Airport staff on 48hrs strike from 23rd DEC

BigBearKris

Just read the news - 14 airports will have their staff on strike for two days during Xmas. 
Luckily, I've decided not to book any flights for this year as I'm spending it at home in Bournemouth, but I have family abroad and was seriously considering a Xmas visit this year. Horrendous ticket prices, Christmas traffic around London airports and then this? I would go mental. 
I also remember when UK airports went paralysed because of snow one year for xmas too. Absolute laugh (for world standards that is).

paul_c2

Is it because the pilots now have to close the doors?

Adam_MD

Mrs_MD and I are supposed to be flying to N Ireland to see my parents on 23rd so I'm quite worried about this.  

BigBearKris

Hope you'll get there all right. Which lines?

Adam_MD

We're supposed to be flying from Birmingham to Belfast with Flybe.  Unfortunately Birmingham will be one of the worst affected as their entire check in, baggage staff work for Swissport who are the company going on strike.  I'm going to see if Flybe will move us to a flight on Thursday night instead. 

thomasross20

Is it over pay? 

Axe_meister

Shit we have my sister in law and kids flying in from Oz on Boxing day

JezWynd

It's getting like Thatcher never happened.

Adam_MD

thomasross20 said:

Is it over pay? 

Yes their pay rises over the last 3 years have apparently been under the level of inflation however I haven't had a pay rise in 3 years either so I don't have a lot of sympathy for them.

stickyfiddle

Massive sympathy for everyone getting stuffed on pay rises but that doesn't meant here's miraculously more money to go around. Striking at Christmas makes them a bunch of cunts. 

Handsome_Chris

Adam_MD said:

thomasross20 said:

Is it over pay? 

Yes their pay rises over the last 3 years have apparently been under the level of inflation however I haven't had a pay rise in 3 years either so I don't have a lot of sympathy for them.

This is an excellent example of how the lower classes are kept low paid.  If you can get the middle classes and lower to argue amongst themselves it saves the rich a job.  

I received a letter from an employer saying that we should not receive a pay rise as other public sector workers such as the firefighters, police , doctors and nurses have not had a rise.  When I showed this to a firefighter friend of mine he pointed out that that argument was not valid ( @Sporky I'm sure this is a fallacy, I can't pin down which one).  

To put it one way:

. The police ask for a pay rise, and back down because they are told that the nurses, doctors and firefighters have not had a raise.

. The nurses and doctors ask for a pay rise , and back down because they are told that police and firefighters have not had a rise.

. The firefighters ask for a pay rise, and back down because they are told that the nurses, doctors and the police have not had a raise.

And the circle goes on. (is this circular reasoning?)

It is playing people off against each other.  It is an obvious tactic to keep people down rather than raise them up.

Buying into this thinking us what keeps the top 1% at the top.  In fact if you are getting a pay rise in line with inflation then your pay is not buying you any more than it did before.

 @Adam_MD , I kinda get where you're coming from as your money over the past three years has become worth less. In reality you are taking a pay cut because you wage/salary is buying you less than it did the previous year.  I can see why you resent other people trying to get what may be perceived as a wage hike.

mellowsun

I can't see the point about striking over a pay rise. If you want more money, work for someone else or in a different industry. Unless you are really out of options or it is a matter of fairness, e.g. I support cleaners at the Houses of Parliament striking over not receiving a living wage.

Sporky

Handsome_Chris said:

I received a letter from an employer saying that we should not receive a pay rise as other public sector workers such as the firefighters, police , doctors and nurses have not had a rise.  When I showed this to a firefighter friend of mine he pointed out that that argument was not valid ( @Sporky I'm sure this is a fallacy, I can't pin down which one).  

I believe it is an informal fallacy - specifically a hasty generalisation. If X is true for A, and X is true for B, X "must" be true for C, D, E and so on.

mellowsun said:

I can't see the point about striking over a pay rise. If you want more money, work for someone else or in a different industry. Unless you are really out of options

I suspect for a lot of people they are (or feel they are) out of options.

Adam_MD

Handsome_Chris said:

 @Adam_MD , I kinda get where you're coming from as your money over the past three years has become worth less. In reality you are taking a pay cut because you wage/salary is buying you less than it did the previous year.  I can see why you resent other people trying to get what may be perceived as a wage hike.

@Handsome_Chris I honestly don't resent anyone trying to get a pay rise I really don't.  What I do resent is someone stopping me seeing my family when I haven't seen them in over a year.  After talking to Flybe they might not refund my flights because it's Swissport staff who are striking not Flybe staff and it's not like Swissport will refund me any money when I haven't paid them anything.  

I get them striking to hurt Swissport but it's also going to hurt thousands of other people who may be in the same situation or worse than they they are which is what I meant by my comment that I haven't had a pay rise in three years either.

I'm currently job hunting as I'm not happy with my current situation and want a pay rise but I'm not hurting other people to get it.

sorry for the rant.  

Handsome_Chris

@Adam_MD , I totally get your frustration with the situation, if it were happening to me I'd be raging.  

The thing is that strike action, despite a lot of misbelief stated on this forum, is the last act. In my experience things have had to really have gone wrong for it to get to that stage.  Also in my experience, the offers made were misreported by the red tops. I believe that this was deliberately done by them to generate sales , if not to create fear and panic.