Everyone and their dog is striking nowadays, and it doesn’t take an awful lot of brain power to put together that all the industries striking are publicly funded, with a few exceptions.
The government decided, at bang on the change from Labour to Conservative, “coincidentally”, that inflation and the increasing cost of living, doesn’t affect NHS staff. Research and the attached graph shows that slap bang when the tory government took over from Labour in 2010, NHS spending essentially stopped increasing with inflation, at the steady rate they were before. The Conservative’s vast dislike of the NHS and public services as whole, has become more apparent in recent years, with them ramming it into the ground further, day after day, throwing away huge sums of cash either to their corporate chums, or seemingly to absolute waste, and branding it as investment.
They’ll tell you that in the case of the NHS, they can’t afford it! Despite the massive Tory cash reserves, it’s just not reasonable. And in terms of teachers, their solution is simply to reallocate the funds to wages from the, well, teaching, and take it away from the kids. Simple!
Many public services are going on strike, including but not limited to nurses, paramedics, posties, driving test examiners, teachers, uni staff, civil servants, tubes, trains, and in Birmingham, buses.
With inflation at an all time high and the cost of living crisis ripping this country to shreds, both consequences of Brexit [1], the frozen wages the country have been dealing with simply aren’t enough, and the national living wage [2], is no longer liveable. Strikes have always been a surefire way to get the most out of your job, and this last few years are no exception. An abundance of staff from services across the UK are all striking to get the pay they believe they deserve.
Speaking as someone working in food, a union has made me feel more secure, more backed up, and more worthy in the workplace. Leaving my last job from abhorrent working conditions and terrible pay, just having my membership card in my pocket makes everything feel better.
Have a think about it. Do yourself a favour.
Jake Phillips • Many Thanks