An Irresponsible Strike?
According to the new general secretary of the Unite trade union - Len McCluskey - there's no such thing as an irresponsible strike.
Well most people living in Spain - and everyone travelling to and from Spain last weekend - would completely disagree - because they're giving the country's air traffic controllers absolute pelters.
Why?
The reeason is that the strikers took wildcat action last Friday and Saturday - which was deliberately timed to coincide with one of the biggest Spanish holiday weekends of the year.
The air traffic controllers had little, if any, public sympathy - not just because of the disruption to so many people and their families.
But because many of those involved are actually very well paid - earning up to 320,000 Euros a year - not to mention the damage done to the Spanish economy and the tourism industry.
The strikers actually turned up for work - yet refused to carry out their normal duties - and though the action was organised and co-ordinated - the unions pretended it was some kind of spontaneous -'grassroots' revolt.
Nobody bought that for a minute, of course - not even Spain's Socialist-led government - which promptly declared a state of emergency - and ordered all the strikers back to work.
Prime Minster - Jose Luis Zapatero - slated the strikers for abusing their monoply position to inflict misery on fellow Spaniards and the many visitors to Spain.
Sometimes trade unions are their own worst enemies.
Well most people living in Spain - and everyone travelling to and from Spain last weekend - would completely disagree - because they're giving the country's air traffic controllers absolute pelters.
Why?
The reeason is that the strikers took wildcat action last Friday and Saturday - which was deliberately timed to coincide with one of the biggest Spanish holiday weekends of the year.
The air traffic controllers had little, if any, public sympathy - not just because of the disruption to so many people and their families.
But because many of those involved are actually very well paid - earning up to 320,000 Euros a year - not to mention the damage done to the Spanish economy and the tourism industry.
The strikers actually turned up for work - yet refused to carry out their normal duties - and though the action was organised and co-ordinated - the unions pretended it was some kind of spontaneous -'grassroots' revolt.
Nobody bought that for a minute, of course - not even Spain's Socialist-led government - which promptly declared a state of emergency - and ordered all the strikers back to work.
Prime Minster - Jose Luis Zapatero - slated the strikers for abusing their monoply position to inflict misery on fellow Spaniards and the many visitors to Spain.
Sometimes trade unions are their own worst enemies.
