Brendan Burgess
Founder
- Messages
- 53,071
Back in the 19th Century when there was no legislation protecting employees and they could be dismissed at will or locked out as a group, the ability to strike gave the workers some bargaining power.
But do we really need strikes now?
Employees are very well protected by a raft of legislation including Unfair Dismissals, anti-discrimination measures, etc.
Civil disputes in all other areas are resolved by some independent party - a court, an ombudsman or planning authority.
Why do we not have an independent body that decides on industrial disputes?
The employees want 30%. The employer doesn't want to pay anything. The arbitrator decides: 10%. As in any dispute, one side will not be happy with the outcome but it protects consumers.
The employees have the upper hand anyway. If they are not happy with the pay award, they can switch jobs. The employers can't decide to dismiss them and hire cheaper employees.
Brendan
But do we really need strikes now?
Employees are very well protected by a raft of legislation including Unfair Dismissals, anti-discrimination measures, etc.
Civil disputes in all other areas are resolved by some independent party - a court, an ombudsman or planning authority.
Why do we not have an independent body that decides on industrial disputes?
The employees want 30%. The employer doesn't want to pay anything. The arbitrator decides: 10%. As in any dispute, one side will not be happy with the outcome but it protects consumers.
The employees have the upper hand anyway. If they are not happy with the pay award, they can switch jobs. The employers can't decide to dismiss them and hire cheaper employees.
Brendan