The UK government made changes about 5-6 years ago so that people no longer paid their union subs (for central government or the wider public sector workers) through deductions by their employer.
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Heās obviously having fun at the expense of TANās very own Ayn Rand 
No.
Never ran a business have you.
You miss the entire point of strike action.
The point is to use the withdrawal of labour to create disruption and inconvenience, thus highlighting the importance of that labour and of valuing it.
Have you been inconvenienced by a strike? Good, itās done itās job. Get on to you MP and tell them to give these essential workers a fair wage and conditions that donāt break them.
Itās like saying by all mean have your protest but do it over there where no-one can see you.
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Interesting that the Tories take all the flak, yet SNP and Labour hold the purse strings for public sector pay rises in Scotland and Wales respectively
The rail industry in Scotland and Wales has seen pay rises implemented without the need for any strike action or disruption.
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Scotland and Wales have to manage budgets that have been kindly given to them by England via the Barnett formula which is not fit for purpose.
Devolution then allows these governments enough rope to essentially hang themselves using the very same argument you have just used.
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I guess most of us in this thread are based in England? I dont know much about the scottish or welsh pay offers ( or who pays for much of its infrastructure) - i thought they were generally higher than those in England but still deeply below inflation.
Its perhaps more complicated for Scotland and Wales as they rely on funding from Westminster.
One of the issues with the Tories in particular has been its has intervened in pay discussions with rail workers to block pay rises which i dint think the other home nations have done.
normally done by announcement in advance of a deadline to come to an agreement, while negotiating a CBA. a binding contract between two parties over a term usually 2-5 years.
by not announcing a strike of school staff and leaving families on the hook for their childrenās care when they are supposed to be in the classroom may be āhighlighting the importance of labourā but theyāre not showing their value by alienating the parentās who pay their taxes which go to their wagesā¦
Not giving the Tories a free pass by any means, and Iām aware where the money comes from for devolved parliaments.
Speaking solely about Scotland here, free prescriptions for everyone, free bus/train travel for so many, and free university tuition all come way lower in priority to paying key public sector workers wages they can actually live on.
Just for the avoidance of any doubt, the teaching union NEU announced they would be striking on the 16th of January. They did not drop this on parents with a dayās notice.
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They have also announced 3 dates in March I think
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Do you know how often you say that about me? I miss the entire point? No, I just donāt agree with your point.
Feb 28th and two in March the other half told me.
Edit: Looks like the 28th is a regional one, with other regional strikes taking place on the 1st and 2nd of March. Two national strikes later in the month.
Iād argue thereās real benefits to all of those things and also give people the wage they deserve. The SNP or Welsh Labour arenāt perfect by any means in delivering cash to the front line as it were but I do think the system is deliberately tilted against them.
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Then weāll agree to disagree.
Guaranteed to be the first things to go if Jimmy Krankie ever wins her battle for independence
As a tax payer I blame the government for not spending enough of my taxes on key public sector workers or the infrastructure they work in. Iām sure many other tax payers will have similar thoughts.
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No problem but I am struggling with your argument a bit. On one hand youāre criticising the Scottish government for giving these things free of charge to people but on the other stating the Scottish government will remove them if they get independence. That doesnāt quite link up in my mind.
That said Iād agree that there would be some big challenges should Scotland gain independence. Iād personally applaud them for it.
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