Dear Editor
Anyone who proposes a solution to a work/life problem from a trade unionist or socialist point of view is rapidly given the label of ‘trouble-maker’ or ‘agitator’. This tactic is far easier to use than advancing an opinion on the issue.
Industries and businesses want to make as much profit as possible, employees want decent wages and conditions of employment and it is inevitable that a dispute will arise at some point over these issues.
Sensible employees have a trade union organisation to speak for them while the employers normally belong to an organisation that supports them. Sometimes no agreement is reached, and the only option left for the employee is the withdrawal of labour which, as a free person and not a slave, he/she is fully entitled to do.
This is where the tactics of giving labels is stepped up by some media to isolate the strikers in the eyes of the general public. This negative approach is used not only in disputes but across a wide range of issues that affect all our lives.
Despite this, however, much progress has and can be made if one looks beyond this divisive tactic and realise that next time, it could be you.
A. Delahoy, Silverknowes Gardens
