This is about strikes, and my opinion of them.
The thing is, this is my website and I can do what I want with it. As I said on the homepage, I can say whatever I want cos it’s mine. Other viewpoints are available. There’s a post a while back about a worthless thief of oxygen called Johnson, who was a marketing genius as he managed to get himself elected to run our country for a while, when he wasn’t fit to run a cold bath. But I alluded to my opinion on him in that post.
I did it here as opposed to my holiday business website in order to protect that business from anyone taking offence. As it happens, my audience there pretty much 99% despise the bloke anyway. But I didn’t feel it appropriate on there.
And now I want to offload my thoughts about the current (November 2022) strikes ravaging the UK, it occurred to me that I can do it here. Because it’s my website. Yes of course there is a chance of one of my guests finding this site, reading this, taking offence and not booking, but the odds of that are low. There’s also the chance of someone considering using my consultancy knowledge and experience, taking offence and not using me. But I’m not that desperate for the work, so if someone in The Cotswolds that I’ve never met and never will, doesn’t pay me for some of my time, then I’ll get over it eventually.
I don’t want to sound arrogant, because I’m not doing that. I’m merely stating that with this website I have a platform with which I can express my opinion. And I have strong opinions on many things. And it’s not fair that only my daughter and my close friends should have to bear the burden of listening to me exclusively. I paid for this website and the hosting thereof, with money I earned, so it is mine. and I can do what I wish. I am not doing, nor will I ever do, anything illegal or immoral. I just have strong opinions on one or two things, so if it’s ok with you, I’ll brain-dump them on here.
If nobody ever reads this, then that’s fine too. Much in the same way as one day I want to write my book about building my holiday business and brand, I don’t mind if anybody reads it. I want to write it. The cathartic process for me in writing it down, and emptying my very full head, is the point.
So. That’s a long-winded way of explaining and perhaps justifying this opinion….
I’ll start this with an edit… I wrote this i late 2022, when every single industry was jumping on the bandwagon. I then wrote this paragraph in January 2023 after hearing Glasgow MP state that employees “have a fundamental human right to withdraw labour”. He’s right, they do. In the same way that a company or organisation should then have a fundamental right to remove them from the payroll! This attitude that an organisation exists for the workers is just wrong!
If the organisation you work for is losing money, or giving it all to its investors (risk takers), it can’t give you a pay rise can it?
The end.
Ah, perhaps not the end, but that’s the point though.
I have never been a union sympathiser and never will be. Doesn’t mean I don’t like humans, I just think we all need to make our own way and be accountable, that’s all. And I will point out right here that I am nice to my team, I pay them all above minimum wage and always have. And I buy them presents.
Now of course, there needs to be certain conditions and rules, but in the actual United Kingdom, we have that fairly well covered. This is not the third world. The issue is that if a large, union-led organisation gave its’ employees velvet cushions, etched with gold to comfort their bottoms at tea break, the union would demand sequins. Fact. You see, the unions are led by people who believe that ‘the man’ is out to get them. And whatever they have, they want more. In much the same way that a politician is hard-wired to disagree with the opposition, on everything. Even if it has a good idea.
But here in the UK, in the main (yes I know there are exceptions) we have big organisations that look after people. In the main. See reference to exceptions.
But the point that I am gradually getting to in a Ronnie Corbett roundabout way is that if they are losing money they cannot have a pay rise. That’s quite simple for most humans to wrap their head around isn’t it?
And if you want more money, then, and I’m going out on a limb here, go and get a better paid job. What’s that? Oh there isn’t one? Yes there is. There are well paid jobs out there, you just need to be good enough to warrant getting one. And if you’re not, then accept your position in this life. Or, and here I go on a limb again, start your own business and see how you really like them apples.
Most people moaning about their lack of pay, are getting exactly what they are worth, if not possibly a little more. Thing is, until you’ve been self-employed you have not a clue about having to earn money. Please for the love of god (your chosen god is a fictional character but that’s for another day) don’t think I am getting on a high horse and saying that all self-employed people or business types are an upper tier of beings, I’m not. And I know there are millions of people grinding their bones to earn a meagre crust, I am aware ok? Because I have done it. I have been a cleaner, and I have cleaned toilets, covered in all sorts. But it is truly very difficult for anyone who has never had anything other than an actual job, to understand that to go and actually get money for doing something you create, is hard. Way harder than your employer paying you at the end of the week or month, whatever your level of input.
Now, this opinion will undoubtedly ruffle feathers, but anyone reading who has had to take account of themselves and earn money will just be nodding. If your feathers are looking a little tussled at this point, try to imagine leaving school and buying a bucket, a ladder, and a sponge, and going round knocking on doors until enough people say “yes, I will give you some pounds in exchange for cleaning my windows”. Then doing this every single day (6 or 7 days a week when you start) until such times as you can afford a van to put the stuff in and go further afield. Until such times as you can afford to take someone else on and pay them slightly less than you charge, in order to make what is known as a profit. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat. You take all the risks and might die on your arse and lose money. You might make money and build an empire. But you have to be 100% accountable. Most people simply cannot be bothered to do this. Fact. And they also tend to resent those that build an empire. I am not an empire builder, but I have observed many.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had jobs. I’ve worked for people. And I’ve done hard jobs. I’ve also got paid well and dossed about, because I could. But when you buy that bucket, ladder and sponge, you can’t do that. Until you have built an empire, and then people will say “it’s ok for him/ her/ they/ it, they’re lucky”. Yeah about that.
My first every salaried full-time job was for Her Majesty’s Civil Service (£3,648 a year) and it was the dossiest, easiest job ever. I worked in various departments for four years until I decided to sort my life out as it was sucking the energy out of me. It was full of dreary people moaning about how badly paid they were and what a rubbish job it was, and yet they did that year after year after year. I stayed as it was quite social and easy. Then decided I needed to get on with my life and not end up like the lifers stuck in there.
Anyhoodles, back to my point. Right now the train companies of the land, and the Royal Mail are continually striking and moaning about pay.
I don’t know if you heard the news but we just had what they call a pandemic. Nobody went to work. So nobody used the trains. So the train companies lost gazillions of pounds. And now some people are going back on trains, but in far fewer numbers than before. And yet the people working for the train people losing money hand over fist, want more money for doing their job.
That does not compute. If the money isn’t there, they can’t pay it to you. I’m going to strip this right back in case it’s not easy to comprehend;
If I have ten apples and two friends, I can share those apples. If I don’t have any apples I can’t share them. Ok, I may have fewer friends with this patronising explanation, but I’ll live with it. And I can have all the apples!
So that’s the train company dilemma sorted.
They are moaning about conditions etc too, but that’s another matter. That is down to poor management, largely caused by employing people who are not accountable because they work for a large organisation and don’t have to be accountable. See section on sponges, ladders, and buckets.
Now, the Royal Mail. Remember that pandemic I mentioned? Well the thing is we all went absolutely crazy and as we couldn’t go out, we bought stuff. A lot of stuff. On the internet. And we had all that stuff delivered directly to our doors the minute we ordered it, by a company called Amazon. They do a far better job, much quicker, and (if you have Prime) for nothing. No stamp purchase necessary.
You see the things is about the Royal Mail, it is a bit like the fax machine, the telegram, the letter, and the carrier pigeon. You see, the thing is, there is something far more efficient now.
Yes Jeff Bozo may be an arse-wipe, but he can’t help it if the thing he started, doubtless risked everything, and worked his butt off for, became a global phenomenon. Now just in case you want to start shouting at me about Amazon and how badly paid staff are etc etc etc, don’t. I am not in any way, shape or form, saying that Amazon is great. Or that Jeff Bonzo is a hero. I’m not. I don’t like Amazon. But it works and I use it. It makes my life easier. And it works better than the Post Office. Because the Post Office system is outdated now. We call that ‘change’.
And with that change is the actual fact that fewer people are buying stamps (there’s also a thing called the e-mail now) and sending their parcels via Postman Pat. So the business is losing money. So it can’t pay people more money. Please see previous section on ten apples. It just isn’t as good (efficient) as Amazon.
It really is that simple. This is the only point I’m making. The only point.
So. I am in no way defending big business, or anything like that, my simple point is that if a company, business or organisation you work for is losing money, or not making money, then it cannot afford to give you a pay rise that you think you’ve earned. I genuinely shout at the radio to try to explain this point on a daily basis right now. So don’t go on strike, and mess up loads of people’s lives in the process. Go and get another job. Or stop moaning.
That is my point. It’s basic economics, that’s all.
I’ve earned fairy well with my business. But I have worked my arse off. I’ve done 16 hour, 7 day weeks, for very little pay, and not moaned to my union. I did that for years. And I do mean years. With no money. I am in no way saying that self employed people rule the earth and anyone with a job is a piece of dirt. I had jobs in the past, and when there was something I didn’t like, I went and got another one. Not always immediately, but I didn’t whine and complain. I’ve left jobs as I didn’t I was being paid enough. And went elsewhere to get more.
Along came a pandemic… I’ve written extensively about how COVID hit my business. I was forced to close the business for a total of 227 days across three national lockdowns. All the bookings we had over that period were credited and moved to future dates. A couple of things here; I didn’t charge a penny to move the bookings (why would/ should I?) but it was incredibly labour intensive for me. And unbelievably depressing as I knew I was working for zero pennies. Guests did not lose out and I was determined in that. All the future dates could then not be sold to anyone else, so the entire value of those 227 days closed days simply became lost, unsellable revenue. My business lost somewhere in the region of £300,000 during that period. That is a lot of money. I had very little support from the government and couldn’t claim furlough as I was (technically) working. Administering all of the above counted as working and therefore I was ‘working’. Yup. I lost a third of a million quid in revenue, with nowhere to go. The point of sharing this with you is to demonstrate the downside of doing your own thing. And like Alan Partridge I bounced back. Ironic as Steve Coogan immorally claimed furlough for his gardener and housekeeper!
At some point the Royal Mail and the train companies will either fold or look incredibly different to the way they look today. Then you will have to go and get another job, because you will not have one. So why not get off your posterior now, stop moaning about the fact that the organisation that work for (that is haemorrhaging money) won’t pay you lots more, and be responsible for yourself?
Remember, if you are reading this, it’s simply my opinion. You didn’t have to come on here and read this, and you don’t have to agree. If you don’t agree, keep it to yourself though, I don’t want to start a debating society. It’s just my website. Mine.
Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash