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People in the UK will have noticed (one hopes) that there was a strike on yesterday.
What people don't tell you about being an activist when you step forward to share the burden is how much it's going to bloody hurt! Every bone aches and I thought when I got up this morning that I wasn't going to make it to work. As it is I'm limping around like a limping thing that limps – and I didn't make it all the way round the march.
It was thus
I got up yesterday morning at what felt like the crack of dawn, and made it to the picket line at just after 7am. Our enthusiastic young member, Comrade L, preceded me and he had the leaflets to hand out so that was good. I had the collecting tin for the Hardship Fund, which I proceeded to deploy: I shout "Hardship Fund!" at scabs and members of other unions alike, for all the world like that bloke in Monty Python shouting 'Albatross!'
At 10am we decided we'd had enough – which was good as the security guard at our building came out to try to limit our numbers. As there was only six of us, we were rather peeved, but not as much as we'd have been if he'd tried that trick at an earlier point in rather than just when we were heading off for breakfast.
After breakfast we made a move towards the march assembly point at Lincoln's Inn Fields. As soon as we arrived we all spied other friends in the movement and split up. I touched base with an old friend, the secretary of the first branch executive I was on, who's left the Ministry of Magic for a full time job in a teacher's union. So that was enjoyable. I was noodling around wincing at the noise when a bloke came up to me, asked me if I was in PCS and said they were looking for people to be interviewed on Radio 5 Live. I agreed (what was I thinking of?) and went along with him.
I don't know if anyone caught it, probably not, but I thought I acquitted myself quite well on radio. I made the point, as did one of the teachers who was interviewed that our pension schemes were looked at with a view to affordability within the last six years and are scheduled to reduce in cost as a percentage of GDP over the next fifty years. This is also the point which tripped up a minister in an interview on Radio 4, so that was interesting as none of the people interviewed on R5Live had heard the earlier interview at that point. We'd been too busy picketing.
I also made the point that despite what the government may be saying, this strike was the best supported that I have ever been on. We had significantly fewer people crossing our picket line than we've had before, even from other unions who were not balloted for action.
Guilty
It took a long time for the march to move off, and it was hot and I was starting to feel rather ill. I don't do well standing in any case. So when the march reached Aldwych, I'm afraid I bottled out – I thought I was going to faint, which would have been humiliating so I slipped out and went to sit down. By the time I felt well enough to move, the march had long gone so I went home, feeling a bit guilty.
Interestingly, people seeing my "Coalition of Resistance" tee shirt stopped to talk to me about the march and the strike, asked why we were doing it and actually listened to the points that I made. This included two staff from London Underground. So I didn't feel it was a complete waste, even though I missed what sounded from Twitter like an excellent rally.
I learned, though, that I can either picket (which I'd done for nearly three hours) or march, but not both. Both means too much time on my feet and I really can't cope with it.
Counting the money this morning we raised £143.44 for the hardship fund. So not bad.
What people don't tell you about being an activist when you step forward to share the burden is how much it's going to bloody hurt! Every bone aches and I thought when I got up this morning that I wasn't going to make it to work. As it is I'm limping around like a limping thing that limps – and I didn't make it all the way round the march.
It was thus
I got up yesterday morning at what felt like the crack of dawn, and made it to the picket line at just after 7am. Our enthusiastic young member, Comrade L, preceded me and he had the leaflets to hand out so that was good. I had the collecting tin for the Hardship Fund, which I proceeded to deploy: I shout "Hardship Fund!" at scabs and members of other unions alike, for all the world like that bloke in Monty Python shouting 'Albatross!'
At 10am we decided we'd had enough – which was good as the security guard at our building came out to try to limit our numbers. As there was only six of us, we were rather peeved, but not as much as we'd have been if he'd tried that trick at an earlier point in rather than just when we were heading off for breakfast.
After breakfast we made a move towards the march assembly point at Lincoln's Inn Fields. As soon as we arrived we all spied other friends in the movement and split up. I touched base with an old friend, the secretary of the first branch executive I was on, who's left the Ministry of Magic for a full time job in a teacher's union. So that was enjoyable. I was noodling around wincing at the noise when a bloke came up to me, asked me if I was in PCS and said they were looking for people to be interviewed on Radio 5 Live. I agreed (what was I thinking of?) and went along with him.
I don't know if anyone caught it, probably not, but I thought I acquitted myself quite well on radio. I made the point, as did one of the teachers who was interviewed that our pension schemes were looked at with a view to affordability within the last six years and are scheduled to reduce in cost as a percentage of GDP over the next fifty years. This is also the point which tripped up a minister in an interview on Radio 4, so that was interesting as none of the people interviewed on R5Live had heard the earlier interview at that point. We'd been too busy picketing.
I also made the point that despite what the government may be saying, this strike was the best supported that I have ever been on. We had significantly fewer people crossing our picket line than we've had before, even from other unions who were not balloted for action.
Guilty
It took a long time for the march to move off, and it was hot and I was starting to feel rather ill. I don't do well standing in any case. So when the march reached Aldwych, I'm afraid I bottled out – I thought I was going to faint, which would have been humiliating so I slipped out and went to sit down. By the time I felt well enough to move, the march had long gone so I went home, feeling a bit guilty.
Interestingly, people seeing my "Coalition of Resistance" tee shirt stopped to talk to me about the march and the strike, asked why we were doing it and actually listened to the points that I made. This included two staff from London Underground. So I didn't feel it was a complete waste, even though I missed what sounded from Twitter like an excellent rally.
I learned, though, that I can either picket (which I'd done for nearly three hours) or march, but not both. Both means too much time on my feet and I really can't cope with it.
Counting the money this morning we raised £143.44 for the hardship fund. So not bad.
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