Why strike?
With the RMT going on strike and most of the tube not running (lucky for me the Jubilee line and the national rail is unaffected), once again I’m wondering why people strike in the first place.
I went on strike, once, for one day. It was when I was in the Public Sector, and my job was Internet Manager. The site I was responsible for stayed up, people connected, read information and no one was really inconvenienced or injured. I didn’t get the point of going on strike then, and I don’t get the point of going on strike now. But I was under worked and underpaid (relative to the people around me) and could use a day off, so I took it.
I get the point that sometimes a work force has a problem with management and how management’s running things. But surely there has to be a better way to solve an issue then to flex your muscles and hurt a bunch of people who have nothing to do with the disagreement. No one wins in an action like this, and the costumer, tax payer or whoever is dependent on whatever service loses, and loses big.
I think the final step in a failed negotiation between a work force and management should be independent arbitration rather then workplace action. This should be the case specifically and especially in areas where so many people depend on services running well – like healthcare, education, safety and transport
