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.

oops

^I agree that no-one should be pressured into striking if they don't agree, but then you do need to leave the union

I'm in Scotland. My husband works in a specialist NHS (non clinical) role.
If NHS Scotland staff hadn't gone on strike over the past year, they wouldn't have got the pay deal they did - it would've been far less.

You're absolutely a scab (and you're seriously letting down your colleagues) if you cross a picket line.

What happens if you are called a scab, is it just name calling like at school or does it get violent.

Dont forget you are talking to an actual person.

You have no basis to say that doctor isnt desperately sad.

Take your tantrum somewhere else.

You should leave the union then OP. You should also feel at least at little embarrassed if you benefit from any positive change brought about by the strike action. Unless you disagree with the reasons for the strike itself, then I think its pretty poor form to be avoiding any moral conflict from troubling your own conscience while your colleagues take it for you.

This isn’t the 1970s and childish name calling achieves nothing. Being a member of a union does not, regardless of what anyone else may think, oblige you to strike. I would say that if you disagree with the union you should leave. That’s what I did. Mine was abysmally run, did not communicate with members and went off and did whatever it liked regardless of what members thought.

Way, way too measured and sensible

Yes, you would be a scab if you don’t want to strike that’s your choice, but you shouldn’t have the benefits of a union so should leave. Are you prepared to cross a picket line ?

No violence (i'd hope!) and no name calling either. People who cross a picket line know they're scabs, without a word needing to be said 🙂

Yes, the point of a union is it's strength in numbers. Perhaps next time it will be something YOU want to strike on, how would you feel if your fellow members refused to even though the vote went your way.

You should strike. You have the support of most of the public. And the government is NOT listening. This is a way to put pressure on them.

Inconvenient though it is for parents like me, I don't know a single parent who isn't supporting the strikes. We want our kids to be educated by motivated people, who are decently paid and have good working conditions.

This government don't give a damn because their children are in private schools.

Don't strike if you disagree with it but leave the Union if you don't agree with collective action.

If you're a union member and your union holds a legal ballot and decides to strike then members are expected to go with the collective decision.

Your call if you want to do that, but collective bargaining does depend on a bit of collective action. It's the managers job to work with the union to make sure things are safe.

If you want the union to be there for YOU when you need it, then you support it's action.

Will you be a scab? Yes. But it's your choice. If I was your striking colleague I wouldn't be impressed, but I would accept the fact it's your choice. Just as striking would be mine. And I would hope and pray that there weren't too many like you.

( I think the nurses should have held out!)

But the majority never, and the ones who voted to strike, will have to suck up the majority result.

I assume you will want the protection of the union should you wish to find yourself submitting a grievance, or to represent you in a disciplinary and free legal assistance for employment issues should you ever find yourself in that position?

Wouldn't it be great to cherry pick the bits we only found useful to ourselves as an individual.

If you feel sorry for the patients, isn't the quality of care they get going to diminish even further if conditions in the NHS don't improve? That's the way I look at it as someone whose child might have an outpatient appointment cancelled because of the junior drs strike. A relative of mine was dying in a hospital during the earlier drs strike and I was still pleased to support them on the picket line.

I'm a lecturer and I also feel bad when my students miss learning because of strikes. They've had a lot of disruption. My pay is relatively good across the board, but in proportion to what colleagues nearing retirement earnt relatively back in the day, it's terrible. Plus no final salary pension. It's not the career it was and it comes after a long long time studying and a lot of precarity. I imagine it's the same for consultants.

And a union is about collective bargaining and support so I have to follow the decisions of the majority. This is a bit different, but I also hope I'm teaching my students that if their working conditions aren't satisfactory then they can do something about it.

Don’t worry, I imagine there will be derogations. I can’t imagine the BMA wanting the downsides of an all-out strike. Find a derogated area and offer to cover. It will be ok.

All the people saying the OP should leave the union. She'd still be a scab... a scan is a derogatory term that is used for people working during a strike, people who won't join a union, people who replace striking workers..... So basically, the name calling is for anyone who won't do what the union wants, including non-members.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scab

This. Do what sits most comfortably with you. There are many reasons to be in a union and being in it doesn't mean you have to agree/ join in with everything they do if you disagree on principle.

I don’t like the word scab and I’ve never called anyone that when I’ve been on strike. Ask yourself that if the strike resulted in better conditions and a wage rise would you be happy to accept them. I don’t think you should be in a union if you’re not going with the majority vote.

The whole point of unions is that they are collectives.

If you don't want to be part of a collective which has binding strike votes, then you should join one which has non-binding actions.

It's just plain wrong to undermine what is at the very core or an organisation

I'm interested in how you see the future of the NHS. It seems pretty clear that the trickle of doctors leaving has turned into a flood and that successful strike action is actually the only way to benefit patients in the long term, which will massively outweigh damage done on the day. So I find it difficult to understand how anyone who had thought it through could disagree with strike action. What would be your long-term plan?

'Scab' is a dehumanising term and I therefore wouldn't use it. But, although I obviously wouldn't subject you to abuse for it, I would have no problem with describing you as a strike-breaker.

If a union has binding ballots, it's part of members' moral obligations to abide by them, IMO.

Isn't one of the reasons for the consultants vote for strike action to help the trainees coming behind them? It's not just about you, but those that are going to still have £60k+ of student loan debt when they hit CCT and unless consultants pay is restored then there's even less to keep trainees in the NHS.

I guess at the end of the day you do what feels right for you, but I suspect most clinics and elective surgery will be cancelled anyway, whether you strike or not.

Only shrike if YOU want to. Don't feel pressured to doing something you don't feel comfortable with.
I personally don't agree with striking, it gets nobody anywhere.
Hubby and I used to work on the buses and we were threatened with physical harm, we were spat at by colleagues, totally ignored, verbally abused, they threatened to bomb our car even if we were in it at the time, because we refused to strike.
Please be very careful with unions and work colleagues ....

Well the answer to your question is yes, you would fit the definition!
Up to you though, but you should leave your union if you don't strike