Unions vs Conservative government, the rematch

[Mich the Tester]

Border force staff to walk out ahead of Olympics - Telegraph

Back to the 70s/ early 80s.

Have the unions learnt nothing? Surely the worst possible course of action is to strike during the Olympics? A bit like those train drivers and Bob Crow who thought they'd strike in South Wales at the weekend of an international rugby match in Cardiff; not really the way to make friends and influence people.

Surely if they had brains they'd make it very clear that they will go for industrial action that only minimally affects the public, and they'll wait until after the Olympics and the holiday season to avoid angering the public?

Yes, it's time for the traditional Unions vs Tories Test Series, this time starting in London.

[Lockhouse]

Sack them all. Couldn't let in any more people than we do already.

[doodab]

Sack them all and draft in the police and the military.

Oh wait.....

[Mich the Tester]

Sack them all. Couldn't let in any more people than we do already.

It surprises me. Each time I visit the UK, with my British passport, I´m asked by passport control 'how long do you intend to stay´, and occasionally ´are you coming here to work´. My first instinct is to respond ´none of your business´ seeing as I am a British citizen and have the right to live and work in the UK. Are they just pretending to do something useful by making things slow and difficult for people who are allowed to be in the UK?

[Mich the Tester]

Sack them all and draft in the police and the military.

Oh wait.....

I get your drift. Personally I'd say sack them all and tell the public 'if you want strict border controls you'll have to pay for them with higher taxes, then we can hire some intelligent foreigners to do the job instead of the dimwitted inbred numpties manning the passport checks now'.

[Old Hack]

It surprises me. Each time I visit the UK, with my British passport, I´m asked by passport control 'how long do you intend to stay´, and occasionally ´are you coming here to work´. My first instinct is to respond ´none of your business´ seeing as I am a British citizen and have the right to live and work in the UK. Are they just pretending to do something useful by making things slow and difficult for people who are allowed to be in the UK?

Been there, done that, got those stretch marks around my sphincter.

I know a border agency worker (laziest cock in the world) and boy do they like people who do this, for they seriously screw their day up, and enjoy doing it.

Loathsome people.

Quick story. Very true. One Border Agency manager put on the BA intranet at Gatwick, that there was a new job coming up, and that the person had to do, was sit by a door, and occasionally open it when they saw someone approaching. It was a joke. 39 people applied for it. Including the chap I know. He also, when another friend of mine got a job with Devon CC, sat down with her and outlined 'the rules' "Don't take more than 19 days sick leave, otherwise they report you, etc, etc, etc"

Not a fan of these people...

[Robinho]

Unions should have no special rights. It's fine to strike and collectively bargain but you have to accept there's a chance that you might be fired as well.

[AtW]

It's part of Govt's master plan to do cuts - every time unions stike they don't get paid.

[Ketchup]

I would love someone to break the power of the unions. They are damaging to the economy. Look at BA, their cabin crew are the best paid out of all the british airlines (by a long way) and still go on strike for more money, because they know they have the company by the short and curlies.

Same as the firebrigade - threatened to strike on bonfire night. And now unions threatening to strike over olympics. It is basically blackmailing and pollutes the free flow of labour. The laws of supply and demand should be allowed to govern the jobs which people do, so if people aren't happy with their jobs, they should get a new one and then if their arent enough people to do a job, the wage should be increased to attract people to it. Not people complaining they don't have enough holiday, find a new ****ing job then, dont blackmail your employers,

When i was in permieland, i worked for a company who had a union, they collectively bargained for all payrises which i had an objection with. They started all graduate IT workers on the same wage, i started a month later than one guy so missed the pay rise for the year, i realised that because of that, i would never earn as much as him, and the gap between our wages would get bigger every year. I eventually proved that over 50% of the workforce weren't happy with colelctive bargaining so the company issued a vote, (ended up 75-25) against collective bargaining.

I became enourmously unpopular with the neandathols in the union, who threatened to go on strike over it, realised their strike would be illegal and many of them left. The company is actually better off for it now, people get performance based pay-rises, not just the standard 2.5% the union were negotiating

[IR35FanClub]

Reverse the reversal...

Not a fan of unions - I see them as pay in advance legal representatives. If a company has really shafted you on employment law - these days you can have no win no fee lawyers. It's not the 1920's any more. No need to pay £20 a month subs up front to pay the fat Cats union bosses at the top of the union pay scale. (Who I presume also get expenses top go and lobby over dinner??)

Even as a permie, I found no need - once we had two rounds of redundancies so I volunteered to be an employee rep and represent the staff in the management meetings deciding on how the selections criteria would be made and to discuss other alternative. Staff had a vote and deicide just to get it over with rather than doing short hours ets. Worked quite well, er, apart from the people who were made compulsory redundant.

Nope. I recall a union rep trying to sign us up, and his words were the best thing blair did was to reverse the legislation maggie bought in saying a company didn't have to recognise a union. Maybe Camerons lasting legacy could be reversing the reversal!

What I actually think - is that no strike will go ahead, but they are using the olympics to play politics to get their message across. Ie it's idle bully boy threats. So here's mine - if the strike does go ahead - and I suffer delays - I'll give a nice upper cut to any union reps picketing the stations. Am I going to really carry that threat out... hmmnn lets find out!