comment: >
  
  Unfortunately, we live in a world where people are intimidated into striking because "it's illegal."
  Like, it's illegal for cops to strike... okay... who is going to enforce that?  The cops?
context: the craziest thing in all of this...a nursing union literally offered to postpone a strike if the Minister spoke with them... he refused to hold a simple conversation... so they've gone on strike. 
  ​
  That's how bad it is nowadays >
  
  Surely they can use that 350 Million GBP a week they aren't paying to the EU to employ more nurses /s >
  
  Just let the free market deal with it, eventually nurses will simply do it for the love of saving lives! >
  
  Or maybe every person employed by Rupert Murdoch . All the guys who work at his newspapers can fill in for the nurses . >
  
  Healing the sick with OUTRAGE! >
  
  You will see a General Strike before the government get to implement their anti-strike laws (that enable employers to sack employees striking, and enables employers to sue unions that do not follow the rules they haven't even put into writing when passing this law)
  The law also has a clause in it that enables the government to change it however which way they want without requiring parliamentary scrutiny. 
  The law passed through parliament the other day - tories that don't like it still voted for it anyway - so is now required to get through the Lords before it can be implemented (with the vague wording changed as per the aforementioned clause)
  Not satisfied with costing the nation tens of billions a year with Brexit, more tens of billions in corrupt contracts to their mates and yet more in tax evasion, they've now cost billions more this past year by refusing to talk to any unions. Their own ministers have openly stated that it would have saved money if they had negotiated with the unions. 
  The list of groups that have been on strike/partaken in strike-like actions in the last year:
  
  Postal Workers
  Train Drivers
  Underground workers
  Rail workers
  Bus drivers
  Doctors
  Nurses (first time in their history!)
  Ambulance service
  Emergency Services Call Handlers
  Fire Brigade
  Police (not allowed to strike but a few forces have done equivalents in the last year)
  Bin men
  Barristers and various court staff
  Civil Service generally
  Border Force
  Dock workers
  Teachers
  Care workers
  Airline workers (attendants etc)
  Airport workers (baggage handlers and others)
  Driving examiners
  University Staff - Lecturers, Librarians, admin staff and cleaners.
  Broadband/Telecoms engineers
  National Highways staff
  Rural Payments Agency
  Physiotherapists
  
  Truss branded strikers 'militants' - but I think this covers most of society that have access to a union at this point. Even Army bosses made a thinly veiled statement about using them to plug holes when they themselves haven't seen adequate pay rises and face big problems with treatment of personnel, pretty much stating that they would be striking too if they could.
  So, international viewers, who do you reckon are the problem? This cross-section of society, or the government? >
  
  As an international viewer i think Britain needs to stop voting tory >
  
  If you had a general election right now, Starmer (labour) would win by a landslide of Tony Blair proportions.  
  It’s not that Starmer is anywhere near as popular,‘it’s how badly the Torie a are viewed now.
  I mean when you’ve got people like Rod Stewart who has voted conservative his entire life, calling in to news stations to say it’s time for a labour government, you know the tories are screwed. >
  
  Wow, that would mean 32 more seats than even Blair’s massive landslide victory. 
  You have to go back 100 years to find any such landslide as 450 seats (1929). >
  
  And that majority has come down since Truss's disaster of a premiership. At one point predictions were being made that the SNP (a party that only runs in ~50 seats) would get more seats than the Tories and would be the official opposition. >
  
  Aaa. I remember the 70s strikes.  Good to see history repeating itself.  People get pissed off with everything eventually. >
  
  In Economics I was taught that in the 70s bin men strike was because they'd been given so many pay rises by the Labour government of the day that for the first time ever they could afford to strike.
  Thatcher came in, wiped out the money, and they didn't strike for over a decade.  They couldn't afford the time off any more. >
  
  Partly true, but the ban on secondary picketing and solidarity strikes also had a big effect. Part of the reason why they were so prone to striking in the 60s and 70s was that their absence was extremely visible and very costly. After it was banned, they couldn't cooperate with other trades and strikes in the same way, so their value in labour action dropped. >
  
  How do you make it illegal to strike, or more specifically why would anyone follow that law?
  isn't the "we out number you," civil disobedience the whole point? >
  
  It is illegal for the police, or army, to strike, for example.  They follow the law because they don't want to lose their jobs and have other penalties.
  You make it clear to them when they join the job.  
  Solidarity strikes and secondary picketing is when there is no problem with your job whatsoever, but you strike anyway because some other job doesn't pay enough and your mate Gary does that other job.  
  It's kinda' a 'We'll burn it all to the fucking ground, even companys/areas that have done absolutely 100% nothing wrong, IT'S ALL GOING TO BURN UNLESS YOU HELP OUT GARY' thing. >
  
  Sounds like a better world to live in. >
  
  Unfortunately, we live in a world where people are intimidated into striking because "it's illegal."
  Like, it's illegal for cops to strike... okay... who is going to enforce that?  The cops? >
  
  It's illegal in many countries for police to strike.
  In Ireland, they worked around this by all calling in sick simultaneously. >
  
  There's also soft strikes where they go to work but don't do anything >
  
  And for city services there are paying strikes, where people go to work and provide the regular service but charge no fee for it (such as public transit). >
  
  Imagine having the gall to pick a fight against nurses and teachers claiming it's thuggery months after wiping 30? Billion from the economy. How many controversies have there been with this government now? The OMF put Russia's Growth ahead of the UK today...what a mess. >
  
  I don't think most British people realise how unattractive the pound is and how much deflation the value has had in the last few years. 
  While most of the world is dealing with price inflation. The UK has currency deflation. 
  Every foreign investor with pounds is desperate to get rid of it or just convert it all to property. 
  The UK needs to do something to make people want to buy the pound again. 
  They either need to massively increase interest rates to offset its deflated value or have an amazing growth in the economy. Otherwise they'll end up like Argentina. 
  Honestly they may as well adopt the Euro at this point.  Although I have friends in Croatia and they said it has been a disaster for them. The price of everything went up by 20 to 30% in just a few weeks. >
  
  
  “Of course, the best mitigation would be for union bosses to call off planned strikes, to keep talking and to come to an agreement.”
  
  You could give the union what they ask for.  That would stop the strike. >
  
  If the government ministers agreed to actually talk with the unions then that might happen >
  
  That would require not voting in ministers who's entire political ideology is against the very concept of unions. Its like putting a flat earther in charge of NASA and wondering why they've stopped sending rockets up. >
  
  I don't think the concept of flat Earth interferes with idea of space exploration though. I mean even if flat, it has to reside somewhere.
  I do see your point, I just had this sudden thought. >
  
  Try calculating the reentry trajectory of a ship landing on a flat disk. >
  
  "uh, down obviously"
  
  some nimrod, probably >
  
  Oh right, I forgot atmosphere is a myth >
  
  Also energy is free and fuel is a lie. >
  
  if you attached some magnets to henry dircks and wrapped his coffin in a copper coil you could catch some free energy from him spinning in his grave... >
  
  The quote at the end is a gem. The government spokesperson calls on the unions not to strike, conveniently ignoring the fact that the government can end the strike as soon as it wants. >
  
  I find it particularly disgusting when the government accuses teachers of not caring about children who've had their education disrupted quite so much. In reality, teachers are striking in large part to secure better funding for schools, which is absolutely necessary to ensure that education is protected in the medium and long term. >
  
  Yeah people love to bitch about greedy teachers while conveniently forgetting that our working environment is your kids' learning environment.
  If we're going on strike it's because your kids aren't getting what they need. >
  
  It's because a lot of people consider teachers more of daycare workers than anything else. I'm convinced of it.  It is why so many people in my country think they are adequately prepared to homeschool their children compared to people who dedicated specialized higher education and regular continuing education to the task.
  ​
  "Just babysitting."
  ​
  Now, that may be me projecting my American experience outward. I don't think that is too much of the case, though. I've read plenty of stories of Tories giving teachers the shaft and treating them all as disposable people (but then cry about it when they are in short supply). >
  
  I mean, if you even paid teachers as much per hour per child as the average babysitter would get, they would be paid a hell of a lot more already. >
  
  
  Protests will also be over a bill that was passed in the lower house of Parliament on Tuesday which seeks to enforce minimum service levels in some sectors, with some workers able to be fired if they refuse to work when required on strike days.
  
  That should help with their labor shortage problem >
  
  Strike days will be the only days where the minimal service levels will be met then, because they certainly aren't on any other day due to poor recruitment and retention due to year on year erosion of pay and conditions >
  
  
  Demands vary by union but include inflation-beating pay rises, including to redress historic real-terms pay falls; pensions reform; and no cuts in redundancy terms. The NEU says teaching is in “crisis” as staff are driven from the profession and is calling for an above-inflation pay rise. 
  Protests will also be over a bill that was passed in the lower house of Parliament on Tuesday which seeks to enforce minimum service levels in some sectors, with some workers able to be fired if they refuse to work when required on strike days.
  
  Unions are the best friend of the working class. Good for them. >
  
  Not entirely always true. GOOD unions are the best friend of the working class. 
  In my country, unions are (partly) incentivized/subsidized by helping as much people without a job as possible. This results in some weird situations where they block negotiations, stop progress, etc., do certain things that even the people that they are supposed to represent ask them to kindly act in a more constructive manner. >
  
  Collective bargaining is ALWAYS better for workers. If the union isn't doing its job, then the members need to change leadership. If you are in a union and want to see more progress, run for leadership. Unions are not a monolith. They are highly democratic organizations. >
  
  Is collective bargaining always better for each individual worker, in your eyes? Even high performers who might make more money in an individual bargaining scenario? >
  
  Former high performer, current business owner here, usually they end up in management positions not covered under the CBA anyway, or alternatively, many CBAs allow companies to negotiate higher wages with certain individuals. If I do the same work as the guy next to me, but twice as fast because I have the drive to find efficiencies, I'm able to simultaneously build the reputation of the union and create a case for higher wages for myself individually. Most CBAs only set a minimum compensation package, the company is normally allowed to offer better compensation as they see fit. For example, my electricians all make $3/hr more than the CBA requires, and my premiums for nickel/foremen/night shift/etc are all at least $1 more than the premiums dictated by the union.
  Pretty easy for me to keep the crews from dragging up. Plus they don't want to be laid off because I'm paying better than any other gig they might go to next (except maybe shutdown shifts), so I get better performance out of the crews. >
  
  It’s official. This country is in the worse state it has been in for as long as I can remember. Brexit or not. New leadership is required
  02/02:
  Sunak is the last option for the Tories. Infact the last in the country. Brexit proved, that once control came back to these shores. The establishment were caught with their trousers down and unable to put forward a single figure able to lead the country.
  From a political leadership perspective. Brexit was a mistake. >
  
  The dumb cunts will just vote the Tories in again, they never learn, our country has the average IQ of a chapstick. >
  
  Honestly, we've been here time and time again.  Something's blown up, something that everyone with any mind could see, but the Government and their supporters stuck staunchly to.  And we've said 'well, that's been a fucking disaster - surely they'll see the error of their ways now?'  
  But no.  
  At the moment, I'm hearing 'well people signed up to these jobs knowing the wage, so fuck em'.  And 'unless they're starving to death, fuck em.  Get back to work'. >
  
  Government:
  
  Striking is illegal!
  
  Workers:
  
  Ok arrest us. Then there will be even fewer people able to work.
  
  If a government makes striking illegal, and the strikers just call their bluff and hold firm, they can win. >
  
  The government needs to remember striking is the compromise, they won’t like the alternative >
  
  ^(the alternative is revolution) >
  
  A nice way of saying those that don’t want a specific outcome will certainly not only face that outcome but it will be so much worse. >
  
  The people who make the the country work are unhappy with the people who refuse to give them the tools to do so.
  Good on them. We'll get what we deserve if it takes shutting the country down. >
  
  Left Software Dev job 15+ years experience. 10 years into teaching which I love but man the Tories have totally shafted everyone in public service since I came in. Under inflation pay rises, increased retirement age, hollowing out of whole social system, prick after prick public school politicians and millionaires squeezing everything all the while doing everything they can to make their donors and cronies richer. People need to ask themselves why these douche bags really want to take a salary as an MP when so many of them could clearly earn double or treble in the private sector or already have amassed/inherited money we will never see if our lifetimes. It ain't to make a positive difference for the people that's for sure. Public service my hole. Its all about the power, influence and profile. Grubby af. >
  
  Never forget that if you are paying higher prices, you are subsidizing the rich elites. If your wages don’t rise with inflation, you are subsidizing the rich elites. >
  
  Sometimes. But if the price of goods needed to make something go up, then the final product needs to go up even if all compensation stays the same, yes? >
  
  Why should compensation stay the same when business owners were raking in record profits last year? >
  
  Less than half of what I hoped for. >
  
  A complete shame
  - typed from reddit while working >
  
  Fuck the Tories. >
  
  You know, I am pretty convinced that the people at the top of government and corporations are complete and utter morons. 
  And its not because of the baddecusion making and vulture like practices they keep doing.
  It's because every 5-10 years we keep having moments like this. Where entire sectors will take huge financial hits because they are on strike. Which could have been prevented had the employers just kept up with cost of living and reasonable conditions. Instead they now have a giant deficit between what is paid and should be paid which is of course even harder to close than just keeping up. >
  
  The people at the top benefit from the cycle of boom and bust, they get to buy in cheap after the bust and sell at the peak of the boom. 
  It's a design feature, not a flaw. >
  
  AND, the leaders at the top are rotating all the time. Everyone gets a piece of the hot potato before it drops. >
  
  The trouble with strikes is they never escalate. They're like... "We'll strike for 24 hours and if you don't give into our demands... we'll strike for 24 hours again two weeks later. And if you don't give into our demands... we'll strike for 24 hours two weeks later. And if you don't give into our demands... " etc.
  Do what the barristers did. Indefinite, complete and total withdrawal of labour until their demands are met. >
  
  The problem is that’s a potential month going without pay - I think a lot of people working in these professions just wouldn’t have the savings to afford that >
  
  That's usually what unions are there for. Here in germany at least you can join a union and you pay a small monthly fee. Now when the union calls for a strike, they will pay the union members some money for that time. >
  
  The British unions have been so undervalued and underfunded and bled dry that they don't have the reserves to do that.
  The government is banking on beating these strikes by having deeper pockets than those affected.
  What they don't understand is that people will just start leaving these professions in even higher numbers and there won't just be a shortage of teachers or nurses but a complete absence.
  Then they're banking on the fact that the government is made up of people that use private services so don't care. >
  
  It wasn’t enough money when they had the funding. The coal miners strike failed partly because the union paychecks ran out, and some miners had to break the line to support their families. >
  
  
  Billions being wasted for a fancy party
  
  What is this? >
  
  The King’s coronation in May. >
  
  Ignoring OPs rant, with no sources to back up what’s being said… The King already addressed this and won’t have a big ceremony. Events such as this bring in more money to the economy then they cost and not just from tourism but general public spending. 
  So with that in mind, take OPs rant with a pinch of salt. >
  
  I promise you people from outside of UK don’t care about your fake king and aren’t going to go see it. I think the problem is that these UK Kardashians are using taxpayer money for such events it’s crazy to me that anyone in the UK are okay with it. Like they are so weird and do nothing but get pampered all their life’s because they won the birth lottery. It’s inanity >
  
  Not True, you clearly know nothing. Don't think you remember how big the Royal Wedding was in other countries. >
  
  Companies are making massive profits while workers are in massive poverty. Capitalism is not working for the people. It's only working for those born in wealth. >
  
  Problem is , this is not even capitalism anymore. Workers have no leverage, can't even negotiate... How's it that capitalism? >
  
  It's not. It's feudalism with extra steps. The company town is now the company state >
  
  It's corporationism. Capitalism would allow businesses to die off if they were not run properly but instead they're propped up by governments. >
  
  That’s just the inevitable result of capitalism. 
  It’s absurd to think a totally free market without any government interference is feasible. >
  
  Economic power is also political power, eventually corporations left unckecked would just be the government. >
  
  On top of all this Bloomberg news came out saying leaving the EU is costing them $100 billion a year… wtf >
  
  Pretty much all of that can be written down to how badly the £ has been fucked over the past few years. 
  Nobody wants to even by British stocks anymore because even if the stock goes up 10% the currency will go down by 15%. 
  I honestly don't know what the government can do at this point to make people buy the £ again. It is like trying to sell a house that's on fire. 
  A lot of people are asking for salaries to increase. But it will only cause the £ to lose more of its value and cause the economy to drop even more. >
  
  I do enjoy noticing how botted Reddit is now. Bullshit Mr beast meme's and tweets yesterday had 60k+ updoots within hours and were stuck on my feed all day yet an actual mass movement has 7k after 13 hours and I'm just seeing it now >
  
  We should strike against skyrocketing corporate profits in all countries. >
  
  Can't wait to see how the government tries to blame this on the people 'not wanting to work'. >
  
  Funny how the MP's get their pay rises on time >
  
  Solidarity from the US!!!
  <3 >
  
  Watch out, SCOTUS is poised to make unions liable for whatever the company claims it's lost revenue was, essentially removing the right to strike. >
  
  Thats cause they forgot that a strike was the peaceful compromise. Violence is always an option. Prisons are already close to max capacity, people distrust the PD, just need the right match to set it off. >
  
  Obligatory fuck the Tory Parasite Party >
  
  Unregulated capitalism is trash. >
  
  Can us Americans start doing this for F*** sake. I’m tired of paying a fortune for groceries and other things needed for survival while still making my crap hourly rate. $40 an hour used to be something. Don’t know why it feels like I’m making minimum wage again. I have no clue how people who are making minimum wage are even still alive. RIP >
  
  Capitalism is what wrong >
  
  Need this in the US now. >
  
  You gotta pump those numbers up, those are rookie numbers. >
  
  
  “Of course, the best mitigation would be for union bosses to call off planned strikes, to keep talking and to come to an agreement.”
  
  Of course, of course... please maintain the status quo (i.e., padding your pockets while gutting public services). >
  
  Grind them into pulp, chaps. Workers are on the edge all over the world and we have nearly nothing to lose. Literally. >
  
  Respect! >
  
  The headline should add "the largest strike in the UK in 12 years because fuck the tory scum ruining this nation" >
  
  Meh, france did better. >
  
  They’ll just bring in workers from the EU! Oh wait…. >
  
  Godspeed to these people. >
  
  SOLIDARITY FOREVER INNIT >
  
  UK is being run by clowns. This is what happens when you focus on external politics instead of domestic needs >
  
  Take a lesson America 🫵 >
  
  Good for them!! More people all around the world should join in. Enough of the rich getting richer. It's time to start sharing all of these records profits with the people who actually did the real work. >
  
  Cost of living has gone crazy. Good on you! >
  
  Down with the Corrupt, immoral and incompetent Tory government >
  
  Now we see that UK workers, like French workers, have WAY BIGGER BALLS THAN AMERICAN ~~BOOTLICKERS~~ WORKERS. >
  
  Well tbh with such a shitty voting system it doesn't supprise me that so many people are unhappy with the government. People vote for political parties, but the voting system is the winner takes all and is only a local election lol. So yeah the majority is actually not represented in parlament. >
  
  500 000 with a million more on the way
  ^^^maybe  ^^^^brexit ^^^^^ya ^^^^^^know >
  
  What has Brexit got to do with people striking exactly? I know its an article about the UK so its literally impossible for people to not mention Brexit, but these strikes were coming regardless. >
  
  you just gotta take my word for it that throwing another molotov at a burning bus doesn't make it burn slower.
  especially if that molotov is the size of brexit. >
  
  Please highlight how striking workers is the fault of Brexit in any way. If you trot out inflation, the Eurozone is in a very similar state. If someone in the UK tripped over their shoe laces this sub would be banging on about Brexit. >
  
  Boy I sure hope Americans don't scoff at the news of both France and  Brittan having strikes. We just said "Fuck you" to unions with the potential rail strikes and it really hammers home how America will absolutely fuck over the worker in interest of profits. We allow ourselves to be this exploited and its its refreshing to see other countries not allow it, or at least fight it. Here, we seem to bend over and "yes sir, may I have less". >
  
  You might have to hold your breath, UK government is on the verge of making strikes illegal via their minimum service levels bill. >
  
  Guess they can end up just like us Americans - truthfully powerless.  
  "just get another job" they say. Oh if it were just THAT easy. >
  
  Me here looking from the US knowing idiots here won’t ever work together to strike en mass like this. >
  
  Wonder how many of these people voted in the Tories again.. >
  
  Largest strike - so far! 
  Can’t wait for this to blow over and start getting those Brexit benefits. 
  Any second now… >
  
  12 whole years. That's almost interesting! >
  
  cheering for you guys from the states 🤜 >
  
  Good luck to them. Let’s do the same here. >
  
  Woooooooooooooohoooooooooooooo >
  
  Yet they will still vote conservative next election. SAD ! >
  
  Fuck the Tories. I really hope the striking workers push these idiots out of power tomorrow >
  
  There should be a strike like this all over the world. >
  
  That sign… (inflation is caused by profits…) is very interesting and likely applies to the US as well.  A hammer must drop on major corporations state sponsored scalping of the public. >
  
  wishing them good luck
  billionaires and corporations have been takng wealth from the rest of the world for decades and more so in the last few years while the rest of the world became poorer. increase wage and provide better working conditions for the workers. >
  
  Brexit is the gift that keeps on giving. >
  
  This isn't down to Brexit, this is more the government refusing to actually offer anything significant to the people who are protesting.
  For example the NHS nurses have not seen a pay rise in line with inflation (or above) since 2010, the nurses at the beginning of this said they would not strike if the goverment would actually attend a meeting, the government didn't attend what started the strikes and now the nurses aren't going to stop, railworkers are more concerned about their employment conditions (I have family who work in the rail network and this is what they are telling me) but the news like to make everything about money, the rest are also on strike due to pay where they haven't seen much money invested into these sectors.
  The Tories haven't put any significant investments into the public sector for years, they claim they will every year they got voted in and never did, these strikes have been a long time coming way before brexit.
  The government instead of resolving these strikes through negotiations they are trying to pass laws where the government can decide the minimum service levels, in their words "these laws will prevent strikers causing disruption for normal people" what is absolutely idiotic because if that law was enacted the strikers would simply quit and the NHS and railway will be pushed more towards privatisation (a lot of speculation that is what the Tories want), also strikes is a fundamental for democracy.
  So yeah not much about Brexit, more about our government what can't admit they have fucked up over the course of years and refuse to accept they are wrong, they are doing the same around not speaking with the EU and trying to destroy every EU law even when every single economic / human rights adviser as warned against , they believe if they make a u-turn they will be destroyed what is likely true, they are just trying to cling to power as long as they can at this point. >
  
  
  these laws will prevent strikers causing disruption for normal people"
  
  Smooth brain move: make it illegal to endanger the patients, and thus any strike would endanger them. If you strike, your license is revoked. Worry because numbers studying the field immediately crater. >
  
  Roughly how it is in Canada. Nurses can't strike so their union has to get creative with how it negotiates. >
  
  And now Canada has such a huge shortage of medical workers that my friends in Canada are on years-long waiting lists to be treated for debilitating conditions. Shocking! >
  
  Yeah there's a lot to be fixed. 
  The shift in the labour market is creating a lot of problems and governments don't want to pay more to keep the staff they have. That coupled with the boomers moving to retirement and beyond will provide for a stressful next decade. >
  
  France: "Zes are rookie numbers. You have to, how do you say, pump zose numbers up" >
  
  This is nice and all, but what are the chances of this actually doing something? The Tories hold all the cards, their entire strategy is causing disasters for political points and they're going to be out in a few years, so they haven't much reason to try to placate the voters. I'm finding it hard to be positive about this strike. >
  
  I've been out on NHS picket lines, the amount of public support for workers is insane, I've never seen anything like it, even police are beeping as they go past. Even the relatively wealthy retired people I spend quite a lot of time working for have had enough. They are the ones who need most of the care and can't get it.
  Having said that the only way I can see this ending is in something close to a general strike to force an election. >
  
  The end will only come when economic conditions improve rather than with an election - inflation has historically driven strikes even under Labour (the strikes of the late 1970s being the most famous example). That party might have more constructive talks with the unions but talk only goes so far.
  Unfortunately a lot of the inflation is driven by things that have already been done. Low interest rates inflated the housing market until it could no longer absorb new money, Brexit has increased the price of trade, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been destructive to European and global supply chains, and most fundamentally the UK working age population is no longer growing while the retired population is. So there's a lot of things holding up demand and not much supporting supply. >
  
  The country will only improve when the people running it have a plan and desire to make things better, the current government is in a zombie parasite mode, it's only plan is to suck as much wealth out as possible before it dies.
  Every day without a new government that actually governs is extending the time it will take to recover. >
  
  I would broadly agree, though the first couple of years post-election will probably see the most unpopular/painful decisions needed for the recovery to be made.
  Politically, they will have a choice of focusing on their core vote or maintaining the margins - the Conservatives have tried the former but Labour seems to be set on the latter, and so far this is working electorally. >
  
  It's not going to be easy but once there are people in charge that actually want to do the job they can start getting to grips with the huge inefficiencies that have creapt in over years of a void in management and planning that has lead to staff firefighting day to day across the public services. 
  We need ministers and departments that want to run services for the public rather than ones who believe that public services are some kind of cancer. >
  
  I remember Brexit. >
  
  When are we doin this in US? >
  
  Profits drive inflation not wages is the key take away >
  
  Hard to have a lot of leverage in a shrinking economy. GDP has just barely returned to levels originally seen in 2005/2006. >
  
  Unemployment in the UK is under 4% and many of these jobs require significant education.  They absolutely have leverage. >
  
  I doubt they expected COVID-19 to happen right after Brexit. They had this "plan" that probably wouldn't have only partially worked but then the entire world stood still and then once things got moving again, the world faced extreme supply chain issues.
  Out of world wars and global depressions, they literally couldn't have picked a worse time in modern history. I'm sure EU doesn't mind it either.. suddenly people wanting to leave arent wanting to anymore.
  I suspect UK will request membership again, EU will toy with them a bit and then ultimately they'll be back in. It's like France with NATO, they left, thought "um, why did we do this again?" and then re-entered.
  This is why you should always think with one brain and not the other because the re-entering part becomes akward AF. "I thought you didn't want me and now you do? wtf James"
  Edit: France never fully left NATO, only a partial pullout, my bad. >
  
  
  I suspect UK will request membership again
  
  It'll never happen.
  Uk barely wanted to be in the EU with all the opt outs, special clauses etc. Theres no chance they are accepting full freedom of movement, the euro etc >
  
  As an outsider, they got you fighting over pennies. I see people in this thread fighting over modest wages. Begrudging their fellows tiny pay cheques and tiny pay increases.
  Every time you fight someone over their salary the masters win. People who don't even know what a pay cheque is are taking money from you and your government.
  It is the rich and powerful who are your enemy, not other wage workers making 'too much.' >
  
  The teachers strikes aren't even directly about pay as a whole. They are about 1/3 teachers leaving with 5 years on the job. They are about unqualified people being allowed to teach because the government can't get enough teachers in. They are about staff being asked to do more and more and more with fuck all in return. They are about the conditions where teachers get threatened by students and can't do anything about it. Unfortunately a lot of the media focus on the pay. >
  
  I read this title half asleep as bitcoins. >
  
  Brexit going well >
  
  man Brexit really changed my mind the EU. I used to think that it was an incompetent burning pile of shit... Wel I still think that's the case, but it could have been so much worse if my country left the union. >
  
  Britain is confused.
  Britain hurt itself in confusion. >
  
  Brokexit >
  
  Tories can't do capitalism >
  
  Now now, milking an organization you are in charge of dry and then bail, leaving some other schmuck holding the mess you made, is very much peak capitalist behavior. >
  
  Been meaning to ask…How’s Brexit going? >
  
  Pretty much as expected. >
  
  Well, half of us expected it... >
  
  Make the rich richer. Then it will trickle down. Simple. >
  
  They should march to Nigel Farage’s house and let him know just how well Brexit is going >
  
  Isn't striking illegal now in Britain? >
  
  Power to the unions! >
  
  I love civil disobedience. >
  
  Enough balls to do something about it.  Come on US, slackin' >
  
  Easier to do when your healthcare isnt connected to your employment
  Harder to risk your job if you have a sick family member who relies upon your employer health insurance >
  
  I see. Things are pretty messed up. >
  
  If only that would happen here in the US. I'd be so happy. >
  
  How can we do this in United States >
  
  Solidarity >
  
  We need politicians who will make it illegal to hire foreign workers to replace citizens for cheap labour >
  
  Is not like something like this hasn't happened when you let conservatives take over the government for too long. All of their plans are short term and normally they would be out by now to feel the consequences be linked to them. >
  
  If only we could muster the energy in the US to do this. >
  
  the craziest thing in all of this...a nursing union literally offered to postpone a strike if the Minister spoke with them... he refused to hold a simple conversation... so they've gone on strike. 
  ​
  That's how bad it is nowadays >
  
  Surely they can use that 350 Million GBP a week they aren't paying to the EU to employ more nurses /s >
  
  Just let the free market deal with it, eventually nurses will simply do it for the love of saving lives! >
  
  Or maybe every person employed by Rupert Murdoch . All the guys who work at his newspapers can fill in for the nurses . >
  
  Healing the sick with OUTRAGE! >
  
  You will see a General Strike before the government get to implement their anti-strike laws (that enable employers to sack employees striking, and enables employers to sue unions that do not follow the rules they haven't even put into writing when passing this law)
  The law also has a clause in it that enables the government to change it however which way they want without requiring parliamentary scrutiny. 
  The law passed through parliament the other day - tories that don't like it still voted for it anyway - so is now required to get through the Lords before it can be implemented (with the vague wording changed as per the aforementioned clause)
  Not satisfied with costing the nation tens of billions a year with Brexit, more tens of billions in corrupt contracts to their mates and yet more in tax evasion, they've now cost billions more this past year by refusing to talk to any unions. Their own ministers have openly stated that it would have saved money if they had negotiated with the unions. 
  The list of groups that have been on strike/partaken in strike-like actions in the last year:
  
  Postal Workers
  Train Drivers
  Underground workers
  Rail workers
  Bus drivers
  Doctors
  Nurses (first time in their history!)
  Ambulance service
  Emergency Services Call Handlers
  Fire Brigade
  Police (not allowed to strike but a few forces have done equivalents in the last year)
  Bin men
  Barristers and various court staff
  Civil Service generally
  Border Force
  Dock workers
  Teachers
  Care workers
  Airline workers (attendants etc)
  Airport workers (baggage handlers and others)
  Driving examiners
  University Staff - Lecturers, Librarians, admin staff and cleaners.
  Broadband/Telecoms engineers
  National Highways staff
  Rural Payments Agency
  Physiotherapists
  
  Truss branded strikers 'militants' - but I think this covers most of society that have access to a union at this point. Even Army bosses made a thinly veiled statement about using them to plug holes when they themselves haven't seen adequate pay rises and face big problems with treatment of personnel, pretty much stating that they would be striking too if they could.
  So, international viewers, who do you reckon are the problem? This cross-section of society, or the government? >
  
  As an international viewer i think Britain needs to stop voting tory >
  
  If you had a general election right now, Starmer (labour) would win by a landslide of Tony Blair proportions.  
  It’s not that Starmer is anywhere near as popular,‘it’s how badly the Torie a are viewed now.
  I mean when you’ve got people like Rod Stewart who has voted conservative his entire life, calling in to news stations to say it’s time for a labour government, you know the tories are screwed. >
  
  Wow, that would mean 32 more seats than even Blair’s massive landslide victory. 
  You have to go back 100 years to find any such landslide as 450 seats (1929). >
  
  And that majority has come down since Truss's disaster of a premiership. At one point predictions were being made that the SNP (a party that only runs in ~50 seats) would get more seats than the Tories and would be the official opposition. >
  
  Aaa. I remember the 70s strikes.  Good to see history repeating itself.  People get pissed off with everything eventually. >
  
  In Economics I was taught that in the 70s bin men strike was because they'd been given so many pay rises by the Labour government of the day that for the first time ever they could afford to strike.
  Thatcher came in, wiped out the money, and they didn't strike for over a decade.  They couldn't afford the time off any more. >
  
  Partly true, but the ban on secondary picketing and solidarity strikes also had a big effect. Part of the reason why they were so prone to striking in the 60s and 70s was that their absence was extremely visible and very costly. After it was banned, they couldn't cooperate with other trades and strikes in the same way, so their value in labour action dropped. >
  
  How do you make it illegal to strike, or more specifically why would anyone follow that law?
  isn't the "we out number you," civil disobedience the whole point? >
  
  It is illegal for the police, or army, to strike, for example.  They follow the law because they don't want to lose their jobs and have other penalties.
  You make it clear to them when they join the job.  
  Solidarity strikes and secondary picketing is when there is no problem with your job whatsoever, but you strike anyway because some other job doesn't pay enough and your mate Gary does that other job.  
  It's kinda' a 'We'll burn it all to the fucking ground, even companys/areas that have done absolutely 100% nothing wrong, IT'S ALL GOING TO BURN UNLESS YOU HELP OUT GARY' thing. >
  
  Sounds like a better world to live in.