Now -read the book!

Here is a link to my memoirs which, if you are a glutton for punishment, you can purchase online at https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/an-obscure-footnote-in-trade-union-history.
Men fight and lose the battle, and the thing that they fought for comes about in spite of their defeat, and when it comes turns out not to be what they meant, and other men have to fight for what they meant under another name. (William Morris - A Dream of John Ball)

Sunday, June 29, 2014

National strike action is worth it

One advantage of being somewhat long in the tooth is that I remember things. I remember, for example, explaining more than six years ago how it was only national strike action which had ever lifted local government pay settlements above the private sector average during my working lifetime.

This is a compelling argument to persuade UNISON members (and potential members!), as well as fellow trade unionists, to support the strike action called for Thursday 10 July. Whilst we might wish that all members would respond to a strike call with loyalty to collectivism, we have to appreciate that we need also to make the case to individuals motivated by self-interest.

Even if all we gained through national strike action was an additional 1% pay increase, and if that took three days of strike action, the loss which we suffered would be recouped within a year (for those whose employers deducted 1/365th of annual salary for each day of action) or eighteen months (for those facing 1/260th deductions). Thereafter, for the remainder of each worker’s career, we would be better off – and the incremental increase in our pay would add to our pension (and enhance the weekly earnings upon which any redundancy payment would one day be based).

Clearly we are not striking for such a miserly increase – but for our claim for a flat rate increase to achieve the living wage for all local government workers – and the correct decision of the National Joint Council Committee to identify the need for two further days of action in September if the employers do not shift significantly after 10 July demonstrates that we (or at least our elected lay leadership at sector level) don’t intend to repeat the experience of November 2011.

A single day of action is a recruitment drive. A sustained programme of action is a serious attempt to raise the living standards of our members and potential members. The former cannot be repeated time and again and remain effective. The latter is what we need.

It is not easy to persuade members to take strike action.

Whatever anger our members feel about austerity it has not led, and does not lead of itself, to a willingness to strike. We need to offer each member a persuasive “cost-benefit analysis” to persuade them that the loss involved in taking strike action is worth it because we have a credible strategy to more than make up for that loss.


The historical evidence is that well supported national strike action by local government workers delivers increases in national pay rates for local government workers.

3 comments:

treborc said...

Which is interesting when you hear labour now saying that if they get back in they will increase the Min wage to a living wage in maybe five or more years to give employers the chance to get ready.

In other words look we are in austerity and the Tories are winning the battle to look better then a labour party. So here it is the living wage five or six years, but we will start to up the min wage a bit in the mean time.


I agree with you national strikes do work they have in the past, but they can take longer then three days and you know this, they can take months before the government will say OK. sadly you will have people or as we called them scabs who break your will by basically returning to work. I've seen it so often in the past with teachers and councils.

Anonymous said...

All civil servants should serve at least ten years self employed before applying for a government supported job and then maybe, just maybe they would appreciate what they've got!
Get back to work like the rest of us who don't get holiday pay, sickness pay, maternity leave and a guaranteed pension and pay cheque. You are very fortunate and don't forget it.

Jon Rogers said...

To the anonymous petit-bourgeois, I can only assume you are a spoof intended to caricature the limited comprehension of self-interest brought on by reading the Daily Mail. Were you not, I would point out that the interests of the self-employed would best be served by an increase in living standards of ALL working people boosting aggregate demand. I suggest you study economics.