Civil Servants Strike for Fair Pay for All

Chris | 30.01.2004 09:55 | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | Sheffield

Government offices across the country were picketed for a second day today in a dispute over low pay.

Fair Pay For All

Strikers were cold but in a good mood on the picket lines outside the Sheffield Crown Court today. Postal workers refused to cross their picket lines yesterday and they expected the same today. These workers are taking stike action because they feel they have no alternative since the Government has not done aything to address the terrible low pay in the Civil Service.

There is a report on the strike action yesterday on the PCS web site:

http://www.pcs.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=887480

Chris

Comments

Hide the following 12 comments

An example

30.01.2004 10:22

I see references to "low pay" in the Civil Service. Could we know some examples, I ask because my sister is a Civil Servant and I'm aware she is resonably paid for what she does and the hours she works. Perhaps one should accept the trade off ?

Dave

shocking behaviour

30.01.2004 10:48

Every day thousands of people just blindly go ahead with actions, strikes, meetings etc without explaining or clearing them with Dave first.. how arrogant of us all!

;-)

Too difficult ?

30.01.2004 11:07

I'm sorry you didn't understand my question. Let me put another way.

In what way are these Civil Servants low paid when we consider the working hours, pension benefits and job security they enjoy. My sister thinks this is a fair trade. Is she alone ?
As a Farmer I earn more than her (in a good year) but with no pension, fringe benefits (beyond the joy of working on the land) and litle if any job security. The point I was making is that perhaps these civil servants are not as bad off as they think.

Dave

And there we have it, yer honour

30.01.2004 11:58

Dave is a farmer - one of the most reactionary classes of society. Suddenly all of your little interventions become clear.

And by the way - when I was a civil servant in York in 1998-2000 I earnt £8,660 a year - that's low pay mate. I understand that even now there are people in London earning little more than £10,000 a year - that's low pay mate.

It doesn't matter how good your hours are (37 a week - seems reasonable) or if you get paid holidays (wow!) if you can't afford to get a house or pay your bills.

Now get back to fleecing us all through CAP and pouring chemicals on to fields, you son of the soil.

Lord Hutton

Yes a farmer !!

30.01.2004 12:38

Yes I'm a farmer, an organic one for 22 years so no chemicals on my land. CAP money ? Don't make me laugh, you clearly don't know much about farming. It may suit your views to imagine us as toffs in Range Rovers raking in EU money while mistreating our animals but the reality is very different. Some examples ?

80% of my output is sold through a co-operative farmers' market to local working people

I marched with CND (before finding out the real facts about them)

I sit on the local Parish council where real change is achieved for local people, I no longer waste my time with ill informed, ignorant, prejuiced "activists" who love a march but don't want to do the hard work that really makes a difference to those who need it.

I think of foxes the way you do rats, (ever put a trap or poison down ?)

I'm working class and always will be

Dave

Fair pay?

30.01.2004 13:15

The problem with the discussion above stems from the very concept of 'fair pay' - as all workers are exploited (and without knowing more about Dave the farmer we don't know if he is a worker or not) and fair pay cannot be attained. Indeed all pay disputs achieve in the current climate is to prevent pay levels from falling too far. As for low pay, well no worker I've ever met has been rich or even well paid, as they do not get the full fruits of their labour. We should support the civil servants in dispute but not foster leftist illusions in 'fair pay'.

Ricky

Pay Figures

30.01.2004 13:41

I don't have any actual figures but I did give some Sheffield IMC flyers to the pickets and pointed out that they could post comments on this site so perhaps we will hear direct from them :-)

One picket told be that he had been working for the Crown Court for a long time (10 or more years I think) and when he was chatting with a postman yesterday it turned out that after 2 years of working on the post you earn more than at least one civil servant who has been there for a long time...

Chris

Photos fron London

30.01.2004 13:56

There are some great photos of the strike from London here:

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/01/284649.html

Chris

fair pay for what?

30.01.2004 14:21

are these not the same people who help implament the anti working class laws?

mozaz

mozaz

O no !

30.01.2004 14:40

Indeed they are. Will you still support them now ? Or are they tools of the state who deserve their pay ?

Dave

Better off than me

30.01.2004 15:13

The civil servants themsleves are npt that badly payed plus they get the pensions etc. However a lot of civil service work is contracted out. There are no pensions little sick pay and you get messed around a lot. The pay itself is just above minimum wage and you get shitted on by all the holier than thou civil servants.

Dobbs

Dobbs ...

31.01.2004 11:46

Perhaps then, Dobbs, you should organise and go on strike to get better conditions instead of insulting other groups of workers?

Victory to the PCS strikers!