Elections

[Roy124]

In the 70s I used to visit a small computer facility on the West Coast of Scotland,  it was a clean room facility and slippers were provided.

In the room were dust devils,  large clumps of dust and hair blowing around the cabinets.

The chief programmer was a local Scot with a 1st Class degree from Cambridge. It was assumed that as she was female she would clean up.

Marconni eventually gave in and employed a local.  It was expensive as they had to get security clearance. 

I was amused to see Ann Mcdonald cleaning up before  the cleaner arrived. 

I know why she did it though, but a good reason why some managers need regulation and guidance.

[Haliotis]

7 hours ago, Primus1 said:

Yes, but there’s lots to thank the unions for…

Without a doubt, the Unions did a good job and the workforce needed them.  It was unfortunate that they turned so militant and used the muscle of the masses to virtually cripple industry.  It might have worked better if they could have become politically neutral - working in collaboration with whichever party was in power.

Although I was a member of an engineering union, I voted Conservative and withdrew from the political levy.  One shop steward did try to force me into paying the levy, saying that my political views did not fit into Trades Union policy.  I upset him by saying I hadn’t realised that the unions were communists, and he did stop when his area representative told him to back off.

[Haliotis]

I served my time as an apprentice at a BTH radar factory.  Quite a number of women were employed in wiring the “trays” to form the looms for the radar cabinets.  The long benches were covered in brown Admiralty Lino with wooden beading around the edges.  Every Friday afternoon would be mainly used in waxing and polishing the benches (feminine driven, of course).  Coming into work on a Monday morning, one was greeted with a powerful waft of polish, and it was quite pleasant.

[Bper]

My experience with unions was back in the 1970s when I was an apprentice electrician. One of the sparks was a shop steward for the Union and I swear he called us out on strike more times a week then days we worked. They were pretty militant in those days.

[Primus1]

15 hours ago, Haliotis said:

When I worked for a machine tool company, two of our machines were taken to a show in Earls Court, London.  A couple of our electricians were also sent to connect them into the power supply (they had to be union members).  When they had finished the wiring, one picked up a brush to clean up the bits of cable strippings - WOW! He was pounced on in milliseconds and told to stop. 

Whilst I agree that does sound ridiculous but, the electricians cleaning up was doing someone else’s job, if management saw that they might say we don’t need cleaners as the people doing the job can clean up after themselves, thus getting rid of people’s jobs, I guess the union was protecting its members..

[Haliotis]

1 hour ago, Primus1 said:

Whilst I agree that does sound ridiculous but, the electricians cleaning up was doing someone else’s job, if management saw that they might say we don’t need cleaners as the people doing the job can clean up after themselves, thus getting rid of people’s jobs, I guess the union was protecting its members..

A cleaner’s work covers a lot of ground, and sweeping up a few bits of cable stripping (which would barely fill a half-pint glass and take only two or three seconds) can hardly be called a job threat.  This is demarcation lines gone crazy. One of our electricians spent his early career working on ships in the Belfast shipyards.  Here, he told us, demarcation lines between the various trades was strictly controlled by the shop stewards, and one wrong step by any tradesman could instantly stop work on the whole ship if a bullish shop steward was involved.

[Cyker]

Wait... so what you're saying I can be the disgusting messy slob I naturally am leaving stuff all over the place, and that will make me a friend of the Unions?? Excellent!  

"Boss, we need more cleaners!"

"What, why??"

"Don't know sir! Things just have gotten a lot messier lately..."

Me:  

[Mjolinor]

What is the "cleaning" of which you speak?

Is it a general term for shoveling crud into piles once it starts impeding your progress?

 

[Roy124]

@Mjolinor I refer to the OP below:

@2toyos I hear labour is cleaning up, is everyone ready to have an even worse experience 😂 

[Primus1]

5 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

@Mjolinor I refer to the OP below:

@2toyos I hear labour is cleaning up, is everyone ready to have an even worse experience 😂 

It can’t be worse than this lot that’s in government..that’s for sure..

[2toyos]

2 minutes ago, Primus1 said:

It can’t be worse than this lot that’s in government..that’s for sure..

Are you sure?? Aren't they pretty much the same, don't they actually do the same?? Aren't we actually still suffering from Tony's war crimes, well done labour, I don't suppose labour or Tories, but to think 1 is better then the other is idiotic at best 

[Haliotis]

What’s in a name?

During my apprenticeship the company had built a new factory unit, complete with new boiler house.  One of the old boiler house “stokers” was moved to operate the new boiler house, which had modern controls and more of them. This stoker made comments about it being a more responsible job (probably thinking of extra pay), when the chief plant engineer suggested that he should have the title of Combustion Technician.  The guy was so pleased with his new job title that he forgot all about a wage increase.

[Haliotis]

3 minutes ago, 2toyos said:

Are you sure?? Aren't they pretty much the same, don't they actually do the same?? Aren't we actually still suffering from Tony's war crimes, well done labour, I don't suppose labour or Tories, but to think 1 is better then the other is idiotic at best 

A thought.

If both were any good at running the country, would they not both see clearly what needed to be done to get things sorted, and both end up with comparable solutions?

It is the stupidity of both that leaves us with the dilemma of which one we should risk our future on.

[Haliotis]

Before Brexit, I remember watching a session of the EU parliament and at the time I was impressed by how well it was conducted compared to the rowdy scenes in the House of Commons.

[Cyker]

I also noticed the same thing...  except when Farage spoke up... he really didn't convey a good impression of our country with how rude he was compared to everyone else...!

 

[Mjolinor]

Labour have done what they set out to do and they had done that by the 1970s. They are now left with nowhere to sit other than try to gain insignificant gains at minimum cost during the elections.

At the risk of being called an idiot again and having the thread shortened, in my opinion, the parties should be dispensed with, you should vote for the your preferred candidate and those MPs should make decisions together for the benefit of the people of the country with no party agenda.

[Roy124]

On 5/5/2024 at 7:54 PM, Haliotis said:

I served my time as an apprentice at a BTH radar factory.  

Might have used some of the kit you trained with.

[CPN]

1 hour ago, Haliotis said:

Before Brexit, I remember watching a session of the EU parliament and at the time I was impressed by how well it was conducted compared to the rowdy scenes in the House of Commons.

Oh that's easy to explain! (why they are all so "well behaved") It's because they are all in a nice gravy train with mega perks alongside their bloated pay packet and so they are happy to simply rubber stamp approval to anything the commission put forward for voting on!!

[CPN]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

I also noticed the same thing...  except when Farage spoke up... he really didn't convey a good impression of our country with how rude he was compared to everyone else...!

Farage was the only one who talked any sense to them!! Sadly, you need to be rude to force them to listen to sense!!

[Roy124]

13 hours ago, CPN said:

Farage was the only one who talked any sense to them!! Sadly, you need to be rude to force them to listen to sense!!

Did it work?

Roger Helmer, our Tory and later UKIP MEP, likened the EU to a train journey to Crewe.   Tell them as much as you liked that it was better to go to York, they accepted that was true but they were going to Crewe.   If you wanted to go to York, get a different train.

[Haliotis]

15 hours ago, Cyker said:

I also noticed the same thing...  except when Farage spoke up... he really didn't convey a good impression of our country with how rude he was compared to everyone else...!

 

True, but on one occasion a couple of MEPs rounded on Farage in mid-speech, and their chairman(?) pulled them up, saying that Farage was entitled to his opinions and should not be interrupted.  And they behaved accordingly - now why cannot our House of Commons be run with such decorum?

[Roy124]

Three Conservative crossed the floor and joined Labour.  Just goes to show that many MPs on both sides are centrist rather than left or right.

Be interesting to see if they were likely to loose their seats and are hoping to be reselected as Labour.  Would you vote for a turncoat?

[Haliotis]

Depends on the turncoat’s principles.  If they were genuinely because of their party taking a clearly anti-society decision, then probably yes.

But if their changing sides was due to fear of losing their seat, with a hope of getting elected on the opposing side, then definitely not.   Changing for this reason is purely self preservation, with no real consideration for working for the good of society.

[Mjolinor]

48 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

Depends on the turncoat’s principles.  If they were genuinely because of their party taking a clearly anti-society decision, then probably yes.

But if their changing sides was due to fear of losing their seat, with a hope of getting elected on the opposing side, then definitely not.   Changing for this reason is purely self preservation, with no real consideration for working for the good of society.

I am pretty sure that all MPs only have self preservation in mind 100% of the time.

Who wouldn't fight like a dog for that sort of money and those small number of hours with no actual work involved other than smiling in public.

 

[Roy124]

56 minutes ago, Mjolinor said:

I am pretty sure that all MPs only have self preservation in mind 100% of the time.

Who wouldn't fight like a dog for that sort of money and those small number of hours with no actual work involved other than smiling in public.

I wonder how many are one-shot wonders?  There are some who seem to have a reserved seat, almost as if the opposition deliberately sets no hopers against them.

My MPs for 40 years were Edward Leigh, until boundary changes and Peter Tapsell until he died.  Neither were shining lights essential to Governing the country.  Victoria Atkins was then a shoe-in for Sir Peter's seat and has climbed the greasy pole through a succession of PMs.  She will most likely be there next year, like the proverbial pig with a blue rosette. 

Of the no hopers,  Al Lockwood standing against Tony Blair was definitely a forlorn hope.

Those one-shot PPE qualified wonders must be looking for other job opportunities too.

Several big beasts must be looking at other employment opportunities,  one thinks of Balls, Clegg, Millipede