Wednesday January 11th 2023

I see that article was sponsored by The Doc Ross foundation. Google doesn't tell me much about Doc Ross.

The Guardian has a link with Australian publication - these articles have little to with UK G

Take off those Gaurdian rose tinted specs for once . Off course it's anti racing. The writer is an anti big time with a history which the G enhances by publishing her thoughts over here as it fits its anti racing agenda which Greg buys into.

Anything negative about the sport gets maximum effort from him. Rest of the time he's on part time mode isn't he .

I didn't hear you complain when Six hung fire on debut when he saw daylight and had to be educated by getting a few smacks which then enhanced his ability to race and value.

That can be annoying - i didnt bet the Nicholls 4 timer on Monday as he had two in the first which put me off ...could have permed them but the odds werent that great and as we all know very often one gets turned over....Not on Monday.

Trying to divide and rule by pointing out the pay of the better paid workers is an old employers' tactic. Today, it's the Tory media which does the bidding of its masters, or is it the Tory party doing the bidding of its media masters?

Unions always put in place minimum standards to ensure public safety where it is an issue, but this is never reported. The Labour Party is doing a very poor job explaining why there are a number of withdrawals of labour just now (unions don't get much public coverage).

It is very difficult indeed to get a majority in a ballot to vote for action, there is an array of legal conditions that must be fulfilled before the members have a chance to vote and signal their approval or not. This was all put in place by Thatcher in her attempt to destroy unions. She was very successful in this, she weakened them hugely.

There would be no breaks from work, no lunch break, no holidays, no pensions, no sick pay, no NHS, no support for the unemployed (such as it is) had not every single one of these been fought for by people organising themselves over a very long period and making incremental improvements to their pay and conditions. The Tolpuddle Maryrs were transported for organising, men women and children were cut down in the Peterloo massacre by mounted horseman after the Riot Act was declared. The rich and powerful, the establishment had to be fought to achieve the most minimal improvements. People were driven by hunger and want.

The dynamic is the same today. People perceive injustice, they see their standard of living hammered. They are not conned by the Tory media and they do not swallow the line that it is greedy unions which is driving this. They know nurses, ambulance workers, train staff, etc. They also know that the pay differential between the workers and the CEOs and Senior Managers has never been so high. They know that the crown jewels of the economy have been sold off by the Tories: energy companies, the water supply industry, the railways, etc. Indeed Britain is "the sick man of Europe" (sic) once again, sapped by gigantic external profit making consortia.

This won't go away by pointing fingers at the train drivers who are trying to prevent the loss of guards on trains which will be catastrophic for the disabled and so on, let alone ordinary passengers who may find themselves feeling threatened or in need of help. Only by negotation can it be resolved. It exists because negotiation has failed. And so it is across all sectors.

Taking away the right to withdraw labour will be counter productive. The resources now available to organise action outside any trade union are vast. There is a term, "working with no enthusiasm" which is impossible to stop. Somehow other European countries seem to manage to allow workers to wihdraw their labour. Those who believed that Brexit was about destroying workers' rights are being proved spot on .

Excellent and lengthy stuff if a little lightweight. The unions problems started with Watt Tyler et al backing down after yet again the health service, the Hospitallers did f all during the black death allowing themselves to be sidetracked into self destruction during a series of crusades.

Was it Wit Tyler? :-)

Well done on 3/1 Raddon Top yesterday - was a bigger price when I looked...

Kingston Joy is a Clyde* at 16/1.

* Clyde = Clyde McPhatter, i.e. a Big Drifter.

33/1 at time of off with predicted outcome.

No matter.