[B]Thousands of Home Office staff will strike the day before the Olympics open, the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has said.
[/B]PCS members will strike for 24 hours next Thursday - when many thousands of visitors are due to arrive in the UK.
Home Secretary Theresa May said the action was "shameful" as it threatens disruption to people travelling to London for the Games.
Immigration minister Damian Green said contingency plans were in place.
[B]East Midlands Trains staff have also voted to strike during the Olympics.[/B]
[B]PCS union members will take other forms of action from July 27 to August 20, including working-to-rule and an overtime ban.
[/B]The PCS said 57.2% of those who voted backed strike action - the turnout was 20%.
The action will involve staff across the Home Office, including the UK Border Agency, the Identity and Passport Service and Criminal Records Bureau.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka told the BBC: "[B]I think the government is whipping up hysteria about the Olympics, there'll be no disruption to the Olympics[/B], this is a 24-hour strike before the Olympics actually takes place."
He said he was prepared to meet the culture secretary and home secretary any time in the next week to avert a strike but if they kept their "heads in the sand" the strike would continue.
Mr Hunt said the union's behaviour was "[B]totally irresponsible... To threaten us in this way is totally inappropriate.
"To suggest that it won't cause disruption is so extraordinary that it completely beggars belief."
[/B]London Mayor Boris Johnson has said he does not think the union will succeed in disrupting the Olympics and the majority of PCS members want to put on a great Games.
Immigration minister Mr Green said: "[B]If this strike goes ahead it will be a selfish and irresponsible act by the union leadership, they have got no authority for this[/B], only about a fifth of the membership voted in the ballot, and of that small minority only just over half want to go on strike."
Mr Green said he was confident disruption at immigration desks could be minimised because extra staff from the Home Office and other departments had been trained to provide cover.
Mrs May condemned the action saying: "I think that is shameful, frankly. They are holding a strike on what is one of the key days for people coming in for the Olympic Games.
"We will of course put contingency arrangements in place to ensure we can deal with people coming through the border as smoothly as possible."
John Cridland, director general of the Confederation of British Industries, said: "For PCS to go on strike on this key day beggars belief. For it to happen because of a vote by 11% of staff is simply outrageous."
But Labour MP John McDonnell, who chairs the PCS Parliamentary Group, said: "[B]the government has brought this dispute on its own head[/B]".[B]
East Midlands Trains drivers from the union Aslef plan to strike on 6-8 August in a row over pensions[/B]. But South West Trains staff have voted not to strike over the Olympics.[B]
Prime Minister David Cameron insisted the Olympics would be safe and secure.[/B]
Labour leader Ed Miliband also condemned the strike.
The PCS is in dispute with the Home Office on plans to cut 8,500 jobs and the threat of compulsory redundancies in the passport office in Newport, South Wales.
[URL]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18912742[/URL]
Why not just give the workers a livable wage and be done with it?
[QUOTE=DamagePoint;36841378]Why not just give the workers a livable wage and be done with it?[/QUOTE]
[video=youtube;JoYWdHe4tQ4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoYWdHe4tQ4[/video]
[QUOTE=DamagePoint;36841378]Why not just give the workers a livable wage and be done with it?[/QUOTE]
They strike at least 5 times a year. It's pathetic.
The unions here are greedy bastards, I heard that they're paying the underground train operators £50,000 not to stike when they already get paid way too much for what they do.
[QUOTE=AK'z;36841406]They strike at least 5 times a year. It's pathetic.[/QUOTE]
So they're just being greedy dicks then?
[QUOTE=DamagePoint;36841497]So they're just being greedy dicks then?[/QUOTE]
Unless they're being payed the minimum wage or less then they have no real reason to complain. They're just holding the Olympics hostage to try and get a pay rise.
[QUOTE=carcarcargo;36841649]Unless they're being payed the minimum wage or less then they have no real reason to complain. They're just holding the Olympics hostage to try and get a pay rise.[/QUOTE]
Transport workers get paid a LOT, they're just being cunts. They have easy as shit jobs too.
[QUOTE=DamagePoint;36841378]Why not just give the workers a livable wage and be done with it?[/QUOTE]
union leaders over here typically make 10x as much as their cronies, it's usually a case of the lowly union workers not realizing that they're being exploited for their cunt union bosses
[QUOTE=AK'z;36841810]Transport workers get paid a LOT, they're just being cunts. They have easy as shit jobs too.[/QUOTE]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UymKurTBdhw[/media]
They strike on important events because they know its the only time the government will listen to them. To think defending workers rights is shameful, the worst thing is people are actually supporting the government on it.
oh come on who wasn't expecting this to happen?
People don't seem to realise that strikes aren't meant to be convenient for everyone.
I hope they'll succeed.
Though i doubt it,politicians these days wouldn't give a fuck if 90% would go on a strike,they would just wait it out...
[QUOTE=Vasili;36841859]They strike on important events because they know its the only time the government will listen to them. To think defending workers rights is shameful, the worst thing is people are actually supporting the government on it.[/QUOTE]
Yeah. They're not "greedy fucks", what they're doing is reasonable. What's the point in going on strike when nobody gives a shit? If you're gonna strike, which they are entitled to, they may as well make it count.
"a selfish and irresponsible act by the union leadership" Hahahaha... I guess the government would know all about shameless and irresponsible acts.
Things aren't looking very fun in the UK lately.
Riots, a diamond jubilee celebration that went wrong, rampant debt and unemployment.
And now you guys get the Olympics, and everything was already going bad several months before the games actually start.
Yeah Theresa May is laughable
This isn't "worker's rights". This is "worker's luxuries". You have the right to a safe work space. You have the right to get paid a decent wage. You have the right to feel free from sexual, racial, or religious discrimination or harassment.
You do not have the right to whatever wage you want. I'm not saying the strikes are necessarily wrong, they are certainly legally entitled to strike. However, to say they are fighting for their rights is inaccurate, when their rights are already accounted for in their work.
[QUOTE=znk666;36842092]I hope they'll succeed.
Though i doubt it,politicians these days wouldn't give a fuck if 90% would go on a strike,they would just wait it out...[/QUOTE]
While I'm certainly no fan of the Tories, as I'm sure some are well aware of, people aren't entitled to a raise just because they strike, if they're being payed enough to live perfectly well on then I see no reason for them to get a raise.
[QUOTE=carcarcargo;36842896]While I'm certainly no fan of the Tories, as I'm sure some are well aware of, people aren't entitled to a raise just because they strike, if they're being payed enough to live perfectly well on then I see no reason for them to get a raise.[/QUOTE]
Paying them more could also put a strain on everyone. Money doesn't just come from nowhere, it has to be taxed and budgeted. By increasing the wage of certain workers you are lowering the relative amount of money that can be budgeted for welfare or other social programs. There is a limit on how much of a deficit a country can run, and how high the taxes can be, before the economy begins to falter.
This may not apply, I'm no expert in the UK or how much leeway they have to spend their money. However, it is something to keep in mind when people are pounding on the doors demanding higher wages.
I don't get why people here are a-okay with CEO's making up to 343 times more money then regular employees, but god forsake employees demand a better pay. Yes they should want more money it is only fucking normal, there is a thing called inflation people and it makes your pay worth less and less every year.
[QUOTE=DamagePoint;36841378]Why not just give the workers a livable wage and be done with it?[/QUOTE]
This has nothing to do with wages, this is about pensions. The public sector is just pissed off that they are on the receiving end of something that the private sector experienced 5-10 years ago. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I believe its about the final salary pensions which just isn't sustainable.
[QUOTE=Negrul1;36842500]Yeah. They're not "greedy fucks", what they're doing is reasonable. What's the point in going on strike when nobody gives a shit? If you're gonna strike, which they are entitled to, they may as well make it count.[/QUOTE]
If Unions in the UK are anything like Unions in the US (and most of the posts in this thread suggest they are), then yeah they're just being greedy and trying to cause a huge mess. And I would call it pretty shameful.
[QUOTE=asteroidrules;36846256]If Unions in the UK are anything like Unions in the US (and most of the posts in this thread suggest they are), then yeah they're just being greedy and trying to cause a huge mess. And I would call it pretty shameful.[/QUOTE]
From what I understand, Unions in the UK aren't like unions in the US, they're ten times worse.
London is going to get fucked up, theres no way it has the infrastructure to survive all the people here for the olympics.
It barely manages with everyday traffic, with workers on strike and tourists combined its going to be a mess. I'm just glad I live in the countryside.
[QUOTE=AK'z;36841406]They strike at least 5 times a year. It's pathetic.[/QUOTE]
I see no reason to disagree since they were on strike UNANNOUNCED last month.
[QUOTE=Jsm;36846119]This has nothing to do with wages, this is about pensions. The public sector is just pissed off that they are on the receiving end of something that the private sector experienced 5-10 years ago. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I believe its about the final salary pensions which just isn't sustainable.[/QUOTE]
The PCS strike is over people being laid off and compulsory redundancies, if you read the story, not pensions.
[QUOTE=asteroidrules;36846256]If Unions in the UK are anything like Unions in the US (and most of the posts in this thread suggest they are), then yeah they're just being greedy and trying to cause a huge mess. And I would call it pretty shameful.[/QUOTE]
unions in the UK are way more powerful than in the USA
the labour party and the unions are joined at the hip
this is borderline extortionate
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