Industrial Action - One Rule for One?

[synaesthesia]

I'm not personally convinced that things need to be fair, after all anyone who strikes surely isn't being fair against the people they work for (the pupils, not the gov). But that's another topic entirely.

[localzuk]

I think everyone here is thinking along a more 'socialist' line... Whereas the UK has been progressively removing its socialist aspects, and heading towards a far more US style capitalist economy.

 

So, fairness is just not going to happen!

[Flatpackhamster]

I think everyone here is thinking along a more 'socialist' line... Whereas the UK has been progressively removing its socialist aspects, and heading towards a far more US style capitalist economy.

 

So, fairness is just not going to happen!

 

I think that you have analysed it incorrectly. This issue isn't about 'fairness'. It's about Labour's fetishisation of certain professions. Nurses, doctors and teachers all had huge pay rises under Labour. However the IT industry's salaries at the low end have hardly budged. When I started in IT in 2001 the typical salary for a 1-year experienced IT monkey was £16k. It's now about £19k. That's roughly a 20% rise in earnings in 10 years, which means that in real terms (including inflation) IT workers have seen their salaries fall. There are private sector pressures here too, particularly outsourcing by corporates of tech functions to India.

By contrast nurses and teachers saw something like a 50% rise in income over 10 years and doctors a 200% rise in income.

 

The main reason for this was that the largest public-sector unions bankrolled Labour.

 

Britain's labour market is doing anything but heading towards a US system. By contrast, labour laws are so restrictive now that it's very hard to fire someone, and almost impossible in the public sector.

[sonofsanta]

Of course it's discriminatory. The entire set up in schools between teachers and support staff is discriminatory, because teachers have more powerful unions. Suffice to say, I'm in work on Thursday...

 

so if you went on strike in support of the teachers, you'd lose more than them because of it. seems fair.

i'm sure when support staff strike for a support related issue the teachers will flock out in support too.........................

 

Just like they did 2/3 years ago when Unison went out on strike.

 

No, hang on -