Minimal cover during strikes in essential public services needs to be legislated

[patslatt]

With looming strikes threatening services of airports,buses,Bord Gais and Bord Na Mona,the government needs to legislate for reasonable cover on essential public services as France has done under Sarkozy. Rules need to be set out on how minimal cover would be provided during a strike at the discretion of government ministers. Penalties for non-compliance should include draconian fines on both unions and union leaders who defy the legislation and in the case of persistent defiance,criminal sanctions.

The strike weapon in essential public services would be a throwback to the 1970s era of strikes driven by destabilising inflation in Ireland and the UK and by elements of social class division,particularly in the UK. The use of such vicious strikes by permanent,pensionable public servants can not be justified on the grounds of social and economic injustices.

The trade unions leaders who try on such strikes to drag the country back into the 1970s will find no public support from today's predominantly middle class society in which even many or most people in working class occupations subscribe to middle class life styles.

[PhoenixIreland]

Most of the public service is "middle class" (in the shallow cultural sense that your using the term) and those "lifestyles" your talking about are under threat from govt policies.

I agree minimum cover should be provided during strikes though, Social Welfare offices striking was downright moronic.

[FutureTaoiseach]

Agreed. We cannot have a gun constantly held to our heads. That's largely what got us into this mess to begin with.

[feargach]

... by permanent,pensionable public servants can not be...

Very clever divide & rule tactic, this.

Using the terrible economic insecurity of some private sector workers as a weapon with which to deprive ALL workers, private and public alike, of the benefits of solidarity and collective bargaining.

Nasty, but brilliant! Very smart Machiavellian strategy. Turn half your enemy's army against its other half and you win the whole battle (and massacre every last enemy regardless of which side they took in the fratricidal dispute).

[absconded]

Eh???????
Have I been reading posts where people have been saying that PS workers are useless?
Well, lets see how many of them pop up here and recommend legislation that they (PS)can´t strike.

[PhoenixIreland]

Ban striking? a bit harsh isn't it?...Leo is that you?

[MortgageBroker]

I'd rather see the public sector workers just cop on and not strike.

actually, what we should do is let people bid on their jobs, if somebody on the dole has the skill to do their job and is willing to do it for €20,000 less then why shouldn't they have a fair shot at doing that work? Opening the PS workforce to ACTUAL competition? Now that would get you a strike!