Public Services Strike In The UK

Getting to work today was a nightmare due to the strike [1]. I have to be honest that while empaphise with the low income (and therefore low pension) people who are striking, everytime time there are public-services strikes it’s not the government suffering but the people trying to get to work. Instead of the usual hour’s journey to work (which is already long enough) it took over an hour just to get into the city centre (by bus), and that’s by no means the end of my journey to work (normally getting to the city centre by metro takes 20 minutes). I really feel sorry for anyone who lives even further from Newcastle City Centre than I do.

The metro strike also means more people will use cars. However, as 2 of the major car parks are in Newcastle City Centre are staffed by public servants, they’re likely to be closed. Someone mentioned to me yesterday that their combined capacity is 1500 cars. So there is going to be increased competition for parking spots, traffic congestion and plenty of people angry because they can’t find anywhere to park.

What the people who strike want is to get public on their side. Personally, I am sick of their striking. There are other ways to get us "on-side". Make a mockery of the government, put the message across in a serious-but-funny way, get the public protesting outside local council and MP offices. Just please - stop punishing the public. Go after the government instead!

[1] http://www.unison.org.uk/features/features/0603strike.asp