INDUSTRIAL ACTION HITS WINTER MAINTENANCE

[smokynuk]

I had a customer telling me in the shop today.... Only 1 on the picket line.... What was that all about ? (No organisation or what ?)

also I heard a few employees dropped out of the Union ! So they could work through the strike action !

Does not sound great of this is true !

maxmix

Yes there was only 1 person at the picket line at the Witchburn Road Offices, but there were a good handfull at of manual workers picketing at the yard seeing as the council has contracted their work out to Mcfadyens.

Also there have been about 90 people who have left the union over this mess of a situation.

However, to those people who ARE in strike these 3 days. Great to see you supporting the union by showing up at the picket line (not!) your good enough arguing about supporting the union etc etc etc, but were no where to be seen when it came to supporting the people (or person at Witchburn Rd). So much for solidarity eh?
I mean if your going to be striking for 3 whole days, at least have the decency to show up at the picket line for 5 mins. Surely 5 mins out of your busy 3 days off wouldnt hurt, shame on you all.

NOTE - if there is going to be a 5 day strike anytime soon, im guessing most of you will come to work. It'll be a case of "ive done my 3 days, cant afford to strike any longer"
Im sorry but if thats the case, then there was no point going off those 3 days in the first place. Choosing to support the union and go on strike just whenever it suits you. To me your either in or out. You dont strike at all or if you do, your in it right to the end. Just think of that next time a strike is called otherwise you are just making a mockery of what the union stands for.

[maxmix]

I had a customer telling me in the shop today.... Only 1 on the picket line.... What was that all about ? (No organisation or what ?)

also I heard a few employees dropped out of the Union ! So they could work through the strike action !

Does not sound great of this is true !

maxmix

Yes there was only 1 person at the picket line at the Witchburn Road Offices, but there were a good handfull at of manual workers picketing at the yard seeing as the council has contracted their work out to Mcfadyens.

Also there have been about 90 people who have left the union over this mess of a situation.

However, to those people who ARE in strike these 3 days. Great to see you supporting the union by showing up at the picket line (not!) your good enough arguing about supporting the union etc etc etc, but were no where to be seen when it came to supporting the people (or person at Witchburn Rd). So much for solidarity eh?
I mean if your going to be striking for 3 whole days, at least have the decency to show up at the picket line for 5 mins. Surely 5 mins out of your busy 3 days off wouldnt hurt, shame on you all.

NOTE - if there is going to be a 5 day strike anytime soon, im guessing most of you will come to work. It'll be a case of "ive done my 3 days, cant afford to strike any longer"
Im sorry but if thats the case, then there was no point going off those 3 days in the first place. Choosing to support the union and go on strike just whenever it suits you. To me your either in or out. You dont strike at all or if you do, your in it right to the end. Just think of that next time a strike is called otherwise you are just making a mockery of what the union stands for.

Well said smoky

Aye.... Once there all skint the 5 days with no pay wont feel so good

maxmix

PS They should strike more often.... At least I can get parked now in town....

[smokynuk]

LATEST NEWS - there was a proposed strike of 5 days for next week, but it seems this has now been postponed. There have been meeting between the Council and the Unions and concessions have been made with some of the terms and conditions.

Not sure about the dispute with manual workers overtime as i think there will be further discussions on that.

[general jack o'niell]

must be gie important jobs that meant hunners of weans got three days off school, how many were not fortunate to have someone at home to look after their children? as far as i could make out from the letter home the 1st, 2nd and 3rd years were off school because there would be nobody to answer the phones or hand out paracetamol, ok so i simplified it a bit but thats what it appeared to boil down to.

not criticizing those on strike, i'm not privy to the in's and outs of the dispute, i'm sure they have very valid reasons for taking action, never having been in a job where you were sure how much you were getting in your pay when you turned up on a monday morning, i couldn't possibly understand the mindset of anyone taking "industrial action"

whatever the reasons, i hope they get what they deserve, and that its reasonably close to what they think they deserve or should expect to deserve, whichever is the better scenario for all concerned, is there a moral standpoint for those who left the union so they could remain working, not to be able to benefit from any deal won by those who came out on strike? seems a bit like having your cake and eating everybody elses to me

[smokynuk]

must be gie important jobs that meant hunners of weans got three days off school, how many were not fortunate to have someone at home to look after their children? as far as i could make out from the letter home the 1st, 2nd and 3rd years were off school because there would be nobody to answer the phones or hand out paracetamol, ok so i simplified it a bit but thats what it appeared to boil down to.

Yes you are simplifying things. If theres no one to run the school it ends up being a danger to the kids. What happens if your kid slipped and cracked his head open on a wet floor that was meant to be cleaned by a janitor currently on strike? I think your opinions would change then.

But in truth the Council should have been providing the service strike or not. The Council have a duty of care to the public and if that means contracting the work out so there is no disruption to the service then so be it. Same goes for the uplift of bins. With rubbish lying around for weeks on end it can only attract vermin. Just think if this was the height of the summer.

not criticizing those on strike, i'm not privy to the in's and outs of the dispute, i'm sure they have very valid reasons for taking action, never having been in a job where you were sure how much you were getting in your pay when you turned up on a monday morning, i couldn't possibly understand the mindset of anyone taking "industrial action"

Well the mindset is pretty simple. If your employer suddenly changes the goalposts that leaves you out of pocket by thousands of pounds, im sure you would have the motivation for "industrial action"

is there a moral standpoint for those who left the union so they could remain working, not to be able to benefit from any deal won by those who came out on strike? seems a bit like having your cake and eating everybody elses to me

This has always been a sore issue for those in the union. But to be honest the people not in the union couldnt care less about this. Thats why they aint striking simple as that. So if people do decide to take action to get better working conditions, then all the better. Thats just the way things are, lump it or leave it.

[Buzz Lightyear]

Is the grammar open tommorrow?

[weetoon1]

Yes to all years

[Beachcomber]

If theres no one to run the school it ends up being a danger to the kids. What happens if your kid slipped and cracked his head open on a wet floor that was meant to be cleaned by a janitor currently on strike? I think your opinions would change then.

Qhat used to happen before we had this plethora of Health & Safety legislation?

If your employer suddenly changes the goalposts that leaves you out of pocket by thousands of pounds, im sure you would have the motivation for "industrial action"

I think this is generally referred to a 'living in the real world'. That may sound harsh but it isn't that uncommon for private sector employees to find themselves on the receiving end of being forced to accept contractual changes, whether they like them or not.

I think one of the most outstanding facts in this dispute is that only around a quarter of the union members eligible to vote did in fact vote for strike action. The other three quarters seem to be expected to go along with that, regardless of whether they voted against the action or failed to vote at all.

[Kintyre Forum News]

UNIONS SUSPEND STRIKE ACTION
Following talks with Argyll and Bute Council this morning (Thursday 8th February), and subsequently with their members at a meeting in Dunoon, joint trades unions, UNISON and Unite, have agreed to suspend industrial action over the Single Status agreement.

Council Leader, Councillor Dick Walsh, said: "I am encouraged to see these positive steps being taken and the Council will return to normality as soon as possible to continue providing a quality service by our much valued staff."

[general jack o'niell]

sorry but i'm sure the letter stated there would be full janitorial cover, anyway if my kids are stupid enough to A) not see a floor was wet and B) then slip on said wet floor, they'd deserve to at least get a wet arse.

i take it this single status thing is the end of the scandelous practice of paying women less for doing the same job grade as a man, i take it the coucils are lowering the men's wage rather than increasing the womens? if this is it in simple terms then hellmend the men is all i can say, where were they all these years that the women were getting paid less? if the pay had been made equal years ago then there wouldn't be any need for this hoo ha we have now.

if a job is worth doing its worth getting paid the going rate for doing it, your sex shouldn't come into the equation, for the most part women are better workers than men anyway, the female of the species not having a "skive" gene, can't be any more sympathetic than that i'm afraid, from what i've seen of local government employees, i reckon most of them would starve if they were working for themselves, maybe if i had been brought up in the "job for life" culture my attitude would be different, but i wasn't, so it isn't.

personally i think the women should have their pay increased and backdated

i have an uncle who has a saying "why do council workers all have such beautiful gardens? they have to do something to tire themselves out when they get home at night, so they can get to sleep"

don't know how much if any truth there is in that old adage, i'm sure there are hundreds of industrious council employees, who just happen to like gardening

[ionnsaigh]

Solidarity and greetings from Glasgow.

[smokynuk]

sorry but i'm sure the letter stated there would be full janitorial cover, anyway if my kids are stupid enough to A) not see a floor was wet and B) then slip on said wet floor, they'd deserve to at least get a wet arse.

Good point general, sure that was the way it used to be, before things got far too PC and all Health and Safety

i take it the coucils are lowering the men's wage rather than increasing the womens?

Nope, but they are trying to get rid of some bonuses and overtime.

if a job is worth doing its worth getting paid the going rate for doing it, your sex shouldn't come into the equation,

True and it doesnt. Its just that histoically men did the more manual intensive labour whereas women did jobs like caring for the elderly etc. Has nothing to do with sex really, just so happens, it was females that were employed in those jobs

personally i think the women should have their pay increased and backdated

They already have had both

[Jock Strap]

i take it the coucils are lowering the men's wage rather than increasing the womens?

Nope, but they are trying to get rid of some bonuses and overtime.

Not really up on the subject but, what is the matter with that? (not that I am inferring that you think it is a problem! )

On another note, does anyone know what was agreed to call off the strike?

[smokynuk]

Not really up on the subject but, what is the matter with that? (not that I am inferring that you think it is a problem! )

Well cant really comment on too much detail as im a bit sketchy myself, but one example is that the workers either got bonuses or overtime for working holidays, seems like the Council are trying to count stuff like that as "regular working hours" thus no extra money.

On another note, does anyone know what was agreed to call off the strike?

Basically the council agreed to come back to the negotiating table and are now willing to discuss the loss of overtime etc.

[Jock Strap]

Not really up on the subject but, what is the matter with that? (not that I am inferring that you think it is a problem! )

Well cant really comment on too much detail as im a bit sketchy myself, but one example is that the workers either got bonuses or overtime for working holidays, seems like the Council are trying to count stuff like that as "regular working hours" thus no extra money.

On another note, does anyone know what was agreed to call off the strike?

Basically the council agreed to come back to the negotiating table and are now willing to discuss the loss of overtime etc.

Again, just a question but why the big fuss about overtime? Surely if there is such a need for overtime it highlights the lack of resource thus the requirement for more staff?