Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

cynic
"unions pretty much ran the country and there was no incentive to create wealth or to better oneself"

Still beating the drum for the right, I've been in a union for forty years plus, I have a very good wage a very good pension and my health and safety has been taken care of.
All down to the union with the backing of the workers they support, and yes I have been on strike many a time in the last forty years and do not regret a single day of it. It has brought my standard of living way up for me and also to the grades below and above right to the top of the company. without the unions we would still be in the dark ages..

A lot of that was true driver, but the 70/80's saw the unions getting out of their heads on power.

btw, where are they today? protecting the average worker against unfair competition by cheap imported labour eh?

where are they??

The unions of today have moved to middle right (not mine) they need to get back to their roots and militant up, very difficult though when their leaders are or were in the pockets of the New Labour the 2nd Tory party. And the whole of the media against all unions.
The right have it at the moment that's why we have zero hour contracts and a completely useless minimum wage..

The phrase "lions led by donkeys" comes to mind when considering some of the pointless struggles conducted by many unions.

The miners strike led by Scargill who would not let his members have a vote. There was the strike over technology in the print union. The dockers strike against containers. The years of restrictive practice and demarcation that required 6 men to put up a no smoking sign. The list is quite long.

The dockers were offered jobs in the container businesses in London and Tilbury. Their response was to strike and London and Tilbury closed. The work went to the container port at Felixstowe. The print workers were offered involvement in the new technology but tried to stop it, so they were cut out completely. For years they had milked the system in Fleet Street with phantom employees and over staffing. The unions were ruining the car and other industries.

The changes that were brought about by Thatcher were needed. Labour had tried unsuccessfully to introduce the same type of changes. Barbara Castle produced a document called "In place of strife" which she failed to get past the left wing and the unions.

We were called the sick man of Europe while the unions dominated businesses. It is interesting that the Labour Party has never attempted to repeal Thatcher's union laws.

There have always been zero hours contracts. It is called casual Labour and it suits the majority who are on zero hours. I know that it does not suit many people but its flexibility does suit many others such as students and people with childcare problems.

Copied.

Do we still need Unions?
With the lengthening of working hours, the removal of job security, an increase in work related illnesses and injuries, yes we do still need unions. Corporate culture is creating a world where we live to work rather than work to live. Bullying and harassment, health and safety, job security, wages and hours, these are all areas where standards have generally declined for workers in recent years.

The result has been more frustration, more stress, more absenteeism and a decline in the overall quality of life. This can only be changed by a rebirth of the best traditions of the labour movement, based on a strong commitment to self-organisation, solidarity, union democracy and internationalism.

We do need unions, but they have to be responsible. A strike caused by a tube driver being suspended for TWICE failing a breathalyser at work. Strikes where only 10℅ vote. Using strikes as a political tool. They and other activities need to be prevented.

all i can say, i'm damn glad no company i have ever worked for has ever had to deal with the unions, especially the likes of those led by scargill, crowe and a number of others of their leanings .... what a bunch of destructive bastards and the country is well shot of them, though mccluskey is doing his best to revitalise them .... that said, i agree the management of many companies is (still) woefully inadequate and worse

for myself, i KNOW we treat our staff damn well; i don't need to guess ..... how do i know? ..... we almost never lose any except to retirement or similar

Something to cheer you captains of industry up...


http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-29/monte-paschi-only-bank-fail-european-stress-test-designed-restore-confidence-europes

jimmy how about some pictures of young ladies showing off their assets for a change .

Vicky,

Here is a girlfriend for you.

The caption SHOULD read "Riddled with disease and deformity, 'DON"T' marry
your first cousin, just because its acceptable in your third world hovels"

And the only thing threatening the British(English) extinction IS mass immigration!!

Someone at the Owen Smith rally shouted Corbyn was the Messiah & Smith replied "he's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy"

If true sounds like it was staged, but would've gone down a storm i should
imagine..

I wonder where Sky gets its news readers. There are those that can't complete a sentence at normal cadence. They have to hang it out there as if they don't know what is coming next. "and - we - have- coming -up -for- you"
Then there is this weekend's duty reader Niall Paterson. While reporting on the 7 o'clock news on Saturday, he informed us that the investigation re the Texas balloon tragedy would probably be finishing until the following day since "it would be getting dark soon". Texas is 6 hrs behind us, making it just after 1pm at the time.
Then he reminded us about the 2013 tragedy at Luxor in Egypt that took 19 lives. "Luxor near the pyramids" Luxor is great for visiting Karnak, the Luxor temple, the valleys of the king and queens, even the Aswan dam, but to visit the pyramids you will need to travel about 400 miles north to Giza, outside Cairo. Doh!

What do you expect from the present government who has its own future in mind.

Somebody has to support Manuel.

Who wants to pay TAX not me, say the rich Israelis tax the Palestinian!


Israel's taxman investigating 8,000 accounts at HSBC in Switzerland
Mon, 1st Aug 2016 10:47 - By Steven Scheer

JERUSALEM, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Israel's tax authority, looking to crack down on unreported capital, said on Monday it has received a list from French authorities of more than 8,000 Israeli customers that held bank accounts at the Swiss arm of HSBC.

HSBC early last year acknowledged "past compliance and control failures" that may have allowed some customers to evade taxes.

Since February 2015, Israel's tax authority had been working to obtain the list of Israelis with accounts at HSBC Switzerland.

Having a Swiss bank account is not illegal in Israel as long as it is reported to authorities and taxes are paid. The tax authority said that it will spend the next few months examining the list of Swiss HSBC accounts and compare it with the authority's records.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which had coordinated the release of leaked data from HSBC in Switzerland, initially reported that Israel ranked sixth among 203 countries whose citizens were customers, with 6,554 Israelis holding accounts worth $10 billion.

"Getting the list is one of the most significant outcomes of the fight against undeclared capital and it joins the legislative moves and other measures to obtain information on bank accounts and assets held by Israelis abroad," said Moshe Asher, head of the Israel Tax Authority.

The authority has offered immunity from criminal prosecution by anyone who comes forward to report an account abroad. It has so far received 5,360 requests worth 18.6 billion shekels ($5 billion).

Asher called on those Israelis who have not yet reported capital to do so now. Those applying for amnesty are still liable for back taxes and penalties.

Israeli newspapers had reported that among the Israelis on the list were bank owners and directors, diamond and real estate moguls, retired military officers, public and private company heads, well-known lawyers, a "popular" TV presenter, artists, soccer players, sports agents, a retired judge and a former prosecutor.

The tax authority previously arrested 32 people over secret accounts worth tens of millions of dollars held at UBS in Switzerland.

The dishonours list.

What did you expect from a self-sacking PM of a corrupt administration?

Market forces "dear boy".

Some of the others on the list must feel grubby.

Perhaps, Theresa may have a market auction for said "honours"when she departs.

-=-=-=

Manuel and Haze.

You never know, if you dig deep (very deep) in your pockets you could get on the next list.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/aug/01/jeremy-corbyn-calls-for-law-to-limit-pms-powers-to-deploy-special-forces

Jeremy Corbyn denies living in "a bubble of adulation"