On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 01:29:58 +0100, John Cartmell
wrote:

In article , Andy Hall
wrote:
There was a union, although I didn't join on principle - it wouldn't have
made any difference anyway because whoever it was was pretty toothless
anyway, and this was 1977-8 not 1979 and later.

This was at the time that the papers were telling you that the Unions had a
stranglehold everywhere and, on the strength of those lies, Thatcher got in
government.

Thatcher entered government because a majority of people voted for
members of her party. It is the British form of democracy.

The background was the incompetence of the previous government.


And BTW you benefitted from any negotiations that Union might have negotiated
regarding pay and conditions - and did so on the backs of those workers who
did join the Union and pay their subs.

I didn't benefit from any negotiations because none were had. Only a
few left wing activists joined the union and there was little interest
from most of my colleagues. Most took responsibility for themselves
and found much better jobs. The pay freeze probably did spur some who
wouldn't have otherwise done so into looking over the parapet.

Indirectly, I suppose that they could thank the government of the time
for creating the screwed up and artificial environment that forced
them to do so.



--

..andy

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