Industrial relations – change needed

by danielbarker on 11 July, 2014

I’m getting de ja vu – we’ve all been here before. Some public sector workers go out on strike – the Government challenges whether the strike has widespread support and nothing changes. Strikers lose money. Any disruption hurts ordinary families more then the Government, and respect for teachers and public sector workers goes down. No-one gains. Everyone loses.

What is needed is change on both sides – a change in culture. Government needs to show it values the public sector. Yes, we are in a time of austerity, and the people whose money comes out of the public purse are an easy target. But as a public sector worker myself, I know that many people forego more affluent careers in the private sector because they want to work for the greater good. At a time when the Government needs help to achieve its goals, that kind of attitude should be rewarded. There’s an old expression – ‘if you pay peanuts you get monkeys’, and good government needs a willing workforce not a load of angry chimps!

However, a change is needed on the other side too. How can any government value the opinions of trade unionists when their leaders are actively backing the other side. If trade unions really want to help their members, they should be neutral when it comes to party politics. Only then will there be a willingness for both sides to talk and negotiate. Public sector workers’ lot will not improve from any more strikes – the days when Governments reacted to such action are long gone – but genuine dialogue may have more success.

There also needs to be a change in public opinion too. As long as right-wing newspapers attack civil servents and whip up an anti-public sector mood amongst members of the public, the civil service will be an easy target of central government cuts. We all want a prosperous country, so let’s stop attacking those who work in a different sector than ourselves. Why can’t we just live and let live?

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