Is A General Strike A Good Idea?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/britains-biggest-unions-put-weight-behind-plan-for-general-strike-8559027.html

If so what do you think it would achieve, except for a further loss of income for the workers.

[emmie]

according to one source though there is no way i can verify this, they are actually taking on more staff in the council...i do know one thing many of the jobs are now outsourced, so call centres which isn't necessarily a good thing.

[DangerUXD]

Steady judge, I'm in dire need of a 5 a day coordinator, I had 6 bits today, this cannot continue!

[New Judge]

Yes em I quite agree. Some people do fall through the net. There are many people genuinely in need of help through no fault of their own. However there are large numbers that do not. They have not fallen through the net. They have landed squarely in the middle of the net with their arms and legs outstretched for maximum safety. They have chosen to fall. They see the net as a nice comfy way of life which far beats fending for themselves. If those in genuine need are to be helped those able to help themselves must be made to do so. Furthermore benefits provided to working people must be curtailed and benefits to pensioners who have chosen not to make proper contribution to their pension fund must be lower than those provided to the people who have made contributions and have set aside funds for their dotage.

That way those in genuine need will be able to enjoy a better life.

[emmie]

a small dent in your argument there, what about pensioners who were not able to put aside money for a pension, my mother didn't, couldn't, she worked but had no support from my father, and they divorced long ago. So as a single mother how was she supposed to make provision, she had a hard enough job making ends meets as it was.

[friedgreentomato]

Yes a general strike is a good idea.

[emmie]

no it isn't, and won't happen.

[mrs_overall]

NewJudge - I agree wholeheartedly with your comments.

An example of deserving people who slip through the net is an acquaintance of mine who broke his neck six weeks ago. He is home now but can only walk a few paces and has no use of his hands or arms. His wife was a casual cleaner and her work has dried up because she has to care for her husband. He was self employed and they have no income whatsoever. She went to the CAB and was told (wrongly) they were entitled to no benefits. They were living on handouts and food parcels until someone in the know obtained the forms for them to claim ESA and DLA.

[emmie]

Mrs O, NJ comments was in response to mine, that people do fall through the net, a relative has significant problems, but no one seemed to care, or help, we had to do a lot of phoning, banging on doors to get help, even then it wasn't adequate.

[RATTER15]

I detest strikes, If my employees were to strike I would rather shut down that be dictated to by strikers, Emergency service strikers should be sent to prison, if aren't happy find a different job!!

[mrs_overall]

em, sadly, that is usually the case.

[emmie]

The 1926 strike didn't achieve much, so a 2013 one would i suspect do even less.

[emmie]

seen this over and over, it seems as though who shouts loudest, which isn't the way you want to do things. I had to get help for my mum, and that was tortuous.

[naomi24]

No, a general strike is not a good idea. The Welfare State in its present form is financially unsustainable and the government is trying to address that. Good for them.

[New Judge]

There will always be people who end up disadvantaged when the rules are applied rigidly, em. It is true of your mother’s pension situation and it is true of some people who will fall foul of the so-called “bedroom tax”. But that is no reason to abandon any attempts to rebalance the ridiculous situation with benefits where creatures such as Mick Phillpott draw the equivalent of a £100k salary by means of a feckless lifestyle.

What is needed (and what is sadly lacking) is a system which allows thorough investigation of people’s individual circumstances and lifestyle and sensible people able to exercise discretion. That way your mother’s situation would be investigated and it would be discovered that she was disadvantaged through no fault of her own. Similarly Mick Phillpott’s circumstances would have been investigated and, long before he was given cash to “support” seventeen children somebody would have called a halt, if not to his fecklessness, to the taxpayers’ support for his activities. It is no use just processing forms with numbers on them because your mother ends up with nothing and Mick Phillpott ends up with £60k per annum. And neither of those is right.

[emmie]

true, but this is how it worked. She had a part time job, this was when she was somewhat older, she still had a child to support, but because of the hours she worked, couldn't get any help, or at least only that for the child. The social security person told her it was better she stopped work, seeing as she would be about 10p better of. Absurd system. I would give her a million quid if i had it, and send that Salad Bowl to hell.

[emmie]

i didn't say salad bowl obviously.

[jake-the-peg]

//it is true of some people who will fall foul of the so-called “bedroom tax”. But that is no reason to abandon any attempts to rebalance the ridiculous situation with benefits//

No but it *is* a reason to listen to people - think you may have got it wrong in some areas and address those without making stupid statements about benefit claimants that reveal ignorance and arrogance

But Margaret Thatcher thought she knew best about the Poll tax and could force it through.

You'd have thought a Historian like George Osbourne would have learnt something from history wouldn't you?

The Bedroom tax really will be the last nail in the coffin of this ridiculous government

They seem to have forgotten that most benefit claimants actually work

You will have large numbers of such 'low-salary-Sun-reading-Tory voters' getting told that their having to pay Bedroom tax is 'fair' because people shouldn't expect more than working people.

Yeah - they'll be voting Tory next election won't they!

[DangerUXD]

yes jake, but when they do what you suggest, people like you start screaming "U turn"!