Wednesday 16 July 2008

I am Striking

Well ... maybe not in the supermodel sense of the word, but as in taking industrial action.

Although a socialist since I was old enough to hold political opinions, I've only relatively recently joined a union. There was, unsurprisingly, no union action in the firm of solicitors I worked for in the City of London! I'm not an active member. Indeed I must confess that I didn't vote in the strike ballot. The envelope remained unopened until after the deadline had passed. I'm not sure I 'd have voted to strike. However, as a staunch believer in democracy, I 'm ruled by the majority decision and have withdrawn my labour for today and tomorrow.

This morning I joined a couple of hundred other strikers for a march from Castle Park to College Green. The sun shone and motorists beeped in support. There were a couple of rallying speeches denouncing the government and congratulating us on our solidarity, and then we sang a song. It was called 'Soidarity Forever' and was sung to the tune of 'John Brown's Body'. The words were hilarious, the second verse in particular, which went like this:

Is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite
Who would lash us into serfdom and would crush us with his might?
Is there anything left for us but to organise and fight?
For the Union makes us strong.'

Rousing stuff eh?

I'm not convinced the strike will have the desired effect. However, it did feel good to have joined with others (mostly women I noted) in letting the government know how strongly we feel about our 2.45% pay award.

PS It's my sister's birthday today. Happy Birthday Morv!

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