To no longer support strike action?

[Sobloodydone]

I live in Liverpool where there is currently a bus workers strike going on, entering its 4th week after a walk out demanding pay that meets inflation. They have been offered in increase that they turned down claiming it wasn’t enough.

I am beyond frustrated now as the entire city is pretty much out of action in regards to public transport. It’s costing £25 a day in taxis to get to work who have said no working from home and threatening termination if attendance is missed. It’s just not sustainable!

I am working class and long supported strikes and many people have the opinion we should be supporting them no questions asked but what about the thousands of people they are affecting? Nobody is getting the price of inflation matched within their wages. Supposed to believe we’re all in it together when supporting them but what about everyone else who can’t get to work/hospital/shops/see their elderly family?! It’s an indefinite walk out so god knows what will happen if kids can’t get to school in 3 weeks!

Many more certainly aren't getting those sort of rises in the private sector

I don’t personally support strike action in any form, never have and never will. And anyone who believes that the bus workers involved in this particular strike will receive an inflation-matching payrise as a result are frankly deluded. My own (private sector) pay rise this year was 4%.

YANBU. I live close to one of the depots, I don't know anyone who supports their strike.

Many in the private sector are getting just that

Evidence? My company got 1.5% this year.

The truth is if everyone had an increase in line with inflation, we'd be in an infinitely worse economic shit storm.

It's incredibly easy to support a stroke that doesn't personally inconvenience you, but the whole point of strike action is to cause disruption and ultimately anyone is entitled to withhold their Labour if they don't feel they are being fairly compensated for it.

Personally I can't stand all the rhetoric of their just isn't the money to pay them. Of course there is - over the past few years we have seen thanks to this government a select few get increasingly richer while the vast majority get relatively poorer. I personally take my hat off to anyone who is willing to miss out on their own, probably much needed at the moment, wages in order to fight for better pay and condition for those who need it. They're heroes.

Weekends, sick pay, paid holidays and maternity leave were all brought about by union action and for that I'm bloody grateful.

Well my dh who works in the private sector hasn't had a pay rise but he's got a damn good bonus as do a lot of private sector workers. Public sector workers do not get this.

Having always been at the bottom of the earnings pile before now, I can confirm that all I ever thought of people able to strike for four weeks is 'bloody hell, they must be really well paid if they can afford to do that', because I never made it past about the 17th of the month after paying for childcare, rent, bills and the transport costs.

It’s a real term payout yes, but it’s less of one than you would have had

@ohfook bonuses are generally contingent on performance (company and personal) and are not awarded to everyone. The strikers have described a blanket 8.5% payrise (backdated to March) as an "insult".

They are delusional.

More fool you for accepting it!

That doesn't negate the point I was making though, does it? Many in the private sector are certainly not getting inflation level rises.

The senior management teams remuneration has been going up but that’s a fraction of the private sector workforce. The vast majority don’t get bonuses nor have they had pay rises the are anywhere near inflation. Plus the remuneration of c suite level has risen and will drag the figures up higher. Remember in a room of 999 broke people and one billionaire the average will have them all as millionaires

with bonuses it was 7.2 percent without 4.3 this also is skewed because the like for like comparison has people from the previous year on furlough so it’s actually reading higher that what it otherwise would

Maybe you should support the strikes and start lobbying the bus service providers to pay their staff fairly so things can get back on track...

In banking, finance, professional services, consumer goods and most of the FTSE100 people are getting inflation pay rises

Thats a big statement. Anything to back it up?

Blame the companies not treating their workers well instead of the workers exercising their right to strike

*In banking, finance, professional services, consumer goods and most of the FTSE100 people are getting inflation pay rises

Thats a big statement. Anything to back it up?*

www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/08/city-workers-get-double-digit-wage-rises-while-lowest-paid-see-1-increase

Why don’t you join a union and collectivise in your workplace for better terms and conditions, for example ability to wfh on these circumstances.

Wothoit striking you wouldn’t have weekends, 8 hour days, huge amounts of health and safety law etc.

As others have said, inconvenience is largely the point of strikes. Don’t value my labour? See how you get on when I withdraw it.

I'm also in Liverpool. Loving the bus strike tbh as the air in the city centre is noticeably much cleaner as there's no Arriva buses idling outside my workplace all day.

I can only see figures for one sector there that would back up your point (finance and insurance) and as it's simply a median number, no breakdown, no way of knowing if this is across the board or driven by only specific companies/higher earners.

Why not follow some business on LinkedIn, they often post when this type of thing happens.

Quality evidence supplied there, cheers 🤣

Lots of people took up cycling when the bus drivers were on strike for weeks where I live so maybe this could be an option? I saw many people cycling to and from work/school, this seems to have stopped since the buses came back which is a shame.

@TheKeatingFive also that Grauniad article only refers to the square mile, which =/= the entire consumer goods/FS/PS sector. Probably less than 10% of it, in fact.