Strike!

[Deltaitem]

Not much chance of that with the tories in charge. You'll more likely be made to arrest any firefighter, paramedic or nurse who dare to withdraw their labour in future. Or indeed, anyone else who dares show their head over the parapet and decides they've got no choice but to make a stand.

 

[Downsizer]

I'm striking because of the pittance many of my team receive. 7 years' ago, the % difference between the AO grade (£10.54 per hour) and national Minimum wage(£7.20 per hour) was 46%. Come April, the difference between the AO Grade (11.61 per hour) and the NMW (£10.42) is just 11%. My AO staff make £22400 PA for determining nationality - their job has become far more complex since Brexit, mainly due to the cluster surrounding the lack of clarity regarding EU citizens who stayed but never registered and then pop a kid out after living here many years. Folk in my team rely on food banks. They stay at work for as long as possible to avoid switching the heating on at home. One 60 year old walks 2 miles to work and 2 miles home because they cant afford the bus fare.

Yes I voted to strike and am striking for a decent wage rise for the AO & EO grades. I'd happily forego my 3% if it meant everyone got a flat rate rise, instead of one which gives more to those who earn more. £1500 to an AO is around 7% but to me is around 4%.

I consider myself very fortunate not to be trying to pay rent/mortgage, heat a house and support a family on take-home of about £1500 a month. Its quite sobering that my military pension almost equates to the take-home wage of my team members.

Thanks for responding.

I respect your PoV, but I just don't think I could do it.

 

[muttywhitedog]

Back to work yesterday and in my management meetings, nothing was said about the day before - I have no idea as to how many of my peers were in or out. It really is a case of dont ask, dont tell. If they were in, they'd know I was out.

In terms of my team, I do know, because I had to do the transaction to stop their pay. Three of my five Line Managers were out, and 10 of my examiners (out of 31) also didnt work. However, also worth noting is that of my 21 who did, 8 were recruited through an agency and are not classed as civil servants, and it was also made clear that any agency workers who went out may have their bookings cancelled. Its also worth noting that my team worked from home yesterday, so didnt have to face crossing a picket line.

 

[Deltaitem]

That's a lot of discontent, right across the workforce, across all sectors and professions.

 

[Tin basher]

so didnt have to face crossing a picket line.

I've never been swayed to change my views by any picket line nor had even a moments hesitation about crossing a picket line.

 

[Stevienics]

Industrial action is simply forcing the state to satisfy a union's collective greed through impoverishment of other people's grandchildren.

There is no long term funding for it - quite the opposite

 

[Fu Fu Valve]

Shell’s figures will be suitably eye-watering: adjusted annual profits are expected to come in around $83bn (£67bn) against $55bn a year ago, including around $19bn in the final quarter of the year, against $16.3bn in the same period of 2021.

Shell , like most of the oil and gas companies are global players. Out of all of that they made £2 billion in the UK which with the regular tax they pay and windfall tax means they're hit with a 75% tax rate on that £2 Billion.
The windfall tax is having a huge effect on the industry with investments being slashed and future plans cancelled.
There was some useless Liabour MP on TV yesterday banging on about what they would would do with the massive amounts of tax money they'd get from them, not realizing it was nowhere near as much as they'd like to believe.

 

[Talk Wrench]

Shell , like most of the oil and gas companies are global players. Out of all of that they made £2 billion in the UK which with the regular tax they pay and windfall tax means they're hit with a 75% tax rate on that £2 Billion.
The windfall tax is having a huge effect on the industry with investments being slashed and future plans cancelled.
There was some useless Liabour MP on TV yesterday banging on about what they would would do with the massive amounts of tax money they'd get from them, not realizing it was nowhere near as much as they'd like to believe.

Shell's earnings from the UK amount to around 5% of their global earnings from what I'm led to believe. Is that correct?

 

[busby1971]

left wing politicians seem to think that companies like she’ll keep all their profits locked away in a secret vault, when in reality, profit paid out to shareholders, which includes a lot of pension schemes, gets paid out and spent in the economy or covers off future investment.

 

[muttywhitedog]

Industrial action is simply forcing the state to satisfy a union's collective greed through impoverishment of other people's grandchildren.

There is no long term funding for it - quite the opposite

So is giving millionaires £400 fuel allowance, or rich pensioners a £600 fuel allowance and a triple lock state pension.

 

[muttywhitedog]

left wing politicians seem to think that companies like she’ll keep all their profits locked away in a secret vault, when in reality, profit paid out to shareholders, which includes a lot of pension schemes, gets paid out and spent in the economy or covers off future investment.

Apart from the £Billions spent by these companies to buy back shares, thus pushing the price of the share up? Imagine what good could be done with that money if it were invested on clean energy or social programmes that benefitted more than just the investors.

 

[busby1971]

Apart from the £Billions spent by these companies to buy back shares, thus pushing the price of the share up? Imagine what good could be done with that money if it were invested on clean energy or social programmes that benefitted more than just the investors.

But the money doesn’t just sit in the company it gets used to invest in the things you’ve just mentioned, and other things you dont.

Buying back shares does not necessarily change the overall value of a company, a higher price for fewer shares will be similar to a lower price for more shares.

I work for a company that clears 14% EBITDA, it has a solid commitment to net zero and can afford to reach it, I used to work in the food industry and with the company only just making it too 10% it couldn’t afford to do the same.

Apart from old people stuffing cash under the mattress or in biscuit tins, money just keeps rolling around and around.

The less the state takes from the private sector the more funds there are for the benefit for all.

 

[muttywhitedog]

But the money doesn’t just sit in the company it gets used to invest in the things you’ve just mentioned, and other things you dont.

Buying back shares does not necessarily change the overall value of a company, a higher price for fewer shares will be similar to a lower price for more shares.

I work for a company that clears 14% EBITDA, it has a solid commitment to net zero and can afford to reach it, I used to work in the food industry and with the company only just making it too 10% it couldn’t afford to do the same.

Apart from old people stuffing cash under the mattress or in biscuit tins, money just keeps rolling around and around.

The less the state takes from the private sector the more funds there are for the benefit for all.

Ok. So tell me how we all benefit from the £4Bn that shell have spent buying their own shares? The value of the company is still the same, but there are £4Bn less shares, which benefits the shareholders whose holding will have risen by a couple of pennies a share max from £23.50 to £23.52. Whoopie thrap! They barely notice, but there is £4Bn less being invested.

 

[Captain Kirk]

So is giving millionaires £400 fuel allowance, or rich pensioners a £600 fuel allowance and a triple lock state pension

Are you saying pensions should be means based?
Is that because you aren’t ‘rich’ or a millionaire? If you are in receipt of a pension, and have done your bit are you going to vote for a government that will take it from you, because you may have saved?
You are the reason money is leaving this country and the government cannot do anything; there’s no money and if tax goes up any further there will be less money as more will leave!

 

[Captain Kirk]

Ok. So tell me how we all benefit from the £4Bn that shell have spent buying their own shares? The value of the company is still the same, but there are £4Bn less shares, which benefits the shareholders whose holding will have risen by a couple of pennies a share max from £23.50 to £23.52. Whoopie thrap! They barely notice, but there is £4Bn less being invested.

Tell me what happens if Shell move their tax base to Ireland, and there’s no tax to squander. it has escaped you that Shell and the likes have stopped researching the north sea. Imagine your household budget being screwed by excessive tax if you do overtime, if you had any sense you’d stop doing overtime.
What trade were you?

 

[Captain Kirk]

But the money doesn’t just sit in the company it gets used to invest in the things you’ve just mentioned, and other things you dont.

Buying back shares does not necessarily change the overall value of a company, a higher price for fewer shares will be similar to a lower price for more shares.

I work for a company that clears 14% EBITDA, it has a solid commitment to net zero and can afford to reach it, I used to work in the food industry and with the company only just making it too 10% it couldn’t afford to do the same.

Apart from old people stuffing cash under the mattress or in biscuit tins, money just keeps rolling around and around.

The less the state takes from the private sector the more funds there are for the benefit for all.

Lol, you are going to blow his/ her/ their mind using terms like EBITDA!

 

[busby1971]

Ok. So tell me how we all benefit from the £4Bn that shell have spent buying their own shares? The value of the company is still the same, but there are £4Bn less shares, which benefits the shareholders whose holding will have risen by a couple of pennies a share max from £23.50 to £23.52. Whoopie thrap! They barely notice, but there is £4Bn less being invested.

No, it is very likely that people and organisations who had the 4bn invested on the day previous, will be investing this money as quickly as they can, cash is a depreciating asset.

Im no finance expert and I might missed a little bit here and there, but trust me, we need to keep the country a finance friendly country for all our sakes.

 

[Talk Wrench]

Thing is Mutty @muttywhitedog , I get it that people feel the need to strike and it is a hard fought for right, born of the industrial wrongs of the past.

As for your day off, I'm disappointed you didn't make it to the Spoons

 

[dctyke]

Are you saying pensions should be means based?
Is that because you aren’t ‘rich’ or a millionaire? If you are in receipt of a pension, and have done your bit are you going to vote for a government that will take it from you, because you may have saved?
You are the reason money is leaving this country and the government cannot do anything; there’s no money and if tax goes up any further there will be less money as more will leave!

Tell me what happens if Shell move their tax base to Ireland, and there’s no tax to squander. it has escaped you that Shell and the likes have stopped researching the north sea. Imagine your household budget being screwed by excessive tax if you do overtime, if you had any sense you’d stop doing overtime.
What trade were you?

Don’t quite know what you mean by Shell stopping research in the north sea. My daughter who is a north sea oil analyst tells me they haven’t made a decision yet. They are starting two fields soon (penguin east and west) and looking to open up another next year.

 

[Captain Kirk]

Don’t quite know what you mean by Shell stopping research in the north sea. My daughter who is a north sea oil analyst tells me they haven’t made a decision yet. They are starting two fields soon (penguin east and west) and looking to open up another next year.

If you have a gander though recent Bloomberg/ Telegraph articles the government have seen markedly less interest from the big explorers to bid for drilling rights. Windfall tax was seemingly the deal breaker.
These companies lost way more between 19 and 22 now they’re now making. They took the risks, and they’re paying off. I’ve edited because I’ve put a link below, but if you can pay a lower rate of tax (a neighbouring EU country) why would you stay paying a higher rate?
For anyone interested in buying oil shares, perhaps look at France and Spain!