Eyes of the world upon us........

[MoonRocker]

You'd think we'd all be trying to put on a show, but no, let's go on strike shall we! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, the greatest job destroyer of them all, striking for jobs, the unions!

[Sqad]

Duncer....fair comment.

[MoonRocker]

yes NOX, not now, ridiculous opportunism.

[Duncer]

"Really? 59% vote in favour on a 20% turnout gives them the right to call a strike the day before the Olympics?"

I read that as almost 60% of those who could be bothered to vote. As long as the vote meets all the necessary terms and conditions then I don't see a problem.

[Davethedog]

Who knows about the morality of the situation? I know that the Border agency used to have 3 buildings in Croydon and now have less than 1. The government keep telling you how the agemcy are important, yet there are huge queues due to lack of staff. The staff are aware that more redundancies are coming and yet the Government continualy tell you the job can be done, when patently it can't.

The Government have declined to negotiate instead going to court where, no doubt, they will score another win for democracy.

[Sqad]

uncer....I understand that, but it is 60% of the 20% who voted.......that is about 12% of Union members voted for a strike ( but still within the Law)

[Duncer]

A bit like they did with us.

I have had a pay freeze for three years and, this year, my pay is effectively redcued due to increased pension contributions and, to crown it all off, I have to work another eight years in a dangerous and demanding job.

[Duncer]

Sqad - unfortunately we can only count those who bother to vote, so it is a healthy mandate.

Using that argument Scotland should never have passed the devolution bill.

[weecalf]

Border agency is this another title nick from the americans

[ludwig]

The border agency may well be in crisis Dave, but it's a crisis that 90% of the staff don't want to go on strike about, either because they didn't turn out to vote, or voted against strike action.

[China Doll]

Well strikes are generally there to cause inconvenience to highlight the issues... It seems to me that if you were going to call a strike then logically during a big event with the world watching would be a good time to raise your plight. Regardless of whether I agree with you or not, it just makes logical sense.

[Duncer]

Not voting does not mean that you do not want to strike. If I opposed our next proposed strike then I would be sure to vote against it.

[tinkerbell23]

Im sure i seen that some sort of public transport was striking aswell. I could be wrong!! X

[AB Editor]

They are being cut at a time when, as you've pointed out, that they're quite urgently needed. Much like the police force.

I think this might be one of the few cases where strike action is justified.

[Ellipsis]

> I read that as almost 60% of those who could be bothered to vote. As long as the vote meets all the necessary terms and conditions then I don't see a problem ... it is a healthy mandate

Our opinions on a "healthy mandate" - not to take industrial action, but for that action to be a mass walkout on the day before the Olympics - vary widely.

Let's hope that those that "couldn't be bothered to vote" won't bother to strike, either ...

[douglas9401]

Sabotage!! Typical of the Trots to strike when so many stadia are being used for sport and can't be appropriated as holding centres for agitators.

The simplest way to avoid strikes is for fair minded people to talk things out and arrive at an agreement. This is hardly ever done in the mass media or on internet Q&A sites.
If the union side feels that there has to be industrial action then obviously they take it at a time when that action will apply the greatest influence. For inept, flip-flopping politicians to stand sniping from the sidelines when they should be in the thick of negotiations is merely posturing and it could be said, a deriliction of their duty to run a country.

[Duncer]

A mass walkout is a form of industrial action.

If we do not have votes on tigs then how else do we gauge the feelings of the membership. Nobody can legislate for low turnouts, nor can action be denied on those grounds, otherwise the past few governemnts would have been invalid as none of them polled even half of the votes, if I recall correctly.

[Duncer]

For tigs, read strikes. I have no idea what happened there.

[Ellipsis]

> Nobody can legislate for low turnouts

That's simply not true!

[Duncer]

Ellipsis, unless you are propounding the ridiculous system of fining people for not voting then how do you ensure a high turnout?

[Ellipsis]

You read me wrong. There's no need to ensure a high turnout. What I'm saying is that this union already HAS legislated for a low turnout, and they've judged a low turnout to be sufficient to call for a mass walkout one day before the Olympics.

I wonder how low they would go? 10%? 1%? 0.1%? 1 person? Presumably there's a lower limit somewhere in their legislation ...

I don't argue with their right to take industrial action. What I'm unhappy with is their perceived right to take this exact industrial action, on this day, based on this turnout ...