ANALYSIS - British worker unrest grows as Conservative era

[TrueBlueTerrier]

ANALYSIS - British worker unrest grows as Conservative era looms

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LONDON (Reuters) - Britain faces widening labour unrest in the year ahead, with workers across the economy frustrated by the prospect of pay curbs and unsettled by the likelihood of a new Conservative government.

Agitation is bubbling in industries as diverse as refuse collection and postal delivery, with a combination of recession, rising unemployment and worsening take-home pay fuelling anger.

Employees at Royal Mail, the state-owned postal service, voted overwhelmingly last week for a nationwide strike, while staff at British Airways are considering similar steps.

In the northern city of Leeds, rubbish collectors have staged informal strikes for six weeks, leaving mountains of trash collecting on street corners. Millions of public sector workers also face the probability of pay freezes in 2011 if the Conservatives win the election due by next June.

"What you've got here is a squeeze on employees which is brought about by changing economic circumstances that are largely linked to the recession," said Tony Travers, a professor at the London School of Economics.

"If the Conservatives take office, there is little doubt that all this is a leading indicator for a risk of significant industrial unrest. There will have to be reductions in public spending, leading to a prolonged squeeze on public sector pay."

Britain is still in recession, unlike Germany and France. The cost of fighting the downturn, plus diving tax revenue, has forced a huge rise in public borrowing and state workers are set to suffer when the time comes to reduce the national debt.

Far fewer Britons belong to unions these days -- membership fell to 6.9 million at the end of 2008 from a peak of 13 million in 1982. However, those that remain are more militant and more inclined to strike, labour experts say.

The chief threat of industrial action is among public sector workers. More than four million of them are unionised and most -- those earning more than 18,000 pounds ($28,780) a year -- will have their pay frozen if the Conservatives are elected.

Yet the private sector, which has seen relatively little industrial action since the late 1980s, is not immune. British Airways, which has plans to lay off up to 4,000 workers, could face widespread work stoppages in the run-up to Christmas.

"The unions have radicalised over the past 10 years to a large extent," said Mark Wickham-Jones, a professor at Bristol University and a specialist in labour issues.

"Certainly the potential is there for unrest to widen under either a Labour or a Conservative government, with the public sector a particular area of concern."

RADICAL BUT RESTRAINED

The Labour government has promised a salary freeze or minimal rises for only the best-paid 750,000 public workers such as judges, senior health service managers and family doctors.

The Conservatives, whose labour policies are inextricably linked with former prime minister Margaret Thatcher and her largely successful battle to break the major unions in the 1980s, took a bold step at their annual conference last week, promising to cap most public sector salaries in 2011.

That commitment is part of efforts they will have to undertake to rein in Britain's soaring budget deficit, forecast to rise to 175 billion pounds this year, or 12 percent of GDP, if it wins the election, as widely expected in opinion polls.

The freeze will certainly aggravate public sector unions, and increase the likelihood of labour unrest and even strikes. But the Conservatives appear to be wagering that the impact will be muted and the alternative -- bigger deficits -- far worse.

The fact is that while worker unrest may well increase, it will do so from a very low base and in a legal environment in which it is very difficult to go on strike, making the disruptions a far cry from the militant early 1980s.

Since the early 1990s Britain has lost only around one million working days to strikes each year, compared with a peak of around 12 million working per annum in the 1980s.

Smaller unions and those representing the worst-affected public sector workers may end up staging nationwide strikes. But despite their frustrations, the biggest unions may find it preferable to hold off on action.

"There will be acute pressure on public sector pay that could trigger substantial industrial unrest, but it does depend on how much of a mandate the Conservatives get and how much the unions think that accepting lower pay is a deal worth striking for not losing as many jobs," said Travers.

"It will all depend on how far the government of the day can convince trade unions that it's in their best interests to have pay rises that are low or zero but with job security, rather than pay increases and the risk of losing lots of jobs."

[piranha]

Basically the greedy bankers ****ed up and the working class is going to pay for it. Democracy is BS.

[PrestwickPostie]

Basically the greedy bankers ****ed up and the working class is going to pay for it. Democracy is BS.

correct mate .... the culture of bonuses and commissions by selling mortgages and loans that people had no chance of repaying ... the culture of greed was breath taking under labour ... how could anybody repay a mortgage of say £150 - £200 k whilst earning £20 - £40k per year if both couples were in work

[savo]

The one-eyed Scottish idiot is gonna sell off more of the family silver to pay the bills - £3 billion from selling The Tote, Channel Tunnel, Student Loan book and Dartford crossing....

Unfortunately (1) Looks like he will be selling at the bottom of the market, as he did with Gold.

Unfortunately (2) The monthly deficit is running at SIXTEEN BILLION QUID so the 3 billion raised will just go towards the interest on that little lot.

[PrestwickPostie]

The one-eyed Scottish idiot is gonna sell off more of the family silver to pay the bills - £3 billion from selling The Tote, Channel Tunnel, Student Loan book and Dartford crossing....

Unfortunately (1) Looks like he will be selling at the bottom of the market, as he did with Gold.

Unfortunately (2) The monthly deficit is running at SIXTEEN BILLION QUID so the 3 billion raised will just go towards the interest on that little lot.

it is debatable if Brown is Scottish .... ... one thing for sure he is a Scotland hater or he is doing a good job of it :mfo

[Tman]

="PrestwickPostie"]

Basically the greedy bankers ****ed up and the working class is going to pay for it. Democracy is BS.

correct mate ....

Hard to see what democracy has to do with this situation, and even harder to understand why an ordinary working Joe (as we all are) would see it as "BS".

What would you replace it with? Martial Law? Government by Decree?

Thatcher's god Winston Churchill is reputed to have said that voting and democracy was wasted on the Working Classes as they were allegedly too stupid to use their vote wisely. Seems like some of that same Working Class are in agreement with him then...

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Hard to see what democracy has to do with this situation, and even harder to understand why an ordinary working Joe (as we all are) would see it as "BS".

What would you replace it with? Martial Law? Government by Decree?

With an unelected Prime Minster and an unelected in all but name Deputy, some would say we have that already, although it has weakened somewhat since Blair left.

Thatcher's god Winston Churchill is reputed to have said that voting and democracy was wasted on the Working Classes as they were allegedly too stupid to use their vote wisely. Seems like some of that same Working Class are in agreement with him then...

Nearly but not quite - the quotes I have on Winston and Democracy are:

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill

"Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried". - Winston Churchill

[piranha]

Democracy is open to abuse by rogue leaders or governments. Most dictatorships have emerged from democracies. I think I'd prefer a socialist form of government.

"Republics decline into democracies, and democracies degenerate into despotisms" - Aristotle

[Tman]

[

With an unelected Prime Minster and an unelected in all but name Deputy, some would say we have that already, although it has weakened somewhat since Blair left.

All the times I've voted I've only ever seen candidates for my constituency. Never yet seen a box marked "and who would you like for PM?" against it, so maybe they've all been "unelected"?
The Mail and Express (and probably the other Tory rags too) love to spout this particular cliche; I'm sure it'll stop though when Cameron gets in.
Anyway, unelected or not, it's still about a million miles away from martial law etc .

Nearly but not quite - the quotes I have on Winston and Democracy are:

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Winston Churchill

That's near enough to my paraphrased quote. Thanks for that.

[PrestwickPostie]

="PrestwickPostie"]

Basically the greedy bankers ****ed up and the working class is going to pay for it. Democracy is BS.

correct mate ....

Hard to see what democracy has to do with this situation, and even harder to understand why an ordinary working Joe (as we all are) would see it as "BS".

What would you replace it with? Martial Law? Government by Decree?

Thatcher's god Winston Churchill is reputed to have said that voting and democracy was wasted on the Working Classes as they were allegedly too stupid to use their vote wisely. Seems like some of that same Working Class are in agreement with him then...

personally i couldn't give a flying f*ck about your opinions .... you are nothing but a irrelevance to me

[Tman]

personally i couldn't give a flying f*ck about your opinions .... you are nothing but a irrelevance to me

Quite so, as you are to me also, but you're posting stuff which must make Joe Public think what a bunch of half-wits RM staff must be.
I'm sure it applies to some, though eh?.....

[mailman71]

having worked under a tory goverment in the past i for one am not looking forward to it again,we as one of the few big union's left who are prepared to fight to maintain conditions will be a prime target for them as they will be egged on by the tory press to finish us off once and for all.

[banner18]

A world war will level it all, and its coming fast. By a catastrophe with the climate, dwindling resources, or as a way of resetting the natural order from the current one, where humans just shaft one another.

Oh, and btw, guess who will be on the front line? Those good old working classes, classic isn't it?

[Post Off]

The fact is that while worker unrest may well increase, it will do so from a very low base and in a legal environment in which it is very difficult to go on strike, making the disruptions a far cry from the militant early 1980s.

It would seem then that we're all finished. We all just roll over and die, then? How about those who have given up on New Labour? Will they simply kowtow in similar fashion?

The customer is king, I know that, but It's still unnerving to see that there are more laws to protect our consumerism, yet next to f*ck all when it comes to protecting the workforce. We're customers too, you know, but of course it's easier to kick 'em when they're down, especially behind industry's closed doors.

[Tman]

having worked under a tory goverment in the past i for one am not looking forward to it again,we as one of the few big union's left who are prepared to fight to maintain conditions will be a prime target for them as they will be egged on by the tory press to finish us off once and for all.

Sadly that's probably going to prove to be a pretty accurate forecast there, Mailman 71.