Ulster Workers Strike 2024

[trailer]

Serious problems in all public sectors.  At least a decade of year on year 1% pay rises.  Even before inflation went mad after Covid, that was awful and represented an effective pay cut.  All around you see private industry workers getting pay rises between 6-12%, each year. Even Universal Credit rose 10.1% in April 2023, with 6.7% more in April coming.

The SOS can sort it, but instead is choosing to use public sector workers as a stick to beat the DUP with.

This will be a large strike day.  But overall, what will the impact be to services?  Probably very little.

Are people really in dire dire straits? Like really? Some people are vulnerable surely but the vast vast majority I would argue are not. Otherwise they would change who they vote for. They would look to change things. From what I can see most people in NI are happy enough with the status quo of SF / DUP. And but extension happy enough with their standard of living.

Ordinary everyday people don't care about Health or Education or NI Water or other government departments or agencies. When SF boycotted Stormont and health waiting lists ballooned, their vote went up. It's the same story with the DUP and Jeffrey can face the unions and say comfortably that he has a mandate. He knows his policy is popular.

Everyday people don't give one f**k. And the Unions would need to consider that.

I don't know how, but every day you surpass yourself in being a complete tool

Such a detailed and coherent response.

It's prob a reflection of the lack of ability in the other parties. I'd be under no illusion that any other party would make substantial difference. There's an inherent uselessness in most politicians regardless of party allegiances. I had hoped that given the depths the DUP have dropped to, the UUP could have made an hay. But they seem to be determined to be DUP lite.

I don't think if either the SDLP or UUP stood up and promised 10k in everyone's pocket it would make one iota of difference. The constitutional status of NI trumps everything for the vast majority of people. Evident by the DUP and their position on the sea border / WF.
You can say people care but I can see no evidence of it.

But there isn't a huge difference in SF/SDLP viewpoint on the constitutional issue anymore. Or DUP and UUP either.
There would certainly be SF voters who would happily vote SDLP if they felt motivated enough and felt they'd gain more from it. Your giving the other parties a by ball there claiming it's not their fault.

Perhaps I am.

Serious problems in all public sectors.  At least a decade of year on year 1% pay rises.  Even before inflation went mad after Covid, that was awful and represented an effective pay cut.  All around you see private industry workers getting pay rises between 6-12%, each year. Even Universal Credit rose 10.1% in April 2023, with 6.7% more in April coming.

The SOS can sort it, but instead is choosing to use public sector workers as a stick to beat the DUP with.

This will be a large strike day.  But overall, what will the impact be to services?  Probably very little.

Exactly. Ordinary people won't really feel it. I support the workers in their dispute, my wife is a Nurse. But in general the everyday man and woman on the street won't really care deep down.

[Norm-Peterson]

Teachers complaining about money, they get paid more than they deserve anyway. I can remember the bludging they did at school, getting the class to fill in a worksheet or "read silently to themselves". I could maybe have sympathy for English teachers or others who have to grade those long miserable essays at home. Teaching seems to be a cop out of a career anyway, people go into it as it is a high status job and isn't entirely difficult as long as you have decent social skills. I bet the mods will give me warnings as usual.

[Tony Baloney]

Serious problems in all public sectors.  At least a decade of year on year 1% pay rises.  Even before inflation went mad after Covid, that was awful and represented an effective pay cut.  All around you see private industry workers getting pay rises between 6-12%, each year. Even Universal Credit rose 10.1% in April 2023, with 6.7% more in April coming.

The SOS can sort it, but instead is choosing to use public sector workers as a stick to beat the DUP with.

This will be a large strike day.  But overall, what will the impact be to services?  Probably very little. 

Private industry only increase staff pay when they can support it though their own revenue generation. The public sector is important but it is massively bloated and inefficient so any government is going to baulk at throwing money into what is an unsustainable model. It could be made more efficient and therefore sustainable to allow wage growth but some unions block efficiency at every turn as their mandate is to protect workers right at the cost of everything else.

[AustinPowers]

Are people really in dire dire straits? Like really? Some people are vulnerable surely but the vast vast majority I would argue are not. Otherwise they would change who they vote for. They would look to change things. From what I can see most people in NI are happy enough with the status quo of SF / DUP. And but extension happy enough with their standard of living.

Ordinary everyday people don't care about Health or Education or NI Water or other government departments or agencies. When SF boycotted Stormont and health waiting lists ballooned, their vote went up. It's the same story with the DUP and Jeffrey can face the unions and say comfortably that he has a mandate. He knows his policy is popular.

Everyday people don't give one f**k. And the Unions would need to consider that.

I don't know how, but every day you surpass yourself in being a complete tool

Such a detailed and coherent response.

It's prob a reflection of the lack of ability in the other parties. I'd be under no illusion that any other party would make substantial difference. There's an inherent uselessness in most politicians regardless of party allegiances. I had hoped that given the depths the DUP have dropped to, the UUP could have made an hay. But they seem to be determined to be DUP lite.

I don't think if either the SDLP or UUP stood up and promised 10k in everyone's pocket it would make one iota of difference. The constitutional status of NI trumps everything for the vast majority of people. Evident by the DUP and their position on the sea border / WF.
You can say people care but I can see no evidence of it.

Half the Unionist voters  supporting DUP on their Stormont boycott are obviously  comfortably well off so  the  everyday issues arising from it,  doesn't affect them  very much.

The other half (the knuckle draggers)  are too stupid to  direct  their anger towards the DUP. They just blame everyone else  (SF/EU/Irish govt ) as instructed by the DUP

So the DUP will never be held accountable  or  suffer at  the polls.  Every DUP  MLA has  been paid £110k  the last two years.  Had they been paid zero since 2022,  this whole thing  would have been sorted a long time ago

[Deerstalker]

MLA pay has been reduced by about 30% for quite a while now, but I'm sure they all find a way of topping it up with expenses

[seafoid]

Serious problems in all public sectors.  At least a decade of year on year 1% pay rises.  Even before inflation went mad after Covid, that was awful and represented an effective pay cut.  All around you see private industry workers getting pay rises between 6-12%, each year. Even Universal Credit rose 10.1% in April 2023, with 6.7% more in April coming.

The SOS can sort it, but instead is choosing to use public sector workers as a stick to beat the DUP with.

This will be a large strike day.  But overall, what will the impact be to services?  Probably very little. 

Private industry only increase staff pay when they can support it though their own revenue generation. The public sector is important but it is massively bloated and inefficient so any government is going to baulk at throwing money into what is an unsustainable model. It could be made more efficient and therefore sustainable to allow wage growth but some unions block efficiency at every turn as their mandate is to protect workers right at the cost of everything else.

That is a hangover of the Troubles. Same as the subvention. The North cannot generate enough money itself to keep the show on the road. It is not going to be fixed this side of irish unity.

[johnnycool]

Serious problems in all public sectors.  At least a decade of year on year 1% pay rises.  Even before inflation went mad after Covid, that was awful and represented an effective pay cut.  All around you see private industry workers getting pay rises between 6-12%, each year. Even Universal Credit rose 10.1% in April 2023, with 6.7% more in April coming.

The SOS can sort it, but instead is choosing to use public sector workers as a stick to beat the DUP with.

This will be a large strike day.  But overall, what will the impact be to services?  Probably very little. 

Private industry only increase staff pay when they can support it though their own revenue generation. The public sector is important but it is massively bloated and inefficient so any government is going to baulk at throwing money into what is an unsustainable model. It could be made more efficient and therefore sustainable to allow wage growth but some unions block efficiency at every turn as their mandate is to protect workers right at the cost of everything else.

It's even more inefficient to be paying agency staff almost twice the hourly rate someone on your payroll gets.

Some load of recruitment agencies getting wile rich off the back of this shítshow in the NHS in particular.

Unions have their issues alright, there's no denying that but the amount of privatised contracts from cleaning, food etc etc in the NHS poorly managed would scare you.

As for schools, the first thing cut is the extra provisions for kids with learning difficulties so count yourselves lucky that evidently most of you complaining aren't in that boat.

[LC]

Wonder what the GDP of the north is, I imagine it is pretty sh@t.

Never seems to be too many pharmaceutical and / or tech companies busting to get set up in NI and offering jobs at £40 -£50k+ salaries.

[armaghniac]

Wonder what the  GDP of the north is, I imagine it is pretty sh@t.

Never seems to be too many pharmaceutical and / or tech companies busting to get set up in NI and offering jobs at £40 -£50k+ salaries.

NI GVA per capita 2020   €26,785 (£23,035)
ROI GDP per capita 2020 €75,170

this difference is in these high tech places, smaller companies would not be so different.

[imtommygunn]

Wonder what the GDP of the north is, I imagine it is pretty sh@t.

Never seems to be too many pharmaceutical and / or tech companies busting to get set up in NI and offering jobs at £40 -£50k+ salaries.

There's plenty. NI tech scene is decent and would definitely be those salaries and then some.

[bennydorano]

Wonder what the  GDP of the north is, I imagine it is pretty sh@t.

Never seems to be too many pharmaceutical and / or tech companies busting to get set up in NI and offering jobs at £40 -£50k+ salaries.

NI GVA per capita 2020    €26,785 (£23,035)
ROI GDP per capita 2020 €75,170

this difference is in these high tech places, smaller companies would not be so different.

GDP numbers like those are regularly shredded as a lot of it is corporate money  in transit to their US Overlords.

[Milltown Row2]

Giving everyone pay rises will increase the price of things?

Is that the answer?

I thought there was good tech companies and pharmaceutical companies in the north also?

[armaghniac]

Wonder what the  GDP of the north is, I imagine it is pretty sh@t.

Never seems to be too many pharmaceutical and / or tech companies busting to get set up in NI and offering jobs at £40 -£50k+ salaries.

NI GVA per capita 2020    €26,785 (£23,035)
ROI GDP per capita 2020 €75,170

this difference is in these high tech places, smaller companies would not be so different.

GDP numbers like those are regularly shredded as a lot of it is corporate money  in transit to their US Overlords.

The GDP is accurate, that measures production and production value is high even if it is owned by shareholders resident elsewhere. If you want a measure of income then neither of these values is appropriate.

[tonto1888]

Teachers complaining about money, they get paid more than they deserve anyway. I can remember the bludging they did at school, getting the class to fill in a worksheet or "read silently to themselves". I could maybe have sympathy for English teachers or others who have to grade those long miserable essays at home. Teaching seems to be a cop out of a career anyway, people go into it as it is a high status job and isn't entirely difficult as long as you have decent social skills. I bet the mods will give me warnings as usual.

here we go

[Eire90]

are the strikers in cahoots with the likes of gerry carrol is there palestine flags being waved at these strikes