What do people think about rail strikes?

[ITUnurse]

I cannot find any threads on the rail strikes / opinion of them.

I personally do support the strikes. We in the NHS will face a similar struggle shortly. I support the rights of workers to strike. Conditions at the moment are dire.

However, if England is so right wing and strikes aren't supported and the Tories continue to be voted in. I've not seen much public support online except from a few and I'm at risk of being in an echo chamber.

Ultimately if England is so under the thumb of the tories, I'm not sure what the long term solution is. The rest of the UK doesn't return the Tories in such numbers.

If you don't support strike action, what do you think the rail workers, NHS workers etc should do? We've already got people leaving enmasse. It's difficult to comment on the conditions of a job you don't work in and nurses regularly get gaslighted on here I am genuinely concerned as to what is going to happen to the public sector of the UK with this right wing stranglehold.

Thanks

The strikes weren't announced last year, also how can you re-arrange your plans when you are booked into self catering accommodation?

It is always easier to support something when you are not personally effected. It is also possible to support something but still have a moan about the inconvenience caused.

We are fully dependent on trains for work etc in our household, and have lost money / altered plans as a result of the strikes.
We are all members of Unions ( I never understand why working class people don't join Unions if they can).
If we have to take a hit to support our comrades then that is what we do.

The reality is that the unions are taking advantage of the cost of living crisis and inflation to cause maximum chaos. They couldn’t give a shit about workers.

The unions are the workers. And the entire point of striking is to cause maximum chaos otherwise why bother?

Really, do people not understand that workers withdrawing their labour is intended to be disruptive.? You don’t value my work, see how you get on without it.

Ha! That's why I am so disbelieving of all this "support" from people wfh/not relying on public transport. When teachers went on strike over pensions a few years ago there was zero support. But poor rail workers earning more than teachers (no, not drivers. Ticket inspectors/conductors and ticket office staff earn more too) whose jobs are pretty much redundant in this day and age anyway and suddenly a flurry of support!

Strikes totally piss me off, whether they affect me or not.
It's always the ordinary people who suffer. Don't get me wrong, I do empathise with workers with rubbish conditions / low pay, there just HAS to be a better way..

The reason we support the railway workers is because they’re leading the way for all underpaid workers @Sobaridiot. Wages have stagnated in this country for years but nobody noticed or they didn’t care because inflation was low. It’s roaring away now and wages aren’t keeping up. This is what happens when the gap between the highest and lowest paid widens to the point where workers won’t tolerate it any more. Nurses are balloting to strike now, I’ll support them too.

Times have changed since the teachers were striking over pensions.

I'll absolutely support nurses striking because they actually deserve what they're asking for, and they don't strike over every tiny thing.

The railway workers don’t strike over every tiny thing either. They’re striking to maintain safety standards as well as for more pay. I can’t remember the last time they took strike action.

No one strikes over 'every to thing' whatever that even means. It's a last resort when everything else has broken down. There are tight rules to be complied with before calling a strike. So nurses good, bin men and rail workers bad doesn't really fly.

When you live in a country where the six richest people control as much wealth as poorest 13 million, but you choose to be angry at workers striking because they’re living costs are higher than their wages, you’re thinking in interests of those six, not the 13 million.

twitter.com/ginamartinuk/status/1561212958922788865?t=LPXhVnWbldDj60vjFlnBOw&s=19

No one strikes over every tiny thing?

Does your DH earn a decent wage?

I fully support the rail strikes. My husband is a postie and of course I fully support the upcoming Royal Mail strikes. And I work for the NHS so expect I will be striking soon as well.

And Civil Servants.

No. They don't get strike pay.

The reason we support the railway workers is because they’re leading the way for all underpaid workers

See I don't actually agree with this. Railway workers getting a payrise will make f all difference to me getting one.

I do understand their reasoning but I get paid less, lose money when they strike (still have to go to work but have to pay a lot more to get there) and as I work for a charity if I were to with hold labour then people in serious need would suffer.

It's easy to support them when it doesn't affect you though

I have to commute by train, it's been a nightmare this past month.

I still support the strikes though.

I'm surprised by your post. If wages were in line with inflation do you not think less people would need charitable institutions like food banks?

It is a ripple effect - already non-unionised service based jobs are having to pay more to attract staff. Low paid cleaners at hospitals in London have strikes - and won.

I support the strikes whole heartedly.

The better way would be workers having better pay and conditions without having to fight for it, but that isn’t happening, so here we are…

Again for the people at the back, it's not a race to the bottom.

We've been massively inconvenienced this weekend and it was quite worrying for a bit, but I still support them wholeheartedly

I don't support them, at all.

8% is a generous pay deal

Not when it’s over two years and inflation is already running at 10% it isn’t.