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Or, alternatively, "Total Shutdown".
The unofficial oil strike has turned into a national issue because some tosser at Total has taken the decision that the rules are more important than people. In this case, the people are us, and the rules are moronic.
This will be headline news, so there's no need for an in-depth analysis. Oil strikers in the UK object to "cheap" foreign labour. Go on unofficial strike because they say Total has broken promises which Total claim they never made. Total sacks strikers. Rest of country's energy workers look set to walk out. Threat to energy supply comes not from Russia (as feared), but from a domestic strike.
As is usually the case in situations such as this, neither side comes up smelling of roses, but, on the balance of things, Total looks the most stupid. Not on the grounds of whether they should have the right to employ cheaper contract labour from Portugal (something, it might be noted, that they would never get away with in their home territory of France), but on the grounds of illogical argument.
Clearly having employed lawyers from the PR school of complete bollocks, Total has refused to talk to the union GMB and to the arbitration unit Acas. It has also refused to negotiate with the strikers. Head over to Total Lawyer land.
1) It won't talk to the unions about the strike, or see Acas with the unions, because the strike was not officially sanctioned.
2) It won't talk to the strikers because they are on strike.
In Total's own words.
Total continued:
Now, this kind of "we are happy to talk, but...." has been used throughout history by sides talking bollocks. It's used to cloak a refusal to talk with a 'justification' when, studied closely, is no justification at all. And as soon as the phrase "due process" is used, my sympathy automatically moves to the other side.
Will the lights be going out by this time next week? Perhaps. The good Mr Butler and I have commented in the past that the capitalist concept of "just in time" goods provision might look good if you are running a company, but quickly turns to shit when you are running a country. If we are only a week or so away from shutdown, we are far less prepared to cope with it than we were when the 1973 coal strike struck.
____________________
The unofficial oil strike has turned into a national issue because some tosser at Total has taken the decision that the rules are more important than people. In this case, the people are us, and the rules are moronic.
This will be headline news, so there's no need for an in-depth analysis. Oil strikers in the UK object to "cheap" foreign labour. Go on unofficial strike because they say Total has broken promises which Total claim they never made. Total sacks strikers. Rest of country's energy workers look set to walk out. Threat to energy supply comes not from Russia (as feared), but from a domestic strike.
As is usually the case in situations such as this, neither side comes up smelling of roses, but, on the balance of things, Total looks the most stupid. Not on the grounds of whether they should have the right to employ cheaper contract labour from Portugal (something, it might be noted, that they would never get away with in their home territory of France), but on the grounds of illogical argument.
Clearly having employed lawyers from the PR school of complete bollocks, Total has refused to talk to the union GMB and to the arbitration unit Acas. It has also refused to negotiate with the strikers. Head over to Total Lawyer land.
1) It won't talk to the unions about the strike, or see Acas with the unions, because the strike was not officially sanctioned.
2) It won't talk to the strikers because they are on strike.
In Total's own words.
""The main contract company, Jacobs, and Total have repeatedly sought to encourage the workforce to return to work so that proper negotiations can take place.
"This is in line with the union and industry agreed process that negotiations over illegal strikes cannot commence until the workforce has returned to work.
Total continued:
“We would welcome talks but for those talks to take place we have to have the people back in work, there is a due process to go through."
Now, this kind of "we are happy to talk, but...." has been used throughout history by sides talking bollocks. It's used to cloak a refusal to talk with a 'justification' when, studied closely, is no justification at all. And as soon as the phrase "due process" is used, my sympathy automatically moves to the other side.
Will the lights be going out by this time next week? Perhaps. The good Mr Butler and I have commented in the past that the capitalist concept of "just in time" goods provision might look good if you are running a company, but quickly turns to shit when you are running a country. If we are only a week or so away from shutdown, we are far less prepared to cope with it than we were when the 1973 coal strike struck.
____________________
