Scotland’s top union group has defended striking as “very democratic” and “effective” as the next wave of industrial actions are expected.
As the Royal Mail disputes continue, the Unite union has proposed a legal challenge to British Airways today concerning cabin contracts.
The employment rights union want an injunction against the airline’s plan to administer new contract conditions without union consent.
The same union’s members in Scotland, today, voted to strike in response to closures at the Diageo plants in Kilmarnock and Port Dundas.
Ian Tasker, assistant secretary of policy and campaigns at the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) said: “Obviously, there is a number of issues relating to the effectiveness of strikes.
“The industry is changing in Scotland, take that together with attacks on the trade union legislation. However, we still think it is a justified and effective route to change. It’s a last resort, nobody takes it lightly.”
The STUC represents 640,000 members within 37 affiliated trade unions.
“You can easily get the impression from the media that the Royal Mail strikes are down to recent industrial problems, that’s wrong.
“The problems have been festering for years,” said Mr Tasker.
He said that although striking was becoming less common it was still the most valid form of protest.
“It’s a very democratic process. It’s the workers, through balloting, who decide when strike action is needed. Striking is the mechanism of change for the individuals.”
Royal Mail workers went on their first nation-wide strike last week after months of regional strikes.
Tensions between the unions and company bosses have risen following accusations that the Royal Mail has been employing temporary staff to deal with backlogs – the law on this practice is grey.
Mr Tasker said that it was “disappointing to see Gordon Brown and Lord Mandelson seemingly condoning it”.
“What really concerns us is that an employer like Royal Mail would go against what is principle and law, by employing temporary workers.”
The postal company defend their recruitment strategy calling it Christmas recruitment, however this is challenged by the unions who say that the number of temporary staff has doubled and been brought forward several weeks.
“We would argue that it’s wrong and unlawful,” added Mr Tasker.
Dr Simon J Clark, head of the school of economics at the University of Edinburgh, said striking had waned in recent years: “Strikes are much less common, certainly, than they used to be, partly due to changes in legislation – unions have to go through more loop holes.
“Labour markets have changed drastically, private sectors firms are less unionised than public sector ones,” he said.
Dr Clark said that international market changes had altered the value of striking as businesses modernised and outsourced, the competition for work grew.
“Going on strike doesn’t have the same adverse effects that it used to.
“In the current climate within the recession, workers aren’t in a strong position to go on strike. The growth of unskilled labour markets across the world are weakening the power of strikes.
“In the private sectors lots of people are taking wage cuts or negligible pay rises, whilst strikers are demanding more. So whether solidarity is stronger or weaker during a recession, is difficult to say.”
The discovery comes after the announcement that First Quench Retailing, owners of 1300 high street off licences Threshers, Haddows and Wine Rack has gone into administration placing 6,500 at risk.![4057368945_515b664378_o[1]](http://edinburghnapiernews.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/4057368945_515b664378_o11.jpg?w=610 "4057368945_515b664378_o[1]")
The label mental illness is highly stigmatising. It encourages people to think of ‘the mentally ill’ as different, rather than seeing them as ordinary people who simply have more severe emotional difficulties to cope with. Popular misconceptions, fuelled by some in the media, see mentally ill people as violent and dangerous. A prime example of this was when The Sun’s reacted to the former boxer Frank Bruno being sectioned under the Mental Health Act and chose to run the headline “Bonkers Bruno locked up”.
In addition, a 2001 study found that only 37% of employers said they would in future take on people with mental illness. This compared to the 62% who would take on physically disabled people, 78% who would employ long-term unemployed people and 88% who would appoint lone parents. Little wonder then that 64% of young people say that they would be embarrassed to disclose a mental health problem to a prospective employer.
However, many famous faces are now coming forward and admitting that they suffer from mental ill health – thus helping to reduce that stigma. Famously, Caroline Aherne and Stephen Fry have both spoken about their experiences, while Kurt Cobain is probably one of the most famous suicide victims. Less well known is that funny-men Jim Carrey, Hugh Laurie and Spike Milligan have all suffered various degrees of depression. Following the birth of her daughter, Honey, Gail Porter spoke of her experience of post-natal depression, again helping to normalise the condition.
Fry has since spoken publicly about the experience of living with bipolar disorder and has made and presented a documentary about the condition and his personal experience of it, Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic-Depressive where he interviewed other famous sufferers of the illness including Carrie Fisher, Richard Dreyfuss, and Tony Slattery. He also interviewed Rick Stein, whose father committed suicide, Robbie Williams, who talked of his experience with unipolar depression, and comedienne Jo Brand, who previously worked as a psychiatric nurse.
