@The_Artful_Todger , That’s wot l sed Todger, ‘the leopard changes his
spots’ !
Your statement is so out of character ??
Donkeyman! 
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Maybe you misjudged my character? Or maybe this particular matter is so horribly skewed by this horrible government.
This strike is the first of many if this Government does not get its act together. It is so easy to blame the unions as people in the UK are used to it, expect it, and unfortunately many believe it.
They said the same in the 70’s and 80’s ‘It is the fault of the unions.’ However, The German and French unions were far more beligerent then and still are today but they still have their heavy industries, car maufacturing as well as a strong manufacturing base. So what was the difference? I see people getting fed up with low wages and short term contracts. No chance to buy a home or save for a decent pension. Our working hours are higher, holidays less, and state pension far lower than our EU friends. Why is that? Our EU friends have strong unions but they also have strong managers who can negotiate with the unions and get the job done. We are run by public school boys who have never left the playground.
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The quicker fully automated trains are common place the better.
meet the world’s first automatic train in hamburg by DB and siemens (designboom.com)
“Along with workers in France and in Europe, railway workers are sharply hit by exploding inflation, we must act to obtain wage increases,” the unions said in a joint statement.
Railway workers are joining a growing number of employees in sectors ranging from oil to airports, air transport and trucking who have called for pay rises to offset the rising cost of living and strikes to back their demands.
Workers at TotalEnergies’ (TTEF.PA) French oil refineries are striking on Friday. The company said it has taken steps to ensure its network of petrol stations and its clients are sufficiently supplied throughout the weekend.
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It’s all over Europe:
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@Socrates, Didn’t germany have worker/ management committees and
not unions as such in seventies Socrates ?
Where a couple of elected workers sat in at management board meetings
to discuss any changes the management wanted to make well in advance
of making them, this allowed workers some input into the best way to
implement these changes ??
This struck me as a better way to approach negotiations ??
Not sure what the French did though, but from what l remember they were
regarded as quite bolshie at that time!!
Maybe that is why Germany is the dominant manufacturing country we see
today ??
The unions in the seventies were the main reason for me emigrating
in 1976, they were interfering in my work, as l had difficulty gaining access
to to the premises of my bosses customers due to the closed shop policy
of the unions!!
Whilst l see the need for a union l also don’t believe they have the right to
force government policies or interfere with my right to work??
So l pissed off!!
Luckily before all the redundancies took place !!
Donkeyman! 
People keep going on about the UK and manufacturing, yes we might not do as much as we used to, but the UK manufacturing industry is still among the top 10 countries in the world. The way people talk it’s as if we do nothing.
We invent everything.
You are right, the Germans did have workers on the boards but they were still in the union and voted into position. The British management would not hear of it. Called it a stupid idea and what would common workers know about running a business?
The French just hit heads together until they reach agreement. But they still have all their manufacturing, especially their heavy engineering which feeds the rest of the economy. When a steel works is closed, there is a tidal wave of redundancies and closures of smaller businesses. The trades unions have for years promoted the idea of worker representatives on boards. Today, they try to ensure their businesses survive but are generally ignored. Like P&O and the Post Office. I see more strikes coming unless British management get out of the 1700s and into this century.
Who would have thought that pumping £400 billion+ as free money into the economy over 2 years while shutting it down at the same time would cause inflation and interest rate hikes ?
I mean, nobody would have thought “what happens to all that extra money in the economy when people go back to work?”
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@Socrates , Ah, thought l was ,
Yes, lthink you are right too, UK Management have taken things backwards
and treat workers like shyte now, lthink it’s because they are very rarely
owners anymore, but are business graduates with little knowledge of
the product or how to manufacture it??
Their focus is on the share price, the product is secondary, once they get
enough shareholders the money makes its self?
My old bosses used to take an interest in us and gave us assistance if
needed with relocation etc without us having to beg for it!!
I realise now how lucky l was!!
Your comment on P&0 and others was spot on !
Donkeyman!
@wendeey , Just read your link on manufacturing in the UK Wendee,
Whilst the figures quoted seem ok, l noticed that 25% and 17 % of
the total output was made up of transport and chemicals respectively ?
Transport is not really manufacturing is it ?
And chemicals can be anything from bulk fertiliser to petro chemicals
much of which is imported and reworked, and in the case of petro chemicals
value is added by heavy taxation??
However l was cheered up a bit by the numbers as compared world wide !!
So have a good day !!
Donkeyman!
I’d like to say, “Where Germany goes, the UK follows… eventually”. Hopefully.
Interesting. If things pan out today like they did then, I wonder if many people will emigrate to better climes again. The way the country is going, I could understand it.
May I ask where you emigrated to?
@JBR, ‘where did l emigrate to’? Rwanda of course! HA! HA! No only
joking!
It was South Africa, which at the time was in a state of rebellion
Donkeyman!
Do you regret coming back? Just curious, nosy.
@Cinderella ,‘do l regret coming back?’
Yeah , l didn’t know how far UK had regressed !!
But Donkeywoman is as happy as a pig in shyte !!
Donkeyman!
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I’m sure that would have been interesting.
Not a place I’d want to live in, though. Not with all those Zulus attacking with their spears.
@JBR No spears these days!
AK 47s and grenades !!
But twernt too bad once you learnt where to go and where not to !!
And yes, it was interesting !
Donkeyman ! 