Consider this.
What impact did the strike, by some union members, on May 10, have on you?
The best that the unions can come up with, in terms of numbers of participants was 'in the hundreds of thousands'. This out of a total of 5 million. So most probably less than 10% of these people were actually motivated to withdraw their 'labour'.
Remember too that in many cases the support for strike action is often preceded by a very poorly responded too strike ballot, with participation typically around the 35% or less mark. So when these union leaders claim 'the overwhelming support of their members' they usually mean something around 20% !!
So what impact did the strike have? Even the biased BBC had difficulty in pushing the large turnout spin as the crowds just weren't there. Their wide-angle shots just couldn't get into 'throng-mode'
On a personal note I came into London Heathrow from overseas, yesterday morning. The pilot warned passengers that we might experience delays at immigration, because of industrial action. Result was that I got through the UK Border Control post faster than I can ever recall! They even had the automatic scanning machines working, which is something that they couldn't manage a couple of weeks ago, on a previous trip.
I believe that the 'rank and file members' of the public sector unions understand, as regards pensions (the supposed cause of the strike) that
In recent times, the government has been accused of being 'out of touch' with the electorate. On this though, they have got it right and it is the union 'fat cats' that are out of touch with the public and, more importantly, with their members.
Perhaps now we will see greater scrutiny on the pay and perks packages of the union 'fat cats' just as we have seen on the executives at privately owned companies? We can but hope. This too is a scandal, at a time when we all have to 'tighten our belts'.
I just hate it when some union leader reaches over and tries to tighten my belt while insisting that he particularly and his members in general, should be allowed to freely sup from the public trough.
While we are at it, I renew my call for the so called 'pilgrims' - full-time union officials who are employed and paid for by local and central government but work exclusively or predominantly, on union business (rather than what they were employed to work on!) -to end. These 'pilgrims' are costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds. Money which incidentally, is then saved by the unions so that they can fund the Labour Party, (so don't expect help from that quarter), and can seek to create ever more opposition to a financially sustainable future. That's right, we the taxpayer are paying for people to be employed and it is the job of these people to put their hands ever further into our (the taxpayer's) pockets and take our money!! At least we get a chance to vote for politicians!!
What impact did the strike, by some union members, on May 10, have on you?
The best that the unions can come up with, in terms of numbers of participants was 'in the hundreds of thousands'. This out of a total of 5 million. So most probably less than 10% of these people were actually motivated to withdraw their 'labour'.
Remember too that in many cases the support for strike action is often preceded by a very poorly responded too strike ballot, with participation typically around the 35% or less mark. So when these union leaders claim 'the overwhelming support of their members' they usually mean something around 20% !!
So what impact did the strike have? Even the biased BBC had difficulty in pushing the large turnout spin as the crowds just weren't there. Their wide-angle shots just couldn't get into 'throng-mode'
On a personal note I came into London Heathrow from overseas, yesterday morning. The pilot warned passengers that we might experience delays at immigration, because of industrial action. Result was that I got through the UK Border Control post faster than I can ever recall! They even had the automatic scanning machines working, which is something that they couldn't manage a couple of weeks ago, on a previous trip.
I believe that the 'rank and file members' of the public sector unions understand, as regards pensions (the supposed cause of the strike) that
- They had a good deal. Would have liked it to last but..
- The deal on offer is a good one - which is fair to them and moving to something more financially sustainable
- The deal on offer is still better than those that the taxpayer (that's the people that pay for the pensions, in case anyone forgets) can enjoy - much better in most cases.
In recent times, the government has been accused of being 'out of touch' with the electorate. On this though, they have got it right and it is the union 'fat cats' that are out of touch with the public and, more importantly, with their members.
Perhaps now we will see greater scrutiny on the pay and perks packages of the union 'fat cats' just as we have seen on the executives at privately owned companies? We can but hope. This too is a scandal, at a time when we all have to 'tighten our belts'.
I just hate it when some union leader reaches over and tries to tighten my belt while insisting that he particularly and his members in general, should be allowed to freely sup from the public trough.
While we are at it, I renew my call for the so called 'pilgrims' - full-time union officials who are employed and paid for by local and central government but work exclusively or predominantly, on union business (rather than what they were employed to work on!) -to end. These 'pilgrims' are costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds. Money which incidentally, is then saved by the unions so that they can fund the Labour Party, (so don't expect help from that quarter), and can seek to create ever more opposition to a financially sustainable future. That's right, we the taxpayer are paying for people to be employed and it is the job of these people to put their hands ever further into our (the taxpayer's) pockets and take our money!! At least we get a chance to vote for politicians!!
No comments:
Post a Comment