Britain could return to crippling 1970s strikes

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Britain 'could return to crippling 1970s strikes', think-tank warns

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... warns.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Britain could face a return to the crippling strikes of the 1970s when the brake is put on public spending, David Cameron's favourite think-tank has warned.

Mass walkouts could be commonplace in a new "age of militancy" as pay deals are curbed, according to Policy Exchange.

The stark message came as fears grew of a summer of discontent with a series of strikes already planned or likely, including a possible national postal strike.

Holidaymakers and railway passengers could all be hit while the row over foreign workers is set to deepen with plans to ballot workers at power stations and oil refineries following the recent unofficial action.

One union warned British workers have become increasingly militant and angry with pay the cost of a recession "they did not create".

Neil O'Brien, director of Policy Exchange, said: "There is a slight increase in militancy at the moment but that is nothing compared to what is going to happen once the brakes are slammed on public spending.

"This could be a taste of things to come. A possible new age of militancy.

"When we suddenly go from a very very rapid increase in pay to huge pressure on public spending, it is possible that we could have something develop like the 1970s."

During the 1970s the number of strikes averaged between 2,000 and 3,000 every year, peaking in 1979 when almost 30 million working days were lost due to industrial action.

Geoff Martin, a spokesman for RMT, said workers are becoming increasingly militant.

"I think what is happening is people are being expected to pay a heavy price for a recession that they did not create," he said.

"Increasingly people are realising there are expected to carry the can for what is none of their doing.

"That's why we are getting this rise in militancy. A summer of discontent is an overused phrase but the RMT is not surprised people are angry enough and saying 'we have had enough of this and better do something about this'."

As the recession deepens there is growing unrest among workers and the country is already bracing itself for a number of walkouts over the coming weeks.

Postal services face being crippled with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) almost certain to call a national ballot on whether to strike over jobs, pay and services.

A series of regional strikes have already been held, with more planned over the summer, but sources at the union said a national vote is now almost certain to be called in the coming weeks.

Holidaymakers face disruption with a two day strike among some UK Border Agency staff due to start on Wednesday (Aug 5), in a dispute over plans to merge the duties of immigration and customs staff. Talks were continuing yesterday to resolve the dispute.

Hundreds of thousands of rail passengers also face delays with planned stoppages by members of the Rail, Maritime and Maritime union and train drivers' union ASLEF.

Three further 48-hour stoppages have been called over the next three weeks as a result of a dispute with the train operator, National Express East Anglia.

Industrial action is also planned on a number of other lines over the coming weeks.

On Arriva Cross Country members of RMT are refusing to collect litter, meaning that passengers will have to travel on rubbish-strewn trains.

This will mean disruption on trains linking Liverpool Street to Colchester, Norwich and Southend Victoria.

Passengers on Northern Rail also face disruption on Aug 6 as a result of a joint strike by both RMT and ASLEF.

In addition passengers on London Midland could also face disruption with station staff, who are members of ASLEF, also balloting on industrial action.

The GMB is also to ballot for official strike action among members involved in power stations and oil refinery sites.

It follows a series of unofficial strikes this year in a row over the hiring of migrant workers over British staff.

And workers are still occupying the Vestas wind turbine blade factory on the Isle of Wight in a bid to stop it being closed.

[POSTMAN]

Theere will be some strikes no doubt that will affect me personally,and no doubt you,our strikes affect us as well as others.
But i say bring it on.

It's about time the workers of the UK stood up for themselves.

[BIG AL]

Theere will be some strikes no doubt that will affect me personally,and no doubt you,our strikes affect us as well as others.
But i say bring it on.

It's about time the workers of the UK stood up for themselves.

Well said Postman.

[Puppetmaster]

It sounds a rascist comment to make,but I am not a rascist in any way ,just the opposite,but I dare speak the truth.

Where I live was always a boon area,their were more jobs than people,1 company I worked for bused people in from Central London nightly,mainly Aussie Students as they could not find people localy and that was less than 10 years ago,Another Well known Company brought people down from Hull and put them up in Hotels.Work was never a problem,employment agencies did well,whole area was good.
We have always had a good ethnic mix maily Asians and Africans ,lots of Different African nationalites never any problem,and certainly never caused any problems with available work or other issues.

Then as we give get closer to not being British any more and become Europeian,we let in all the East Europeans.Whilst the same laws are meant to apply equaly through out Europe,in reality this only means it applies to the UK.

Result since all the East Europeans came in,in my area,jobs have all but dried up ,pay is minimal,and whole area in decline.These East Europeans,live in cheap rented rooms ,many to a house,often drive cars without tax and Insurance,and frquently drink alcholl in the streets in mid morning, and cause other social problems ,and a strain on other services .Oh Thet can also get tax credits,even though they never paid into the system.
I cant help feeling if we applied the same rules to EU immigrants as Germany well things would be very diffrent.Personly I belive our Mp,S should be replaced with East Europeans
or open up this possibility then things might be very diffrent.

All this talk about how each Party IS GOING TO BE TOUGH ON IMMIGRATION is total rubbish and a smokescreen.The UK is really hard to enter legaly and to stay here legaly and possibliy illegaly if you are a non EU citizen.Their is very little any party can do , short of stopping any non EU person coming to the UK as the laws are so tough.Most people get confused and belive these politicians when they talk about immigration they will do something about the East Europeans,when now their is nothing we can do about these East Europeans, except replace westminster with East EU politiciansns who could do the same job for 25% of the cost at present.

[NWpostie]

Immigration is a big issue at the moment, the big issues is that along with reliable Polish/Czech/Slovak workers which I am happy to have, we are also getting the dregs of europe coming here because they believed it to be the land of milk and honey , benefits galore and housing in no time etc where some of them do work,many of them don't pay taxes as tax avoidance is big issue, they do it in Romania, Bulgaria, we all don't like paying our taxes but we know it is neccessary to run the Country and now we NO LONGER HAVE SPACE we are running out of room,this is already the most overcrowded country in the world, Immigration can be good of this Country but it must be the right people who is going to CONTRIBUTE not sponge and radical Islamist who spit on the Country

[mailsort6]

Britain will return to crippling strikes since many workers are afraid that they will lose their jobs or have to take a pay cut to keep their jobs. Many workinng class people forget their roots because their economic status was fine because employment in the UK in some ways was stable. Now that employment is not stable due to many factors workers are paying more attentions to their unions. During Thactherism the working class forget their roots because the were able to buy their own council houses and they felt more affluent, now that jobs are not stable workers are turning more to their unions and are willing to go out on strike.

[Big Daz]

Well said linkinpark

[Big Daz]

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/e_m ... credit.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[dvbuk55]

I remember the furore when Castro wouldn't allow Cubans to emigrate to America, he finally relented and emptied his prisons and loony bins and sent them over - now I'm not suggesting that this situation is the same BUT I wonder at the thoroughness of our immigration service in spotting criminals/ex criminals/perverts and nutters in entering the country.

[dvbuk55]

I remember the furore when Castro wouldn't allow Cubans to emigrate to America, he finally relented and emptied his prisons and loony bins and sent them over - now I'm not suggesting that this situation is the same BUT I wonder at the thoroughness of our immigration service in spotting criminals/ex criminals/perverts and nutters in entering the country.

All joking aside i would love to think that the hard working people of the UK and all nations realised that the power to control our own destiny lies in our own hands because we have the power to affect real change that we all need instead of changing one set of shackles for another as in our elections of our so called leaders ( That should read SERVANTS TO ME!) that have consistently promised ALL and without exception failed to deliver for the benefit for the people that make the wealth and i include ALL Right Centre and left wing Governments that pay homage to a set of bankers that ultimately decide who lives dies and the laws that control the way we are forced to live but i fear we are decades from that time yet and until then we will all dance around the pole giving a bit and taking a bit in cycles as the elite see fit. Still i live in hope.

Actually it wasn't a joke, Castro really did do that and America paid the price.

[dvbuk55]

And you dont consider the USA USSR Cuban thing a complete joke? Huffing and puffing by Two so called superpowers that just wished to control their respective people by the use of fear and mis information? The Bay of pigs? guantanamo bay? Of course for the people closely involved and that have suffered its far from a joke! But of course its been a complete joke to the world players concerned and both sides have used the fear to control working people and make a fortune from it whilst we all have suffered. Sorry about missing your serious posts from your funny ones.

Actually linkin thats my fault, not yours - I have difficulty in life too, people never know when I am being serious, I sometimes wonder myself - it's probably the red nose and the clown make-up.

[DGP1]

And you dont consider the USA USSR Cuban thing a complete joke? Huffing and puffing by Two so called superpowers that just wished to control their respective people by the use of fear and mis information? The Bay of pigs? guantanamo bay? Of course for the people closely involved and that have suffered its far from a joke! But of course its been a complete joke to the world players concerned and both sides have used the fear to control working people and make a fortune from it whilst we all have suffered. Sorry about missing your serious posts from your funny ones.

Actually linkin thats my fault, not yours - I have difficulty in life too, people never know when I am being serious, I sometimes wonder myself - it's probably the red nose and the clown make-up.

Now I've got a picture of Pennywise in my head They all float down here

[dvbuk55]

And you dont consider the USA USSR Cuban thing a complete joke? Huffing and puffing by Two so called superpowers that just wished to control their respective people by the use of fear and mis information? The Bay of pigs? guantanamo bay? Of course for the people closely involved and that have suffered its far from a joke! But of course its been a complete joke to the world players concerned and both sides have used the fear to control working people and make a fortune from it whilst we all have suffered. Sorry about missing your serious posts from your funny ones.

Actually linkin thats my fault, not yours - I have difficulty in life too, people never know when I am being serious, I sometimes wonder myself - it's probably the red nose and the clown make-up.

Now I've got a picture of Pennywise in my head They all float down here

Evil nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[borders]

Immigration is a big issue at the moment, the big issues is that along with reliable Polish/Czech/Slovak workers which I am happy to have, we are also getting the dregs of europe coming here because they believed it to be the land of milk and honey , benefits galore and housing in no time etc where some of them do work,many of them don't pay taxes as tax avoidance is big issue, they do it in Romania, Bulgaria, we all don't like paying our taxes but we know it is neccessary to run the Country and now we NO LONGER HAVE SPACE we are running out of room,this is already the most overcrowded country in the world, Immigration can be good of this Country but it must be the right people who is going to CONTRIBUTE not sponge and radical Islamist who spit on the Country

Some very good and valid points here but we always seem to get bogged down in blaming the migrant when we should be blaming the corrupt bosses that fleece the corrupt Government that are so bankrupt of ideas of how to sort out the problems of their own making that they find it expedient to blame migrants for the problems of a nation hoping that we will forget it is down to them that these problems exist in the first place. So i ask is it the migrant that takes the benefits or the Government that pays them? Is it the migrant that tax dodges or the corrupt bosses that abuse the tax system and pay money cash in hand? Is it the migrant with criminal convictions staying in the UK or the stupid Government that lets them in. Is it the radical Islamist fault or the corrupt lying Governments for invading killing innocents and destroying huge parts of countries and cultures whilst they try to impose their own ideas on those same people? Is it the migrants fault OUR Government don’t build enough houses? is it the migrants fault that Millions upon millions of acres of prime building land are in the hands of a few Billionaires?
For me most all of our problems are caused by the greed and incompetence of the elite and it is them that love to shift the blame for the problems of their making onto others. I also believe that a crook is a crook and to be that does not require any colour race religion or nationality only greed and a lack of empathy for their fellow humans and that pretty much sums up the elite for me

great 2 posts linkinpark, well said

[dvbuk55]

And you dont consider the USA USSR Cuban thing a complete joke? Huffing and puffing by Two so called superpowers that just wished to control their respective people by the use of fear and mis information? The Bay of pigs? guantanamo bay? Of course for the people closely involved and that have suffered its far from a joke! But of course its been a complete joke to the world players concerned and both sides have used the fear to control working people and make a fortune from it whilst we all have suffered. Sorry about missing your serious posts from your funny ones.

Actually linkin thats my fault, not yours - I have difficulty in life too, people never know when I am being serious, I sometimes wonder myself - it's probably the red nose and the clown make-up.

You have got to be kidding again looking at your posts You have NO problems in life you make serious posts and joke posts and i think we should all aspire to be like you. LOL. Laughing aside thats well rounded and sometimes i do forget to have a bit of humour. Good luck Brother and keep us all laughing.

I wouldn't say I had no problems linkin, but I don't have financial problems and that comes with age - which brings its own disadvantages, 10 years ago I took no tablets whatsoever, now I take 10 a day - just to keep my body going - when I snuff it though I hope I'm laughing - je non regrette rien.