs, win win

oops 'rabid' not 'rampant'. I should have known :)

happiest I am no personal fan of Bob Crow, he comes across poorly IMO, however many transport workers do not have a good deal- eg London tube drivers put their lives at risk every day along certain lines. Not only this but they are potentially in the front line for terrorist attacks, they have to cope with people hurling themselves under trains, health and safety ar e not tight enough along the railways generally, in part at least due to privatisation, so there are serious workplace issues for RMT workers.
Libertarian/right wing what's the difference? You don't want the state and you think the market will provide, and where it won't, or can't, who cares?

I'm not anti-union because I'm pro libertarian and if people want to form groups they can, within the law.

However others should also be free not to join those groups and be allowed to cross picket lines (they are allowed and no one can stop them).

The bottom line is that people who tend to be much worse off than public sector workers are paying to keep those public sector workers in pensions those supporting them cannot support for themselves. When pension were set up people tended to live 2 or 3 years into retirement on average. Now they retire at 55 on some state pensions and live for 30 years. We just cannot afford it.

The average public sector pension in payment is not of course very high but there are so many being paid the money has run out. Allowing people to work until they choose to stop even if that's at 85 or older is a great step in the right direction and that change is in force from I think October of this year.

just pick some principles, and stick with them. I've got more respect for a rabid right-winger who says what they mean than I have for someone who will swing in the wind depending on what they personally can get out of it.

I dont fancy being in the union after this tbh

I think I probably belong to this 'organisation' too, or a very similar one. I work in a university. I joined a union for protection if I had any problems at work, and in the hope that it would have a good, constructive working relationship with my employer. Unfortunately, I have found both the unions I've belonged to in the last few years to be pretty useless.

I get ballot papers round from time to time to elect people onto the national executive and I always take the time to vote. Many of the candidates seem keener to tell me their views on ostracising Israel etc than on the practical ways they would make our working conditions better. I've never had a ballot paper for the committee of our own branch and so conclude that the election is carried out at the AGM. This is not helpful as it's held on another site. The Chair of our local branch sent us all an excited email praising the violent student protests in the autumn. It was no great surprise to see from his election address for the National Executive that he is on the far left.

My employer seems to have no interest in building relations with the unions, and they can get away with this because total union membership in my workplace is under 10%. When we had a shambolic job evaluation exercise a few years ago, the unions were as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

If I took two days off to go on strike (I voted no in both ballots) it would have minimal effect on anyone else. I would lose money and still have the work to catch up on when I got back. There is no other union or professional association I could join, or else I would. My choice is the useless one I'm currently in or no representation at all. I'm seriously thinking of going for the latter, as I have no great confidence that they would provide me with any real help if I needed it.

peppa, I haven't had time to read the whole thread (and you know why!), but as a member of the same union I do think this is important. The process through which the changes have been proposed has been ignominious and it is very important that we stand together. In our profession it's very easy for dog-eat-dog attitudes to erode solidarity. The competition is such that, if one person won't take an exploitative position, someone else will. That's how we've all ended up in these ridiculous states of exhaustion.

So, although it is really hard, I think it matters a lot.

How do tube drivers put their lives at risk every day?

Agree with Xenia, especially about being a libertarian so supporting the 'right' to free association (unions) yet against bullying and coercion within them. I would NEVER join one and strongly encouraged DP to leave his (he also works in a university) which he has but mostly because of their obsession with Israel and because they're useless.

Wook - yeah, basically. My thesis is on Herbert Spencer.

Viola - I do understand the changes more now thanks to systemsaddict. I think that is the main point though - we are so worn down and exhausted that this feels like a last straw. I can't see how we will win and I will just carry on working as hard as ever but now not get paid for those days.

londonmother - yes is university strike I am talking about

peppa as my DP pointed out - lecturers strike on Wednesday evenings when students tend to be playing sport/don't have classes... if he strikes, in his words, who would know or care?

Exactly...they won't reduce the tasks we have to do, we will just work from home effectively but not get paid. Surely the university actually wins then? They just have a lower wage bill to pay. And then I think of the students who are already stressed.

But yes I know the pension rights are important and I now know the importance of following through with a strike. Beerlight - I am not swaying in the wind, I genuinely did not understand the union so will be making the decision to stay or go after this is over (accepting my responsibility now).

buzzlitebeer sorry!

I totally understand that feeling, but in my experience it feels good to stand up whatever the outcome.

The union are helping me right now at a very anxious time. It feels really good not to be all alone, but to have people with real knowledge, understanding and humanity helping me out.

Exactly. You will presumably have to rearrange your lectures with the students causing them and you hassle. There is no way that a strike will make any difference - I'm sorry to say (as is DP) that academics are hardly at the top of the list of hard done by public sector workers if you consider you are fairly well paid, work comparatively low hours, can apply for research leave etc. My DP was off for a year on research leave and now teaches an average of 4 hours a week, although it's a hard job for other reasons (and a profession I'm trying to enter myself) it's quite hard to fight your corner when you look at nurses/teachers.

Xenia The public/private sector debate is a false one- there are both minimum wage jobs and highly paid in each and at the top of both some of the salaries and perks given are utterly crazy.

Plus the public and private sector overlap weirdly in all kinds of ways- is the head of RBS a public sector worker now? And with so many services contracted out, many workers in hospitals etc are actually private sector workers.

The IFS state that the difference in pay is not remotely as large as some would have us believe when factors such as age, qualifications etc are taken into account. Many public sector jobs are professional jobs demanding a higher level of qualifications, and many of the lowest paid public sector jobs are now in services which have been contracted out. Having said that, a quarter of all workers on £7 per hour or less are in the public sector, so they are hardly fat cats!

Besides anything else, if public sector pensions are cut, that will in no way benefit workers in the private sector, just as a public sector pay freeze will not mean higher pay for private sector workers. All working people need to look out for each other, especially those who are the lowest paid.

But public sector workers are secondary tax consumers...

happiest er yeah, and?

happiest - I think your DH is a VERY lucky academic! Majority of academics I know work 60 hour weeks, have few or no holidays, rarely get research leave (but get shouted at for not having done enough research) .... and are completely worn down. Yes we don't deal with life or death but certainly the day to day stress is overwhelming.

Viola - I am glad your union is helping you. Not much they can do in my situation and my only other experience with them was not helpful to say the least!

damn right
i just spent ALL day on a goddam lecture