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Airport Workers Strike 7 Airports in England Jan 7

by An American in London Sat Dec 29th, 2007 at 07:00:03 AM EST

Airport workers today [editor's note, by Migeru: 2007 December 21] announced a strike against BAA 7 major airports in the UK because the Spanish owned BAA is canceling the final pension scheme plan for new workers but will not effect current employees. Nice to see there are still some principles left worth striking over.

The UK management of BAA is against their Spanish owners pension decision and the union feels the only way to get their Spanish owners to listen is to stage a strike.

It would be constructive for the EU to set enforceable high standards for pension etc., based on the previous company directed pension plans as long as they providing the best possible security for the employees.
It would obliterate the 'takeover for profits only' which has infested Europe and has decimated the European model of social justice, which the US electorate is finally now realizing it needs.  

Link to BBC story.

Diary rescue by Migeru


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It would be constructive for the EU to set enforceable high standards for pension etc., based on the previous company directed pension plans as long as they providing the best possible security for the employees.

It would obliterate the 'takeover for profits only' which has infested Europe and has decimated the European model of social justice, which the US electorate is finally now realizing it needs.  

Whilst I agree with you in theory, it does actually become difficult in practice. Pensions have become such a nightmare because nobody thought about the long-term consequences of an ageing population thoroughly.

In Britain they are simply not a safe bet due to government legislation that allows companies to plunder the pension fund to pay bonuses etc. And that's not when the government aren't plundering them to cover up shortfall in revenues because they are reluctant to tax the mobile rich at the socially- appropriate rate.

It is all very well mandating best practice, but such expense invariably requires a dependence on the very high-yield investment vehicles which require
"flexible" financial markets which have created such havoc in the employment markets recently.

Fact is, a proper pension needs to be underpinned by tax-revenues, not investment profits, otherwise they are too vulnerable. And that requires a proper taxation programme, which "modern" de-regulating low-tax governments have philosophically set their faces against.

What we want and what the elites feel they can spare are completely different things.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Dec 21st, 2007 at 02:50:37 PM EST
were exclusively about selfish workers wrecking everybody else's holidays.

:(

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Sat Dec 22nd, 2007 at 01:07:17 PM EST
I hope it works because Ferrovial is just another monstruosity that has to be cut down to size.  If other airline-related employees time their strikes right, there may be progress and some flights may even be cancelled.  The horror...

Our knowledge has surpassed our wisdom. -Charu Saxena.
by metavision on Sat Dec 22nd, 2007 at 03:42:23 PM EST
Not to harp excessively on points made elsewhere, but where are the sympathy strikes?

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Sun Dec 23rd, 2007 at 09:37:02 AM EST
Sympathy strikes are illegal under thatcher regime legislation that has never been repealed.

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sat Dec 29th, 2007 at 08:48:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]
European Tribune - Airport Workers Strike 7 Airports in England Jan 7
It would be constructive for the EU to set enforceable high standards for pension etc., based on the previous company directed pension plans as long as they providing the best possible security for the employees.
I don't know why companies should be expected to provide private pensions. In effect employer-provided pensions are a for of deferred compensation that is not protected against the company going belly-up. Why we need is strong social security.

We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Dec 29th, 2007 at 06:58:26 AM EST


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