Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
6 November 2008
16:108724Press Release....
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Dover Harbour Board Strikebreaking Strategy Backfires!
Dover MP, Gwyn Prosser, has applauded the actions of former Gurkhas who, having been told about the true nature of their work in the Port of Dover, downed tools and walked out.
Gwyn Prosser said:
"I was confident that once our friends in the Gurkha community were made aware of Dover Harbour Board's strikebreaking tactics they would refuse to co-operate with such underhand practices.
I have also heard today that the remainder of the Gurkhas who had been put on standby to work through a possible strike by port employees have made clear their refusal to do so."
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
6 November 2008
16:128726damm right to give them all a medal.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
6 November 2008
16:168728Many of you will have read the story in the papers this morning about the Dover Harbour Boards plan to recruit Gurkhas should there be a strike declared tomorrow friday, when the aggrieved workers meet.
The idea was to get the gurkhas to do the work of the striking workers.. to use them as, and I suppose the term is, 'blacklegs'.
Hence this statement above from our MP Gwyn Prosser. Many of you will also remember the picture on our frontpage last week which showed Gwyn and the Sandwich MP Dr Stephen Ladyman with the protesters outside the DHB offices prior to a meeting with DHB management which went nowhere.
A strike is looking more and more likely.
Brian Dixon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
6 November 2008
16:208729i think you find the word scabs more appropet paul as well as blacklegs,brings memorys of the p&o strike it does.
6 November 2008
17:188736And the Miners strike................
Brian Dixon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
6 November 2008
18:048741how true bern i forgot that one.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
6 November 2008
18:398743Well is anything gets me to sympathise with DHB it is a strike.
These things achieve nothing and can only damage Dover as a Port and that will make everyone in Dover suffer.
I hope the Managers are able to fill the gap and are able to keep traffic moving, its in the interests of all of us.
With the general economic difficulties and the trade slowdown that is inevitable, added to the inherant problems Dover has, a strike that succeeds in stopping Port traffic will have serious economic consequences.
Madness.
Brian Dixon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
6 November 2008
20:148746barryw,so the french strikers dont count then.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
6 November 2008
23:008752i take my hat off to our nepalese friends, just goes to show that they have standards.
it would have been easy for them to carry on, piling up money to send back.
dover harbour board do not know what they have taken on yet.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
7 November 2008
00:368754Brian, what have the revolting French strikers got to do with it?
France was a basket case economy even when there was a period of global growth, thanks to an excessivley socialised economy and a militant workforce. They have no lessons for us.
I do have first hand experience of this, having a place in south west France.
Howard - if you had the interests of Dover at heart you would support DHB and damn the suicidal strikers.
Guest 670- Registered: 23 Apr 2008
- Posts: 573
7 November 2008
01:508755Brian Dixon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
7 November 2008
08:208756barryw dont you mean revolting dhb using thatcherite/dunlop tatics to impliment there draconion practices.how would you like to be farmed out to another company losing your pension/redunency rights? you wouldnt would you.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
7 November 2008
09:118759Im with you there Brian, if ever there was a reason to strike then this looks like it. BarryW its not about the "interests of Dover"..thats too loose a term, the term just puts too vague a spin on it, its about the interests of the workers concerned. I met a number of them and they are all dpendable good guys of long term employ.
Yes lets concentrate on the few affected, they are losing their jobs and in a way it has nothing much to do with Dover overall, other than the fact that Dover might be inconvenienced.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
7 November 2008
11:218773I cannot raise any sympathy at all for them collectively should they strike. I would extend sympathy for indivuals who lose their jobs, certainly but not so much if brought about by irresponsible strike action.
In this 'Brown recession' there are many others who are more deserving of sympathy who those who place their futures at risk by striking.
What about the thousands of small businesses that are much worse hit and those who depend on them for jobs.
Some examples of people I know who are facing far worse than these DHB employees...
There is the chap who closed his business and is struggling to meet the bills of his creditors without seeking the protection of bankrupsy. Two other people are out of work because of the collapse of his business. I have told him he should seek bankrupsy as he needs to draw a line under his problems and look to the interests of his family.
Then there is the other businessman I met who has two businesses in Sussex. He is closing one, making 15 people redundant before it gets so bad he is unable to meet his creditors demands. In his other business he has laid off three people because he and his wife will have freed up some time to work 16 hours a day in it, saving costs, keeping it alive and saving another 8 jobs.
There are many more like these. The millions of employees of small companies have no option of striking because they know their employer would simply go bust. They are in many cases taking pay freezes and even pay cuts. They have also never had the luxury of expensive feather bedded final salary pensions such as DHB employees have enjoyed.
So no, I will not give any sympathy to strikers, not with all those around suffering who are much more deserving of that sympathy.
Sid Pollitt
7 November 2008
11:508775I think what Barry is saying is that the DHB workers should count themselves lucky and we should only sympathise with those facing loss of jobs or changes to their contract if they are not members of a trade union. No surprise there then. At least the DHB workers know they have the support of their MP.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
7 November 2008
12:468784My point Sid is that others are facing a far worse situation.
People who cannot even consider strike action because they work for small employers who will just go bust. These are often 'pitching in' to help their employer's businesses survive. They cannot afford the negative 'them and us' attitudes of many who work for big employers.
Then there are the small business employers themselves who are carrying a big burden and are mostly working for longer hours than anyone they employ, risking their very homes to keep their businesses afloat or to meet their creditors. They also sometimes take a lower wage than even their most junior employees.
These very employees and employers are also contributing, through their taxes, to high feather bedded pensions for employees of the Government and local authorities, than they are themselves able to afford for their own pensions. These are quite similar to the final salary pensions that DHB employees enjoy.
So please do not expect me, or anyone else in the private small business sector, to shed crocodile tears for those who are enjoying conditions better than they have and are now expected to join the real world that the majority of the population live in.
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
7 November 2008
14:128787Having been made redundant from the private sector 3 times in 8 years, they are business decisions out of my control and all to do with economics. If a company whats to gamble and cut costs by employing someone cheaper than me, then there is nothing I can do about it.... why shouldn't they be able to ??
Been nice knowing you :)
Brian Dixon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
7 November 2008
14:548792barryw,if the french are revolting why have you a house in the sw france,thats a double standerd as far as i can see,its a wonder that no one else has picked that up.as for the dhb i have no sympathy for.i feel for the poor long sufering workers here,the mooring partys have been cut back to half and they are expected to do other jobs on dhb ground as well as there own work,so to call them lazy you would be crazy to.i would like to see you do there work come rain or shine over there monthly rota,then tell me you not pieved when you are told your job been sold down the line.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
7 November 2008
15:168795Brian - no, words fail me, it is simply not worth the trouble. I am sure others have a good sense of the English language combined with a sense of humour.
Brian Dixon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
7 November 2008
15:278796have you given up then barryw.
