O/T:- The NHS strike - for or against?

[slack_pie]

It always amazes me that people swallow Tory bull without questioning it. Why do you think giving pay rises to public sector workers will cause inflation? What will increase in price as a result?

Because the money has to come from somewhere. So that either means cuts elsewhere, higher taxes for you and me, or creating money out of thin air, which is what they did during COVID. They inflated the money supply to cover all the people forced out of work, which made everyone worse off. So, to answer your question as to what will increase in price as a result: everything.

If staff from the NHS, Royal Mail, or the railway networks get more money, everyone else will be less well off one way or another. The question is, why should these particular groups of people get preferential treatment during a time when everyone is suffering? Obviously the reason is because they have unions, which allow them to strong-arm the government by using the general public's suffering as leverage.

One more thing: don't we all agree to the terms and conditions of employment agreements when we sign them? Unless it is explicitly stated in a contract that pay will keep up with inflation, what legal right does an employee have to expect otherwise?

[Notts78]

Because the money has to come from somewhere. So that either means cuts elsewhere, higher taxes for you and me, or creating money out of thin air, which is what they did during COVID. They inflated the money supply to cover all the people forced out of work, which made everyone worse off. So, to answer your question as to what will increase in price as a result: everything.

If staff from the NHS, Royal Mail, or the railway networks get more money, everyone else will be less well off one way or another. The question is, why should these particular groups of people get preferential treatment during a time when everyone is suffering? Obviously the reason is because they have unions, which allow them to strong-arm the government by using the general public's suffering as leverage.

One more thing: don't we all agree to the terms and conditions of employment agreements when we sign them? Unless it is explicitly stated in a contract that pay will keep up with inflation, what legal right does an employee have to expect otherwise?

My point exactly. Nurses in the NHS know what they are signing up for. They know the pay. They know the hours and commitment needed. It’s not as though nurses are asked to work 60 hours a week and are not paid appropriately - they are. They are paid a basic. They are paid extra for nights, Saturday pay and Sunday pay. They are also paid overtime. They get paid for the hours they put in. And if over time etc is not available, they can do banked (agency) work for the NHS. I don’t buy in to this can’t afford to live BS… you often hear that nurses/doctors work all the hours possible, sometimes without a break. So what are they spending there money on?

My view is that the NHS is on its knees. If NHS staff are successful and get the demands they want, at what cost? They might be better off but the rest of us will be picking up the tab. The NHS is at a point that’s unsustainable and as such is ripe to be fully privatised or at least in part. Then what?

Nurses etc need to be careful what they wish for.

[Elite_Pie]

My point exactly. Nurses in the NHS know what they are signing up for. They know the pay. They know the hours and commitment needed. It’s not as though nurses are asked to work 60 hours a week and are not paid appropriately - they are. They are paid a basic. They are paid extra for nights, Saturday pay and Sunday pay. They are also paid overtime. They get paid for the hours they put in.

That is just not true. Firstly, nurses didn't sign up to be understaffed. It's happening more and more, and it's the main reason so many are leaving the profession. They are being put in a position where they can't do the job they signed up to do because they are often trying to do two jobs. And if you think they get paid for the hours they put in, you are living in cloud cuckoo land. I'll give you a real example when I get time.