Going Nowhere - Fast
Surprise, surprise - the trade unions have called another one day strike on Wednesday 24 September.
Apparently, at a 'negotiating' meeting during the week, the trade unions simply re-stated their original pay demand - i.e. for an annual 5% or £1,000 across the board pay increase, whichever figure is the higher.
And in response the employers simply repeated their offer of a 2.5% increase, but dropped their earlier proposal for a 3 year pay deal.
Now negotiations are not rocket science, but to be successful they must be :
a) realistic
b) based on some sort of sensible compromise - on give and take
Simply re-hashing what's been said before is not negotiating seriously with the employers - it's the industrial relations equivalent of banging your head against a brick wall.
Except it's the ordinary union members who are paying the price - through lost wages and no longer-term return.
The employers are never going to agree an across the board 5% or £1,000 pay increase in the current economic climate - there's not a cat in hell's chance of the trade unions' demands being met.
So, it's incumbent on the unions to negotiate - to spell out what they will settle for in the circumstances - instead of calling pointless strike after pointless strike.
What the unions could do is to propose a pay deal that's weighted in favour of the lowest paid - now that would be leadership from the unions - and could wring some important concessions out of the employers.
Or the unions could take their claim to independent and binding arbitration - although it does have to be said that involving a third party in pay disputes is never popular with the side that has the weaker hand.
But what is clear is that further strike action is just asking ordinary unions members to throw good money after bad.
Not to mention the huge problems caused to the general public - who are also having to cope with the effects of rampant food and fuel inflation.
Strikes have their place - even in this day and age - but this one's going nowhere - fast.
Apparently, at a 'negotiating' meeting during the week, the trade unions simply re-stated their original pay demand - i.e. for an annual 5% or £1,000 across the board pay increase, whichever figure is the higher.
And in response the employers simply repeated their offer of a 2.5% increase, but dropped their earlier proposal for a 3 year pay deal.
Now negotiations are not rocket science, but to be successful they must be :
a) realistic
b) based on some sort of sensible compromise - on give and take
Simply re-hashing what's been said before is not negotiating seriously with the employers - it's the industrial relations equivalent of banging your head against a brick wall.
Except it's the ordinary union members who are paying the price - through lost wages and no longer-term return.
The employers are never going to agree an across the board 5% or £1,000 pay increase in the current economic climate - there's not a cat in hell's chance of the trade unions' demands being met.
So, it's incumbent on the unions to negotiate - to spell out what they will settle for in the circumstances - instead of calling pointless strike after pointless strike.
What the unions could do is to propose a pay deal that's weighted in favour of the lowest paid - now that would be leadership from the unions - and could wring some important concessions out of the employers.
Or the unions could take their claim to independent and binding arbitration - although it does have to be said that involving a third party in pay disputes is never popular with the side that has the weaker hand.
But what is clear is that further strike action is just asking ordinary unions members to throw good money after bad.
Not to mention the huge problems caused to the general public - who are also having to cope with the effects of rampant food and fuel inflation.
Strikes have their place - even in this day and age - but this one's going nowhere - fast.
