Would I be a scab

[Badlands1]

NC
My union have voted to strike. I have voted not to - am I scab if I work? I don't disagree with the unions requests but I am not happy with the effects the strike will have.

It is comparable. Considerable column inches were devoted to how the EU Referendum was advisory. The govt didn't actually have to trigger Article 50 until after the Parliamentary vote forced by the Miller case, which probably wouldn't have been brought to court if the Govt hadn't tried to trigger Article 50 in the first place.

Yet Parliament voted to respect the results of the advisory referendum even though many MPs were personally against it, because they respected the democratic process that led to the outcome and the stated decision of the British people.

In the same way, it's entirely reasonable to expect a union member to abide by the union's democratic decision, even if they personally disagree with it.

The point is that, by agreeing to join a union, you agree to support their pay disputes, not undermine them. Someone who didn't join didn't agree to support the pay disputes and is effectively agreeing to take whatever pay they are offered.

So will you refuse any benefits your union may win by the strike…..I doubt it somehow.

it doesn’t work like that and you know it.
non union members also benefit. And you can not ask payroll to reduce your wages anyway when they are set by the public sector/government, can you?

Yes, you'd be a scab. Even if you left the Union, you'd still be a scab. Undermining the collective action of your colleagues, who will be forfeiting wages to fight for better pay and/or conditions.

Unfortunately, as current employment law stands, you'll still get whatever benefits those who lost wages may win for you.

I won't be striking even if my union does. I have my own reasons mainly related to the patients I have.

FFS 🤦‍♀️ I haven’t read all the thread, but growing up in the 80’s my dad was a miner. You have absolutely no idea the connotations with the word scab! All these people saying yes you would be a scab are ignorant shits

grow up

Agreed. My community was torn apart by this tribal thinking.
There were names above the door of the local WMC of men who broke the strike and are subsequently banned for life. Their children were starving.
People were killed in the strikes because of the attitude towards “scabs”.

My dad went back 1 day before the strike was officially called off - but then everyone knew it was imminent. Jesus the amount of trouble it caused. My mum worked at the WMC, the amount of abuse she got and arguments she got into due to him being labelled a scab. He’d been out for a full fucking year. We used to go up to the primary school for our dinners. This kind of language makes me so angry especially when it’s banded about by people who know precisely zero about the effects it can have

If you don't like the term scab, what term would you suggest for somebody who actively undermines the collective action of their colleagues in their pursuit of better wages and/or conditions?

😂😂😂

It’s no way to speak about human beings wanting to feed their families.

Ummm, she's in a union and when the union votes the right course of action is to go along with the vote or to leave the union.

She's free to leave the union and this seems like the appropriate course of action in this case.

It's not about being a sheep or not it's about making a sensible decision to support the union or leave, both are totally reasonable decisions. I have done both in the past!

When sheep encounter a wolf, they band together for collective protection. A lone sheep is easy prey.

You shouldn't cross a picket line if you are a member of another union.

In Wales a cab driver was killed when a concrete block was dropped onto his car.
We were horrified as he was the father of a young family.
The attitude from people from the valleys (they were doing PhDs) was
"Shouldn't have been taking a scab to work"

You do realise that in a democracy people vote and then everyone has to accept the majority's choice. You cannot refuse to follow laws passed by the Tories just because you voted for a different party claim that Scotland is actually independent.

OP's union democratically voted to strike she should join them

You have to cross it, you are taking unauthorised absence if you don't. Union A's members who are not striking have no legal protections if they refuse to work because union B are on strike.

In Wales a cab driver was killed when a concrete block was dropped onto his car.

It's possible to be appalled by this manslaughter, if not murder, and at the same time believe that union members should strike when their union votes to do so.

If you’re a union member you have to respect the result of the ballot ie not work if a majority have voted to strike. You’d be just as unreasonable to go in as a colleague would to stage a wildcat strike if they had voted to strike but the majority didn’t

To get that support you pay your monthly subscription. I wasn’t aware that there was some document that you signed when joining up that says “do as we all say or else you join scab nation and are exiled to the realms of Siberia!”

Actually, binding strike ballots will be in the T&Cs. I'm guessing you haven't read them? Or perhaps you're a member of a union that has non-binding striking? Which will also be in the T&Cs

It really does look as though a lot of people have lost sight of what it means to be in a workers' collective (ie a union), the core philosophy and the benefits it brings

(PS: medical defence insurance can be done separately from union membership, so there's no need for HCPs to join a union for that reason)