To strike or not the strike...........that is the question?

The above title is my current status on facebook, as I have woken up this afternoon (I am currently on nights) to the following article on the BBC website.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14907909

So, I am a member of UNISON and hubby is a member of UNITE (yes, them of BA strikes ruining every ones hols, including nearly mine, in December 2009). Now I work in the public sector and hubby works in the private sector. So, according to the article, both unions are going to ballot their members on strike action!


Now last night, well the early hours of this morning, I was reading an article from my union, about the attacks that George Osborne (Chancellor) and Eric Pickles (Local Government Minister) are planning on the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). As a public sector employee, this is the scheme that I am in and I pay 6.5% of my salary into this. Now I don't remember all the arguments, but one thing I do remember is the the LGPS is self funding, and the government plans of increasing contributions, for less money at an later retirement age, will mean many will leave the scheme, so it will cease to be self funding, and then will end up costing the government more money.


Now I am not so against having to pay a bit more, I am not even so upset that I will be 67 by the time I retire, but I would like to get a decent pension at the end of it. It just shows that employment law in the country is not worth the paper it is written on. You have a contract of employment.............you work and in return you get certain benefits.......salary, pension, etc. But oh, if the government decides it wants to change this, you have no recourse, and if you dare to try an object, by striking say........you are 'deeply irresponsible'.


Anyway, apparently we are now going to be balloted to on strike action and now I am going to have to decide whether to strike or not. Striking sort of goes against everything I have been brought up to believe and hold dear, so my gut instinct is no. But, the unions have been attempting to negotiate with the government for some time now, and basically the government is not interested. God, I hate decisions like this.


And then there is hubbys union. Now hubby works in the private sector, does UNITE represent public sector workers ??? Or will it be a sympathy strike vote? Could be interesting as hubby has had one pay rise already this year and will get another one at the end of the year, and his company have not changed their final salary pension scheme.


Now, some of the comments on the BBC article are supportive and some are not..............and I have only read some of them. But what some of those who are critical should remember, when the comment that at least we have a job and pension, many public sector works don't have a job anymore, and many more of us are under threat, as the government as well as cutting our pensions, not allowing us a pay rise (and Local Government employees did not even get the £250 or what ever it was to help those on the lowest wages), is also cutting our jobs. I particularly like this comment:- 'They are paid as well for in many cases doing less work' Yeah, if I was doing this job in the private sector I would be paid more than I am on now thank you very much!!


But I feel a difficult decision coming on and I really do not have an inkling of what the answer is!!