As you probably know, if you saw the RMT’s Mick Lynch on TV this morning, yet again having to answer those questions about ‘why are you inconveniencing people trying to get to football matches, pop concerts, or to work?’, the powers that be are still successfully dragging out disputes over whether or not public service workers should be paid a fair wage and treated decently, and the average TV presenter still pretends not to know that the trade union membership of this country are those people who wish they could get trains to football matches, pop concerts and to work.
Thanks to the combined force of the government’s anti-strike laws and corporate employers’ endless gerrymandering of negotiations, we’re still working on disputes that should have been settled a year ago. If you find your patience running out, please remind yourself that it means hard-pressed workers are still waiting for the agreements that would have brought their pay up to where it needed to be a year and more ago. Right now, the women and men who clean the trains for your use can’t afford to get the train to work.
It’s worth having a look at your own bank balance because, in the case of the railway dispute, the most common reason for ordinary people failing to go places on trains is that we just can’t afford it – because tickets are too expensive, and wages across the country, across every industry and sector, are too low.
It’s notable that nowadays, union reps like Mick Lynch often speak up for all workers when they get on TV, because all workers are being given a hard time by this government, and most need a pay rise.
We also need to remind ourselves that most of the public sector strikes aren’t just about wage rises but about the trade unions battling this government’s determination to cut staff, and cut the standard of our public services, because all workers are now in danger from this government’s aim to degrade work contracts, pensions and job security.
How to offer support
Let’s face it, workers can’t give up on these disputes. When you reach the point that you can’t live on your wages, you have to fight back or starve, and in the long run, unions pushing wages up will raise all our incomes anyway, so we absolutely have to stick with it, whatever our own employment status or occupation may be.
Admittedly, it gets increasingly difficult to work out where and when to go to support the strikes, because the government’s anti-strike rules mean that in the course of one dispute, unions have to repeatedly call off actions and re-ballot. The last time I set out to support a trade union action, I headed to our local hospital to cheer on the nurses – unfortunately, it was just me, because that particular strike day was one that got cancelled.
I managed to turn up (briefly) for an RMT picket line on Friday, but my mind was on how we keep the strike support going, when it takes so long to get results and people (eg me) can’t always find the time, and can’t always keep up with what’s happening. I was advised that the best way to keep tabs on who is protesting when, and where, is to keep a link to Strike Map in your bookmarks…
You can also follow your local TUC on social media for information (mine’s Hastings and District Trades Council).
Or you could follow the specific unions for the workers you prefer to support, for example, the RCN for nurses…
(Mine’s South East Region)
… the NEU for teachers…
… the RMT for transport workers…
… there are plenty more – because just about everyone needs a pay rise – check out your local TUC or Unite Community group to find out more. Choose the ones you want to support and go along to give them a cheer, take some photos to post online, or write about your experience for your local paper — the more attention and support strikes get, the easier it is for the unions to win their disputes, and the sooner they win, the sooner all of us will be able to afford to buy football, pop concert and train tickets.
See you on a picket line somewhere soon!
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Dear Reader,
Times are hard, and so the articles on this site are freely available but if you are able to support my work by making a donation, I am very grateful.
Cheers,
Kay
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Kay Green 