Got To Pock A Picket Or Two

Braise Pe to Spooner (well sort of)

Yesterday was the first of a two day Unison Local Government Strike. Indulge me a moment for a dose of Trade Unionism......

• The strike is against the pitiful pay offer of 2.4 % by the Local Authority employers. With the current rates of Inflation this is simply a pay cut. The Government and ourselves dispute the rate of inflation. They use a the CPI (Consumer Price Index) figure, which this week is 3.8 %. This is a disputed measure as it does not include Mortgage payments, but does include such staples of life such as ipods. We use the RPI (Retail Price Index) which is now 4.6 %. This is a more inclusive rate including mortgages and fuel and stuff people actually need.


• The truth is for lower paid workers neither of these figures is accurate. The lower paid you are the larger percentage of your income is spent on essentials like food and fuel, which have increased dramatically so the real effect of inflation is much higher.


• The Government will try and make the point that Public Sector pay rises fuel inflation. No serious economists believe that paying Cleaners, Classroom Assistants and many other similar staff an appropriate living wage boosts inflation. The massive City Bonuses certainly do. After all Public Sector pay has had year on year below inflation settlement, but inflation has still risen. The current inflationary pressure is clearly due to global market pressures, particularly oil prices .

Preaching Over ....(well until my next post)

Anyway although the NHS isn't part of this action, I wanted to show some solidarity with our colleagues so I took a days leave and became A Blogger in Search of a Picket Line. I bedecked my car with a Strike poster in the side window and Unison flag across the parcel shelf. I set off around North Staffs, starting with the Moorlands town of Leek. Sadly I missed the picket at the civic offices who had moved on elsewhere. My next miss was due west where again at Newcastle Civic centre the successful picketers had relocated. Eventually I found my quarry` in Stoke town centre (yes I know Stoke on Trent's a city, but Stoke itself is a town. Its too complicated and dull to explain). So I stood shoulder to shoulder with my brothers and sisters in the consistent July drizzle, waving at the passing peeping motorists. Well the others waved I seemed to respond with a bizarre and probably inappropriate raised clenched fist. It felt good to be just a little part of this action. I just hope it is effective ....and did I Pock the Picket...well, that would be telling