Strike?

[ulaire_daidoji]

So, Public servants go on strike next week and the 1970's style union leaders show that they are not to be pushed around.

Well done those guys.

Then what?

The day after the strike the Govt still doesn't have the money.

I'm not sure what they aim to achieve.

Comments

Damned if we do. Damned if we don't.

[followthebird]

Actually I think all low to middle income workers should be protesting all over the country, private and public. Not, necessarily the entire public sector.

The government are going to cut, Social Welfare, Pensioners, Public Servants (It will probably be a flat rate cut to everyone no matter how little they earn), Child benefit, various other public amenities. Not to mention reducing the minimum wage.

The government do not appear to be entertaining the idea that there should be a third tax rate. Quite frankly it is ridiculous that a person on just over 35K a year pays the same rate of tax as a person on 100K a year or 600K a year.

Neither will the government entertain banning the ridiculous situation of upward only rent reviews for retail outlets. Retailers are going to be crippled financially by this. The only other place they can cut to survive is wages.

People on high wages of 100K upwards may be able to afford to frequent places like restaurants, retail shops, hotels and other service industries in the private sector, but I guarantee you that people on low to middle incomes give these sectors more business simply because there is more of them. People on 100K upwards cannot sustain the aforementioned services alone.

When further cuts come in and they will. Most of the country will not be able to afford to give their business to retail outlets, hotels, restaurants and other service in the private sector. The economy will contract even further and most of these businesses will go bust over night. This will further decrease revenue for next year and lead to further cuts.

Many people on low to middle incomes in the private sector and public sector are already crippled with debt and can't afford to even pay their bills (Including me. I am now the sole earner and debts alone take up 2/3 rd of my earnings. I am already in the red every month).

If the government keep cutting instead of setting up a stimulus employment package, people on low incomes and lower middle incomes won't even be able to afford food. Nevermind luxuries, bills or debts. Prisons will be full of debtors while the big bank executives that had their debts written off will get off scott free.

We should protesting outside of the Dail demanding the arrest of those criminal monkeys that pissed Irelands money away. And I know you are going to say "what good would that do?". First of all some of those people are still running that banks. Second of all it would take away from the sense of absolute unfairness that exists in Ireland at present.

The last cut that was made to the public sector went into a big black hole. It did not save the country. This cut will go into the same hole. Heck, it is probably being used to pay top bank executives inflated wages.

As for public opinion of the public sector, well we are damned if we do strike and we are damned if we don't strike. I am in a Union. I am not going to get paid on the 24th whether I work or not.

We didn't strike the last time and we are still got bile from the media.

We may give out about the French and call them cheats because of the match results this week. But if this were France we would rioting in the streets. We would be demanding that someone be punished. If this were America the would have been arrests made and there would be a whole new set of bankers running the country (and they are). The Irish Nation are too complacent. We are letting the wealthy walk all over us.

Things will not get better with all these cuts things will get worse.

Let me use the Titanic as an analogy (God rest the souls of those who died). Ireland is the Titanic. There aren't enough lifeboats. The captain locks the lower middle class and the poor into the lower levels and gives the rich and upper middle class at the top the life boats. This is what is happening to Ireland. Are you saying that we should all sit in our cabins and sigh and say "ah well there is no point fighting because it won't achieve anything". "Lets all just sit here and drown".? I'll tell you this. If I was in that situation, I'd be at the locked gates bashing away using everything possible to break through and survive. Not matter how low my chances.

I am going to strike no matter how unlikely it is that it will do anything.

Re: Damned if we do. Damned if we don't.

[followthebird]

http://www.progressive-economy.ie/2009/10/deconstructing-public-sector-pay-cuts.html