Strike Action During a Pandemic!
The ongoing dispute between Unity Workers Union (UWU) and government exposes the boast we are an uneducated people. It seems the height of ignorance actors on both sides are unable to resolve a dispute involving healthcare workers during a pandemic. This has occurred in a country with a social partnership established with a mandate to prioritize a space to facilitate consultation, dialogue and collaboration. It must be stated Caswell has written in this space his lack of confidence in the social partnership.
The blogmaster has no bone in the fight EXCEPT to acknowledge the life of a human being is priceless. If it is the grievances fueling the dispute for whatever reasons cannot be quickly resolved because of weighty imponderables – the raging pandemic has created the opportunity for reasonableness between the parties to be exercised. To maintain intractable positions with omicron starting to spike our rate of infections is an admission of idiocy. Bear in mind Barbados’ heavy dependence on tourism and the negative impact an elevated positivity rate will have on the country’s ability to earn precious foreign exchange. There is the possibility government’s finances may collapse and compromise its ability to service public sector payroll.
According to reports strike action about 100 strong is expected to take place this morning, a clear indication the chasm which exists between the two sides. If UWU backs down it may be interpreted as a defeat especially for the peppy head of UWU Caswell Franklyn who is fighting to increase his share of membership. If the government gives in, it opens the door for the industrial relations climate to become active at the worse time for government managing tanking revenues.
Of concern to the blogmaster is the role Most Honourable Minister of Health Jeffrey Bostic has been reported to have played so far. It was reported the former schoolmates Bostic and Franklyn had agreed to a third party mediator to move the dispute along. According to Caswell Prime Minister Mottley vetoed the meeting after her request for striking workers to return to work was rejected. This slammed the door shut on possibly resolving the matter or at minimum depositing it in the abeyance bucket. The call of a snap general election eighteen months from when it is constitutionally due ensures the door remains closed. This is the second time Bostic has found himself in a pickle in recent months. His surprising admission he knew nothing about an arrangement between a Mark Maloney led initiative and government to procure AstraZeneca Covid 19 vaccine from a non traditional procurement source continues to tug at sensible minds. It surprised many including the blogmaster that Bostic and the permanent secretary- who signed off on the strange arrangement- were conferred high national honour. Through it all the phlegmatic Bostic has been serving out his final days having given notice of retirement from politics in October 2021.
In the system of government we practice all ‘big works’ related matters continue to lead to the first among equals in Cabinet. Hopefully in the debate to come about reforming the Barbados Constitution, whichever party wins the upcoming election, Barbados will seize the opportunity to create relevant constitutional clauses to ensure decision making by the executive becomes more decentralized from the prime minister led approach synonymous with a dictatorship.
Barbados Underground 
And that’s why i don’t join cults or cliques or whatever the slow in mind call them…..a cult by any other name is STILL A CULT…..they love using the name family, start off preaching one thing to reel in the masses and years later you don’t even recognize when agendas have shifted…….ask the Jim Jones 900.
next thing you know…the TRUTH is COVERED UP….using massive LIES…
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@ David@ Frank
Answer the questions. I have been on this blog for years. Most objective people know where I stand. Imagine you are : emotional,hard ears , and have a chip on your shoulder , simply because you do not accept pure hogwash designed to fool people , when in fact whenever your wishy washy offerings are clinically examined, they show a shameless apology for and defense of the same political class, you are pretending to attack.
Answer the blasted questions:
Can any civil servant determine that the nurses be paid;
Can any civil servant meet with Caswell and solve the problems;
Is there any proof that the nurses striked because there is a pandemic;
Why is there a general election at this time;
What are the issues?
Where is this mammoth division in the country
Why are you also blind that you can’t see how you are being manipulated by the BLP and DLP.
Answer the damn questions.
You are a pack of shameless apologists, propagandists and obstructionists.
Call me what you will. But you can never get me to backdown from where I stand.
Pathetic, spineless , minions of the decadent and decadent Duopoly.
Peace.
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Should read: “decaying and decadent .” Not decadent and decadent.
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RE @William
You are hard ears.
You need to remove the chip from your shoulder.
You have this way of believing that your view is the only one.
Carry on smartly.
HE SHOULD CERTAINLY CARRY ON SMARTLY, AS HE TENDS TO USUALLY MAKE MORE SENSE THAN MOST WHO COME HERE REGULARLY. FROM THE OWNER’S CRECHE AND CLIQUE
WILLIAM MAKES SIMPLE SCHOLARLY SOUND SANE SENSIBLE STATEMENTS THAT ARE REASONABLE, PRACTICAL AND APPLICABLE AND DOES NOT APPROXIMATE HIS LABIAE ORAE TO THE ADIPOSE TISSUE THAT OVERLAYS THE BLOG OWNERS GLUTEI
CARRY ON SMARTLY INDEED WILLIAM, SIR
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William…stay steady, it took some maneuvering but i was able to figure out what happened, got a feel for what transpired, best to let it all play out as it should..it will reach its logical conclusion, as all things do..
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Whilst I thought the phrase was uppity and dismissive, I have a few questions..
Was his chip implanted when receiving the covid vaccine?
Does has any cryptocurrency?
What about NFT art?
William may be a man on the edge of new technology/
—————————-xx——————————-
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A random Bible reading to subdue the masses who go to the masses
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I have the Big Tune above sung by Max Romeo
68 Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
3 But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name Jah, and rejoice before him.
5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
6 God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
7 O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:
8 The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.
10 Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.
11 The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.
12 Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil.
13 Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.
14 When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Salmon.
15 The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; an high hill as the hill of Bashan.
16 Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the Lord will dwell in it for ever.
17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.
18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.
19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
20 He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death.
21 But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses.
22 The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea:
23 That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same.
24 They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.
25 The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.
26 Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.
27 There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.
28 Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.
29 Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee.
30 Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war.
31 Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
32 Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah:
33 To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.
34 Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.
35 O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.
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New issue of Kush Quarterly will be out by Monday….Ethiopia and our ancestors feature prominently, information that was buried and now available…
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The basic rant by the scientific illiterates in BIM suggests that we are experiencing a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” meanwhile the BLP GOB had no response to COVID spiking in highly vaccinated areas.
While MIA held a cult-like pageant on November 30th to usher in the republic, and has proclaimed an election to UNITE the nation, Bajans are wondering why food prices are skyrocketing, and are ticked off as schools remain more or less closed.
BUT WE ARE HEARING ABOUT HOW WONDERFUL MIA MUGABE MUTTLEY THE DICTATOR IS.
SOON WE WILL BE USING AS THE WALKING MUSIC FOR HER THE HYMN TUNES TO EITHER
MY GOD HOW WONDERFUL HOW BRIGHT, or
HOW GREAT THOU ART
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@ WURA@ Theo @ GP
I have said over and over that nobody plants okra and reap pepper.
Rather than engage in serious discussion with the needed humor and occasional blow below the belt, they believe that it is their divine right to declare what , how and when others should post, while they do as they please.
Not one of these apologists can point out how or when our country reached such a dangerous level of disunity and division that an election is necessary.
Imagine they wickedly attempted to infer that the nurses called a strike “in the pandemic “ and then gave some wishy washy diatribe pretending they see the nurses cause as just.
They were called out on it because they think people are stupid and would not have realised the wicked slur / innuendo against the nurses. That pissed off the apologists because I chose to expose their hypocrisy.
Shameless propagandists on behalf of their political masters.
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RE Rather than engage in serious discussion with the needed humor and occasional blow below the belt, they believe that it is their divine right to declare what , how and when others should post, while they do as they please.
THIS IS WHAT IS MAKING THE BLOG MORE LIKE A CARTOON
I SAW THIS SAME TEK DOWN AND OVER REGULATORY ATTITUDE BASICALLY DESTROY VALUE MD
WE HAVE RAN AWAY GOOD CONTRIBUTORS, ALLOWED CLIQUE MEMBERS TO CARRY ON UNABATED AND CAUSE OTHERS TO BECOME PROVACATEURS
HILARIOUS
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The Revolution Begins
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
You will not be able to stay home, brother You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out You will not be able to lose yourself on skag And skip out for beer during commercials, because The revolution will not be televised The revolution will not be televised The revolution will not be brought to you By Xerox in four parts without commercial interruptions The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon blowing a bugle And leading a charge by John Mitchell, General Abrams, and Spiro Agnew To eat hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary The revolution will not be televised The revolution will not be brought to you by the Schaefer Award Theatre And will not star Natalie Woods and Steve McQueen or Bullwinkle and Julia The revolution will not give your mouth sex appeal The revolution will not get rid of the nubs The revolution will not make you look five pounds thinner, because The revolution will not be televised, brother There will be no pictures of you and Willie Mae Pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead run Or trying to slide that color TV into a stolen ambulance NBC will not be able predict the winner At 8:32 on report from twenty-nine districts The revolution will not be televised There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers on the instant replay There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers on the instant replay There will be no pictures of Whitney Young Being run out of Harlem on a rail with a brand new process There will be no slow motion or still lifes of Roy Wilkins Strolling through Watts in a red, black, and green liberation jumpsuit That he has been saving for just the proper occasion Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville Junction Will no longer be so damn relevant And women will not care if Dick finally got down with Jane On Search for Tomorrow Because black people will be in the street looking for a brighter day The revolution will not be televised There will be no highlights on the eleven o’clock news And no pictures of hairy armed women liberationists And Jackie Onassis blowing her nose The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb or Francis Scott Keys Nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom Jones, Johnny Cash Engelbert Humperdinck, or The Rare Earth The revolution will not be televised The revolution will not be right back After a message about a white tornado White lightning, or white people You will not have to worry about a dove in your bedroom The tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl The revolution will not go better with Coke The revolution will not fight germs that may cause bad breath The revolution will put you in the driver’s seat The revolution will not be televised Will not be televised Will not be televised Will not be televised The revolution will be no re-run, brothers The revolution will be live
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WOW @Dub … WOW.
A mighty powerful stream of consciousness that one!
Ok, the revolution will not be televised!
Be ‘present’ or be left behind, eh!
Never saw/heard it enunciated like that before … crystal clear!
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William…everything has a date stamp…am no longer the distraction used to do underhanded self defeating things….no Slave can crack or break me, so they gotta find another avenue, been watching how it all developed, but was so very busy with my business….all i could do is file it away…it’ s only now i had the time to it take out and examine it properly …and in so doing saw it for what it really is…..just another go nowhere agenda,,,,ya are always warned in the bigger countries to stay away from cults.
as long as no one tries to recruit me into destructive stupidity, am all good…i never follow…real leaders don’t need to…
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And honestly, i take great offense to how i was used, but Karma is never far away..,
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@ WURA
I agreed with the electorate to kick out Stuart and Company. Perhaps the worst administration post independence. I did not know that I had agreed to support Motley and Company. Apparently, the deal was to kick out Stuart and Company and then allow Mottley and Company to do whatever they like; and then declare that whatever they did was better than Stuart and Company.
I did not sign on to any such agreement.
The unvarnished truth, like it or lump it, is that an entire country , has been asked to go to the polls, on some manufactured lie, that it is broken and divided , when just the other day, the same country installed a new president and became a republic. Not a stone was thrown and not a bullet was fired . There was no political or national disorder present and none was reported.
But they come here trying to discredit and marginalize those who refuse to call shit ice cream
As a little boy, walking around the garrison savannah, I used to see the black birds fly down and pick stuff from the horse shit. I did not understand, at the time, what they were eating. A gentleman told me that they were picking oats from the horse dung.
We have too black birds waiting to eat political oats from the Duopoly’s shit.
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too many black birds.
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That’s why i don’t like politics, people tend to display every stupid act they learned and it earns them nothing in return but there they are.. they are on their own, made it very clear the day i came on BU that i dislike politics and want nothing to do with it and even less to do with politicians,…i don’t need them, don’t want them speaking for or representing me anywhere, they are disgraceful and i find associating with them disrespectful to my ancestors…
Part of the problem is too many are DISCONNECTED from their ancestors, know nothing about their ancestry and cling to what destroys them……and are not even making an effort to reconnect….can’t help them won’t waste the energy, the young need that upliftment right now, the older heads are mostly LOST and GONE..we just got to keep our eyes pinned on everyone and not get sucked into anything..they should have known they were WASTING TIME ON ME…like i told them repeatedly for years…..but they had to pay to learn…
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William….no one has ever wasted that much time on me, outside of love interests, as some here on BU….should have known something was very wrong….and all they got for it….is looking more sketchy, don’t think they fall under trustworthy after all of that……while i moved on over 2 years ago and was just putting things in place..
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Was trying to give them a photo to commit to memory. Let’s see if it shows up, if not will get it customized better another day.
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Dear, dear! This is would be funny if I was in the mood for laughing.
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I conducted two online polls
(1) Should there be strike action during a pandemic
90% No 10: % Yes. Not participating 1%: percentages added to more than 100 due to rounding
(2) Should essential staff be paid during a pandemic
90% No , 10% Yes
The outcome still puzzles me. Next thing you know, besides not paying nurses, they will stop nurses with covid-19 from voting. “Get back on the ward”
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“Was trying to give them a photo to commit to memory. Let’s see if it shows up, if not will get it customized better another day.”
Are you an intellectual in disguise
you are always talking about yourself
Don’t let it go to your head
Well everytime I rock a rhyme that show Jamar is intellectual Girls, STILL want to get sexual They try to pull me offstage, hopin’ that we can engage, in some sexual escapades Grabbin’ for the jewels of the fam Actin’ like they never seen God rock a jam in they lifetime, grabbin’ my lifeline
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Source: Nation
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Source: Nation
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“Don’t let it go to your head.”
nothing goes to my head, too grounded for that, know who i am and where i came from, needed to give those who thought it was a good idea to use me a little background on HOW NOT TO USE SOMEONE who saw what ya were doing all along.
so how many members does this BU anonymous cult have….5-8….ya will need a good 50-60 to start, ya numbers are too low first off, no one with any real intelligence joins anonymous cults…maybe if ya started a real registration so people would know who everyone is, ya numbers will climb significantly..
why i needed to show who i am, sat right here and watched WEDGES being driven between people who have been on this blog longer than my 9-10 years….SUCCESSFULLY DRIVEN, some don’t even comment like before, would never have done something so low class….and i have interacted with all of them and now we lost Pacha, temporarily i hope, because of these NEARLY invisible TREACHERIES.
…i only took offense when the attempt was made REPEATEDLY to SOW SEEDS of division and discord between the people living on the island and those who immigrated to the diaspora and WHO PROP UP THE ISLAND with remittances, that one was not only OUT OF PLACE but taking things too far……….that was when William issued warnings to the clowns who thought that too was a good idea, so that way scuttled, didn’t have the intelligence to take it anywhere anyway
, but a lot of damage had already been done to the blog….saw it going in the wrong direction….but not my blog, pulling it back was the responsibility of the owner….saw all the underhanded wickedness playing out…..mistake that was made was using me as a distraction. After i got a feel for the perpetrator(s), that blight was successfully removed from my current environment.
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William…i know sometimes it don’t seem like am paying attention…but ya can guarantee….VERY LITTLE ESCAPES ME…it’s always filed away to be looked at another day.
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All blogs are crap and tend to be random people dueling with nonsense using opposite logic and repeating points.
Anonymity brings out the ugly side of people that hates others. People who you would not give a seconds thought to in real life are the ones you engage with. Don’t worry yourself over nonsense.
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OK! Now I’m laughing.
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An excellent Editorial
Xxx
To quote MAM
This is who were are
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They are free to continue on the same destructive path if they are allowed. People have to know what they want and make their own decisions…a blog comes with a lot of responsibility, and when there are evil forces all around that have been actively trying for 15 years to shut them down, one must always be vigilant…. that’s why i don’t use the options available to me.
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Donna January 9, 2022 7:12 AM #: “OK! Now I’m laughing.”
I wanted to laugh as well.
Have too many things going on. Am so very busy with my business that am too busy and tired to laugh.
Hahahaha
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If Pacha does not return to the blog it will PROVE what we are all now thinking and reinforce what others have posted about for YEARS IN WARNING…
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Well our Supreme Leader MAM
has implored all Barbadian electors to give the BLP all 30 seats !
And MAM further implored that the country need no opposition !
Wow
So December 26, 2021…..MAM had 29 seats in a 30 seat Parliament…..yet she was not contented !
On December 26, 2021…..she had 18 months left of her 5 year mandate…..yet she was not contented !
Yet she announced fresh general elections for January 22, 2022 !
David BU
As MAM’s personal advisor on this blog……do you know / have an idea of what she wants ?
And you can …..pick, pick, pick for the answer(s)
Over to you…..
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@Fractured BLP
She probably want the same things as Verla.
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New polling results for
(1)Should nurses be paid during a pandemic?
70% No; 30% Yes.
Surprising increase in the number of positive responses.
Starting a new poll
(2) Should nurses be allowed to vote during a pandemic?
Please bear in mind that they will be working with covid-19 patients who are not allowed to vote.
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Wow. That poll was like giving a stack of pancakes to a hungry crowd. Over 300 responses in five minutes
(2) Should nurses be allowed to vote during a pandemic?
No 80%; Yes 20%.
One person commented, the categories should be “Hell No!” and “Yes”
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@Fractured,
Do not be disingenuous. You well know that she meant voting for an opposition, for the sake of it, rather than on merit, may create more trouble than it is intended to prevent.
Sadly, to your point, the opposition efforts at campaigning thus far are woeful.
That, along with the elephant in the room that the DLP leader may have a frail chance at winning her own seat, means that yes, the BLP may deservedly win easily.
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Suspiciously, we reached 495 votes and then stalled.
Researching the reason, but one of my pollster pointed out that we had exactly 495 new covid cases.
A polite ask: If you have covid-19, please refrain from voting in our poll.
Pollster note: Here we are trying to poll the same population that would be voting on January 19. It is therefore necessary, to ask covid-19 infected persons not to vote.
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@ David who wrote ” She probably wants the same things as Verla.”
Except one.lol
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@TheOGazerts
Your next poll question needs to be
“Should nurses turn up for work if they were not on strike but still were not paid? Hell Yes / Yes / No / Hell No
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Source: Nation
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The city is a DUMP and has been that way since Billie The Goat….why is anyone taking credit for keeping it as a dump is beyond me…the minimal work done does not making it any less of a dump.
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Source: Nation
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@David January 13, 2022 5:23 AM
Hindsight being 20/20 vision, a wiser move by Caswell would have been to suspend strike action until the election was over, hold the protest marches and resume strike action on the 24th.
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To repeat, liken it to a game of chest. The government will work hard to crush Caswell and UWU because they know if he gains a foothold the type of person he is it will not be easy for them. They will work to fix the problems identified but will work hard to make sure he is not seen as a ‘Messiah’. This is not to say the blogmaster does not agree with the cause.
Your comment against the foregoing is a sensible one.
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Strike action needs new tactics.
A 1 day strike every two weeks in the form of a protest march or picket might be a modern, more effective approach to strike action to keep the issue in the public domain past the 9 day attention span we have.
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@CA
This is what we are talking about, their move, your counter. This is what it is about.
Caswell has been complaining about striking workers not being able to easily return to the job. We need to hear more. Is disciplinary action being taken against striking workers?
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The challenge is approval for marches must come from the establishment. The workers Caswell represent would have to fall back to tactics QEH are using re: sick out.
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