Fuel strike going ahead now

[linsey]

great. what a joke.

now everyone will just be panic buying... I went to get petrol the other day, as I was running on fumes, and this old guy filled up his car, then took 4 fuel cans out the boot and filled them up too. Some people are really selfish.

Thankfully Ben Lomond isn't too far away, so it won't use up too much pertrol getting there.

I know they are entitled to strike, but I can't help feel that it is a bit unfair... the really have everyone over a barrel (scuse the pun) and the ability to hold the country to ransom. Seems to me that they should sort this out round a table.

There has been quite a lot of striking by vital workers recently - because they are the ones with the leverage to be able to do it (if I striked no one would care!) - transport, petrol, teachers etc and I'm not sure that I agree with what they are doing.
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Dogs are the leaders of the planet.
If you saw two living creatures, one of them does a poo and the other carries it for him, who would YOU think was in charge?
- Laurence Billi

[Lindy]

OOOOh thats a hard one Linsey I went throught the whole Firefighters Strike with Alan my other half and it was hard going for both of us, they really had no choice but to strike as their employers (Local Authority) would not listen to their requests for talks regarding wage scales which i would still say are low for people who are highly trained and ready and WILLING to trade their life for yours in an emergency. They are still payed less than their cousins the Police and Ambulance get a pittance much less than Fire and Police. I do see where you are coming from when you say they have the public over a barrel but I can assure you none of them will want to strike and they will have been sincerely hoping that round table discussions would have sorted out the issue, these guys are fighting to make sure their Multi Million Pound employers keeps giving pensions to its new employees so they are not even fighting for themselves it for futre generations and it's not like the empyloers can't afford it! Also I think that the whole panic about fuel is media hype to get everyone in a frenzie about it so they buy more papaers to find out the latest. The oil companies say they have enough reserves for 60 or 70 days? and we do get oil imported in and can get it delivered from down south so I think that our main problem will be the crooked Petrol stations hiking up the prices for thier own benefits.

[linsey]

I know Lindy - it is a sticky wicket, and I see where they are coming from (oil guys) but at the end of the day - who do they hurt? The public and people who are trying to do their job.

A lot of these oil guys are already on high wages and just seem to be upset at the prospect of losing their gold plated pension. I get that, but in this day in age, very few workers get that (apart from politicians - of course!)

Firefighters on the other hand - i know how hard it must have been for them to strike - and really difficult choice. They are in there with the nurses etc, where a strike could (more directly) lead to a loss of life, and I don't believe that they would strike unless it was absolutely necessary...

So no, if firefighters, nurses etc strike, then I believe that it must have been for a very good reason and as an absolute last resort,

but i feel that recently there are a lot of workers who are too quick to pull strikes out of the bag. And the public then suffers...
_________________
Dogs are the leaders of the planet.
If you saw two living creatures, one of them does a poo and the other carries it for him, who would YOU think was in charge?
- Laurence Billi

[linsey]

meant to add - i think a lot of the panic is because of the unions going PR crazy - they are releasing things in the media to cause a panic amongst the public - which in turn actually has the capacity to turn this strike into a crisis.
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Dogs are the leaders of the planet.
If you saw two living creatures, one of them does a poo and the other carries it for him, who would YOU think was in charge?
- Laurence Billi

[Robert Baskerville]

I agree panic buying is unacceptable, I find it hard to understand why people cannot carry on as normal. It seems to me the media whip up a frenzy which sparks selfishness in a group of individuals.

When it comes to strike action I completely disagree with people in roles such as Teachers etc striking. Very few jobs have umpteen weeks paid holidays and structured 9-4/5 work hours. I am not taking away from the work Teachers do.

I can understand people want to retain final salary pensions although how many people outside of these industries work for companies that provide final salary schemes?

Rob

[linsey]

[linsey]

Been thinking about the strike thing and I think what gets me about it, is that it isn't an even playing field...

Some people can strike and some can't... and of the ones who can, it is decidedly easier for some just to throw the dummy out of the pram than others...

Like me, Lindy and Robert - if we went on strike, no-one would care... In fact, I'd probably just put myself out of work!

Then there are the groups like the oil workers, teachers, train drivers and so on - they can strike and it causes chaos... like when the transport workers were striking then doing illegal strikes too.

The you have your nurses and firefighters like Alan, etc... although they COULD strike, they know that to do so may lead very directly to the loss of life as well as causing chaos. That is a very hard decision for them and really is a last resort.

I think that is what gets me - some people really have the upper hand on this one. I'm not very politically-minded but I reckon you all know what I am getting at!

Incidentally, I'm not for one minute trying to undermine the difficult job and the work that teachers do... just in case anyone decides to lambast me!!!

Lx
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Dogs are the leaders of the planet.
If you saw two living creatures, one of them does a poo and the other carries it for him, who would YOU think was in charge?
- Laurence Billi

[Robert Baskerville]

The whole fuel strike issue has wider effects to not only Joe Bloggs but the British economy as a whole.

On a personal level if Louise has a client who cannot bring their dog as they have no fuel it hits our business. From a British perspective the global economy is already very fragile, Britain should not be weakening its position by internal squabbling. Do we really want to start messing about with fuel production at this point in time...my guess is no! People should wake up and understand that during rough times the boat should not be rocked. That goes for companies/workers - the whole lot.

Rob <- The ranter

[lynn 01]

Robert fully agree. I would also urge people not to panic buy which only makes the issue worse.

If the pump "run dry " then I won`t get to work and as my employers don`t have a very sympathetic view on this I would no doubt be marked as awol and then placed on a disciplinary, I would walk but as it is in Dunfermline I don`t think I would get there on time
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My life belongs to a Collie

[shirley c]

Our lot are on strike today too though I do not agree with it and am considering coming out of the union like a few of our members have done....yes its over pay and yes it would affect me, as im going to be there a lot longer than a lot of our staff..in our office at least
but what I cant do is go out on strike and loose pay so we can get a higher rise as the way its going its a 3 yr deal and some wont get any rise in the last 2 yrs as they are higher up the pay scale, so although everything else goes up, fuel, food etc, we are not getting even a cost of living rise

thankfully im on holiday this wk
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lurchers Pixel and Zev and whippet, Fen
3 cats, Greebo, Yu and Lexx - 2 ferrets and Dales pony Jazz and adopted pony, April

[kirsty]

Like Lindy, I lived through the Fireman strike with my Husband and felt very strongly about the campaign and its miss handling.

I am at present involved in industrial action short of strike action with my employer and have been for a while. Our union have recently balloted for full strike action. It is a real dilemma as we loose pay to make a point but really in acas have no real impact on any service so what is the point are we really making. However as a union member if I am called to strike I feel obliged to. My pension review came in this week and showed me that I had lost 7 days of pensionable service due to strike in my time with the civil service.

The public sector is highly unionised and it is difficult not to strike in this collective environment even if you do not personally agree with a particular fight.

In a wider sense I feel that without workers being prepared to stand up for their own and others rights throughout history we would be back in the dark ages with terrible health and safety conditions, low pay, and inequality at a level beyond what it still is today.

So although this will be inconvenient and perhaps damaging economically I will be supporting the workers on this one (a personal view I should stress, not with my acas hat on)

This is the first time I will have been affected by a fuel crisis. When I worked as an Employment Service manager, I was considered an essential worker (had to get those giros out ---lol)and always had a chitty from the secretary of state which allowed me to phone around the garages and arrange to fuel up - even when they had signs up to say no fuel. But........ as I said earlier no one could care less if I was not working these days. .
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"In a perfect world, every dog would have a home and every home would have a dog."

[shirley c]

Now adays its all computer so everyone still gets their giros at the press of a button at higher up, and our offices are still open through the strike so although there is a bit of inconveinence, it actually doesnt affect much now, so I feel whats the point.
Though I do agree Kirsty, without unions and the fights that went on for us to get where we are today our lot would be a lot worse
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lurchers Pixel and Zev and whippet, Fen
3 cats, Greebo, Yu and Lexx - 2 ferrets and Dales pony Jazz and adopted pony, April

[Arlene]

I was on a school trip to Parliament and they were talking about this. They say they have ample supplies but there was a lot of talk of empty promises

[Janis]

well i fill up either on a friday or a monday and i will see how things go! if there is nothing in the pumps then i will have to go without for a while!
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Cockapoo's...a little of this, a little of that..........
the perfect combination!

[Barry]

I heard on the radio that according to reports the employers have offered a opening but the union were determined to go to strike? I don't however know if this offer was reasonable, but the way the report went it was as thou they have already decided regardless of negotiations that they wanted to go on strike to prove a point which i feel falls past themselves and proves contradicting!?
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Barry, Kylie & Jay with precious Rotti Tikka