Now is the winter of our discontent

[Mr Gobby]

Now is the winter of our discontent, as the saying goes, but how true is it.

 

I feel we ain't seen nothing yet, and 1973 springs to mind .

 

http://www.thesun.co.uk

 

This article was publish 2008 and probably brings back memories for some.

[chem1st]

Link is to homepage, not an article.

[Mr Gobby]

Link is to homepage, not an article.

 

Oh Bugger.

[Longcol]

Now is the winter of our discontent, as the saying goes, but how true is it.

 

I feel we ain't seen nothing yet, and 1973 springs to mind .

 

http://www.thesun.co.uk

 

This article was publish 2008 and probably brings back memories for some.

 

I thought the "winter of discontent" was 1979.

[websters gue]

I thought the "winter of discontent" was 1979.

 

It was 1979 Longcol, OP ain't that smart if you ask me.

[msmouse]

Couldn't find the article in the Sun, but found the folllowing in the Telegraph:

 

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/neilobrien1/100053476/are-we-heading-for-a-second-winter-of-discontent/

 

The thrust of the article is that only public sector workers will be likely to stage any action, as they have so much to lose ..

 

At present, on an hourly basis, the typical public sector worker is now 30% better paid than the typical worker in the private sector. On top of this, public sector employees have better pensions. The difference is worth an extra 15% of their salary. Over their lifetimes, people in the private sector work 23% more hours (equivalent to 9.2 years of a public sector employee’s working life) – where their public sector counterpart will either be on sick leave, holiday, or in retirement.

 

30% better pay, having to work 9.2 years less AND having a 15% better salary? How can this be right?

Edited November 12, 2010 by msmouse

[Obelix]

Couldn't find the article in the Sun, but found the folllowing in the Telegraph:

 

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/neilobrien1/100053476/are-we-heading-for-a-second-winter-of-discontent/

 

The thrust of the article is that only public sector workers will be likely to stage any action, as they have so much to lose ..

 

At present, on an hourly basis, the typical public sector worker is now 30% better paid than the typical worker in the private sector. On top of this, public sector employees have better pensions. The difference is worth an extra 15% of their salary. Over their lifetimes, people in the private sector work 23% more hours (equivalent to 9.2 years of a public sector employee’s working life) – where their public sector counterpart will either be on sick leave, holiday, or in retirement.

 

30% better pay, having to work 9.2 years less AND having a 15% better salary? How can this be right?

 

Well you can't buy votes without a carrot can you. How else did Labour cling to power for so long.

[whitehorses]

I think we have only seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of 'Discontent'. At the moment people have the financial issues of Christmas to get through and to a certain extent 'Distract' them.After the festivities are over, and the reality hits of really having no money, and not much to look forward to, I think that's when we'll start to see people making their voices heard.

[rubydazzler]

It was actually the winter of 78-79, during a labour government when Callaghan was PM. He attempted to curb the unions, failed utterly and paved the way for the Tory victory in the 79 GE.

 

I was in hospital in the February and remember my relatives having to bring clean bedding in because the laundry was on strike, none of the clocks was working and there was nothing to eat. It was even worse on the outside apparently, with most of the public sector on strike.

[Longcol]

I was in hospital in the February and remember my relatives having to bring clean bedding in because the laundry was on strike, none of the clocks was working and there was nothing to eat. It was even worse on the outside apparently, with most of the public sector on strike.

 

On the outside in Sheffield.............pubs were still open, so were the shops and supermarkets, bus was still running, gas, electric and telly still working. You could easily fill up the car with petrol.

 

Bins didn't get emptied for a week - mind you it did snow non - stop that week.