TrueBlueTerrier wrote:Ethics expert slams strikers as dishonest, cowardly and unethical
http://www.journalism.co.uk/66/articles/540375.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Why in a civilised society do we allow employees to blackmail their employers and hurt innocent customers?
Why in a civilised society, do we allow the dehumanisation of workers, profiteering of the "Fat Cats", and treating workers as noting more than a commodity? 
That's a question Dr. Bill Robb, an Aberdeen-based ethics expert says we should all be asking. Many of us have suffered over the years from people disrupting our lives and it looks like we’re in for more inconvenience as BBC, rail, airline and council employees may strike.
There are competitors for ALL of them. So NO innocent customers will be hurt. There will of course, be plenty of guilty customers who'll get inconvenienced, and who'll no doubt get hurt (financially). But they are the ones driving the degridation of working conditions, and drive to reduce wage increases, and even wage rductions in some cases. Hence they're NOT innocent cusomers at all! 
Strikers should question their motives and this will expose how striking is dishonest, cowardly and unethical, says Dr Robb.
Our motives are to get JUSICE! or doesn't he think we're entitled to be treated properly?
Striking is in effect a refusal to work while still keeping your job. Most people strike because they are dissatisfied with their terms or conditions – they feel that their employer is not paying them what they think they are worth. Strikers claiming they have no other option is dishonest because there always is a choice – withhold your labour by resigning.
So you'd prefer us to remove the product/service provider permanently, rather than for a few weeks, or months?
What will your innocent customers do then? 
Pariularly in the case of Royal Mail. Where there is NO COMPETITOR IN EXISTANCE for actually delivering the Mail. And there's no-one else who's even close to being able to take over the role! Would you prefer us to be reduced to using expensive couriers, and parcel dlivery firms to deliver the mail? 
That would make it too expensive for a lot of people to use. Not that, that would matter to those who've no concept of trying to survive on the kind of wage that the majority of us live on. And what about the Pensioners?
Now THAT'S dishonest! Giving such a distorted view of reality! 
And that's where the cowardliness is exposed. Strikers are not sure other employers will value them more highly and hence pay them more. Surely, if your employer is rotten, it makes sense to find a better employer and better pay. If all workers resigned from the Royal Mail today, example,the business would begin to fail and employers would then realise the value of the workforce. Of course, the strikers know that thousands of people are just waiting to snap up those jobs – at the existing wages. Strikers are too cowardly to test their value by resigning and seeking a better job.
For someone claiming to be an expert, you have a very poor grap of the facts, or even of reality, if you really believe this crap you're spouting!
There are two reasons why striking is unethical. Firstly, to get what they want, strikers are willing to hurt innocent others. Strikers know their actions will make life difficult and they hope that by hurting 'customers', those innocents will put pressure on employers to give in to strikers’ demands. Secondly, strikers are blackmailing their employers. What strikers are really saying is: "Give us what we want or we will damage your business and our livelihood".
Whereas what the employers are saying, is: accept being treated as a worthless (except for potential profits) resource, to be used and abused. Or go on the Dole, as other employers will treat you in the same way. And if you fight back, we will lie about your ethics, honesty, and honour. In an attempt to discreit you! 
I've already pointed out to you, that there are NEVER any innocent customers hurt, when there's a competitor. And although there's no compeitor to go to, when we strike in Royal Mail. The Government has been lying to the public about there being some, for years. So it also shows up the dishonesty and lack of honour, shown by the Government. So we're actually providing an important service to the voters, when we strike.
We should add another adjective to describe striking – 'stupid', because blackmailing your employer by damaging the business is doing oneself out of a job in the long term. Surely, it’s time to do away with a law that legitimises blackmail with the term 'industrial action'.
I've better things to do, than even waste time answering such an inane comment!
Note to editors
Dr. Robb is available for expert opinion, interviews and comments on ethical matters. He has spent 20 years researching and promoting ethics education. Dr Robb expresses ethical issues in a way people can readily understand. He has doctoral degrees from Glasgow and South Africa and is director of the Center for Alleviating Social Problems through Values Education (CAVE) and writes extensively on ethics and values education.
