Published: Thursday, 17th July, 2008 08:00
Leader: High cost of the summer of discontent
By Reading Chronicle, the Voice of Reading
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ONLY someone who has spent the last six months as a castaway or exploring the dark side of the moon will be unaware that the world’s finances are in an unholy mess.
Smart alick pundits coin cuddly little expressions like “credit crunch” to describe our plight. but the simple fact is that prices are soaring, inflation is rampant and, with the exception of the political and commercial elite, the majority of us are finding times pretty tough.
Naturally our sympathies are with the majority of council employees who feel they have no alternative but to join the 48-hour stoppage called by their unions. By tradition many of them are low paid and, whatever the outcome of their strike action, that is unlikely to change a great deal even when the economy improves.
The Government says it has no cash reserves to fund an above inflation pay rise for council workers. Any such award, therefore, would have to paid for by raising council tax yet again. That affects all of us, even this week’s strikers, and will only serve to add further fuel to the flames of inflation.
Police officers and others have had to bite the bullet and accept below inflation increases in the current financial year and many in the private sector, yes, even journalists, are having to grin and bear it.
Sadly, however justified the council workers feel in pursuing their pay demands by downing tools, a dose of reality is required. We cannot afford another summer of discontent, and neither can they.
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