There can be no neutrals on November 30th

Like most people, I could do without losing a day’s pay. That’s why I voted ‘yes’ to strike action, because if the government get their way I stand to lose roughly a day’s pay every month to pay for a worse pension when it comes to (an even later) retirement. What irks me almost as much as this though is those who try to be everyone’s friend, those who refuse to pick a side, opt out – ‘nothing to do with me mate’. Ed’s been a bit savvier than that over the strikes, but you get the idea…

Whether the Labour front bench like it or not though; millions of public sector workers (many for the first time ever) could be downing tools and taking to the streets unless the Coalition Government decide to negotiate properly and stop playing to gallery – ‘We’ll ‘protect’ those who are close to retirement , the rest of you can suck it.’ Or the now infamous ‘We’ll let you strike for 15 minutes, how’s that?’

If Ed sticks to the current ‘plague on both your houses’ line – attempting (but failing) to seize the middle ground – it will be a disaster for him and Labour. You have two choices in a strike; after recognising that strike action is a last resort and not something people enter into lightly, you either consider the action taken by the workers to be unreasonable and side with the employer or you decide that demands of the workforce are fair and reasonable and despite the inconvenience the strike actually causes to you and others, back the workforce against their unreasonable employer.

Saying ‘First and foremost, we’re on the side of all those people who rely on services which may be affected by strike action’ is ridiculous and a cop out. Not least because public sector workers rely on public services themselves, they are well aware of the implications of walking out but also because they are being asked to take a hit which is as unfair as it is unnecessary.

There can be no neutrals on November 30th, Ed and Labour will come across as wishy-washy and wanting to have their cake and eat it if they continue to follow this line. What’s more the strike is to defend a deal that was struck with the Labour Government in 2007 to make pensions sustainable and fair. As a result the National Audit Office said last year that ‘costs to taxpayers will be reduced by 14%’. The cost of public sector pensions is also set to fall 0.5% as a share of national wealth by 2060. So to those who say it cannot be credible for a Labour Party looking to present as an alternative government , to back strike action – I would say that not backing this strike is akin to owning up to failings on our part which are simply not there.

As for the risk of alienating Middle-Britain, stop and ask yourself for a minute who exactly will be on strike. Teachers, Dinner Ladies, NHS staff, Civil Servants, (from office clerks to Sir Humphreys this time, even senior civil servant union FDA are involved), Radiographers, Technicians, Lecturers, Chiropodists and Podiatrists to name a few. Some of these people may well drive a Mondeo and live in Worcestershire.

So Ed and Labour have a choice, either face humiliation at the hands of a braying Cameron and his front bench, goading them to go the whole hog and condemn their ‘paymasters’ or take the ball out of Cameron’s hands and stand shoulder to shoulder with the hard working men and women who’ve decided enough is enough. Perhaps under the ‘good capitalism’ narrative he could even aim a few blows towards the private sector’s retreat from good pension provision for its employees while he’s at it.