Opinion: They strike because choice is limited

I know from my perspective my post isn’t being delivered at its usual pace. Train services haven’t been as regular as they used to be. Nurses are also due to take industrial action.

We will all feel it, and as we enter the festive period, no doubt these will become particularly burdensome.

Before we get upset with the train drivers, postmen and nurses, it’s important to remember why they are doing this. Most people don’t want to strike: the strike is the last, not the first resort, particularly for those in caring professions. No nurse I have ever encountered wanted to let a patient down.

We are here because they have limited choice: a nurse, a train driver, a postman, wants to be able to pay their rent, feed their family, save up for the future. However, the present set of policies are squeezing them harder and harder. Getting rid of the trade unions or diminishing their strength further would do nothing except force people in these professions to look elsewhere: this is already happening.

But do we have a functioning economy or society without nurses, transport, and communications?

I am sure there would be a retort that these people are “paid what their labour is worth”. I am sure most can spot this as errant nonsense.

CEOs are paid seven figure sums even when they run their companies into the ground. Bankers received bonuses, though earnings were enhanced not by their actions but rather because central banks increased interest rates.

There was a time, not too long ago, in which we knew who really was valuable: we stood outside and applauded our NHS workers during the height of the pandemic, because they were literally risking their lives to care for us all. Yet when they asked for a decent wage, this government has turned a deaf ear and muttered something about it being unaffordable.

Meanwhile, billions were wasted on fraud and Liz Truss’s foolish economic experiment. What is it that we cannot afford? Or are the Tories so far down the rabbit hole of believing that anything connected with public service is wasteful that almost any spending is anathema to them?

The festive season is a good time to reconnect with what matters. It is a great opportunity to spend time with loved ones and to reflect on our values and priorities. I especially appreciate the themes of family, togetherness, and community. We can see that our country works not because we are just a bunch of striving individuals: aspiration is important, but we are also interdependent. We should recognise how our country works and for whom it works.

Rather than brush off the strikes, we should pause when we see a nurse walk away from her post and realise something is deeply wrong and needs to be corrected. I do not believe that this government will make the necessary adjustments unless we all raise our voices in support of those on strike and say that it is wrong that people do not earn enough to live decently and not rely on food banks. I hope we will.