My kids’ school is closed tomorrow because of the teachers are on strike. With the way things are across the UK, this was only a matter of time. I can’t think of any public service that hasn’t been on strike till now. I don’t think there’s anybody in this country who wouldn’t have been affected in some way, big or small, by now.
The ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work recognises the “freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining”. But what happens when exercising this right doesn’t feel any more than an exercise in futility?
Back home in India, I can’t think of a time when my life was affected in any way by a strike. One may argue that’s the upside of living in a place where your dependence on public services is almost non-existent. Your kids go to private schools, you consult with private doctors, you rely on private transport. More like a place where public services either don’t work so well or have failed completely. The kind of situation that happens when public services are sucked dry. Whether by corruption, or funding cuts.