FOR as long as I have been working, as far back as the three-day-week, I have never understood strikes.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the withdrawal of labour had relevance when the working man was down-trodden and needed emancipating, but times have changed.

What we have now is dinosaur union leaders spoiling for a fight with the Conservatives, and I suspect some Conservative MPs are champing at the bit to go into battle with them.

Strikes cause nothing but inconvenience and aggravation, and you can often find ways around them and just get on with it.

To me it’s all so pointless and last century, but it looks like we are heading for a series of high-profile one-day strikes by those in the public sector.

In my opinion, if you are going to have a strike, then there’s only one way to do it and that’s to withdraw your labour all together until the matter is resolved.

Unfortunately, in the real world, that won’t happen as none of us can afford to lose the pay. I wonder if the union leaders lose their pay when their members are on strike?

I will not claim to understand every nuance of the current economic situation. I can only compare it to having overspent on credit cards when bills have to be paid and you have to cut your cloth to suit. In fairness, the pain has to be shared equally. What will these strikes achieve? Nothing. My kids, on the other hand, will be all for it as it’s time off school. So this leads me to change, I am all for it, providing it is positive.

I am involved with an organisation that provides a very valuable service, but it’s dying on its feet because some long-standing members just don’t want to change.

Their attitude is ‘we have always done it like this and this is how we will continue’.

Like the crew of the Titanic, they seem oblivious to the great big iceberg heading their way.

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