Which Party Is Going To Stop The Rot?

BERNADETTE · 21-04-2008, 01:32

I have never been or pretended to be big on politics. What I would like to know is are either of the main parties going to take a stance on the subject of slave labour?? No I am not talking about kids being made to go out to work but what about the less educated people?? If you are now taking a job you are told you must work seven days a week if the firm taking you asks you to. To my mind we are going backwards, we in this country fought long and hard to abolish these outdated policies and now people from abroad are coming here and undoing all the good work that has been done. These people are working for the very minimum wages who is going to fight for their rights???

grannyclaret · 21-04-2008, 12:45

I am fed up with this goverment too,,i have always voted Labour, but now i just dont care who gets in....your right about people ,if they want a job they are under presure.and held over a barrel,,,,the people who wont work,get all the perks,,,it never used to be this bad

MargaretR · 21-04-2008, 13:05

There are no strong trade unions any more.
They were the factor which protected the rights of the working man.
I recall that it was the tories who killed them off with legislation which rendered them useless.

garinda · 21-04-2008, 13:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by BERNADETTE

If you are now taking a job you are told you must work seven days a week if the firm taking you asks you to.

I think the Conservatives introducing Sunday trading has a lot to answer for.

Many families are now seperated on Sundays because a parent has to work, and even for those who don't work on a Sunday, dragging the kids round a shopping centre is hardly spending quality time together.

cashman · 21-04-2008, 13:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by [email protected]

There are no strong trade unions any more.
They were the factor which protected the rights of the working man.
I recall that it was the tories who killed them off with legislation which rendered them useless.

thats true,but "Blair" never did 1 iota, to correct the other extreme that the tories created, which to me personally was "Galling" also hypocritical seeing that labour have sponsered trade union MPS.

MargaretR · 21-04-2008, 13:14

I thought that EU law dictates that any hours worked over 40 a week is voluntary.
Making your employer accept that may well be another matter

BERNADETTE · 21-04-2008, 13:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by [email protected]

I thought that EU law dictates that any hours worked over 40 a week is voluntary.
Making your employer accept that may well be another matter

That is what I was trying to point out, EU laws seem to count for nothing these days

emamum · 21-04-2008, 13:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by BERNADETTE

That is what I was trying to point out, EU laws seem to count for nothing these days

Wheres blazey when we need her?????
Pretty sure she just did a HUGE assignment on EU law.

BERNADETTE · 21-04-2008, 13:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by emamum23

Wheres blazey when we need her?????
Pretty sure she just did a HUGE assignment on EU law.

I eagerly await a reply then

jambutty · 23-04-2008, 15:05

The politics of today are the result of some 40% of the electorate not bothering to vote.

For the last forty years or so we have not had a government democratically elected by the majority of the electorate. It’s been an oligarchy and will continue that way for the foreseeable future, particularly as we are sleep walking into full EU integration.

Oh! Yes! The government feathering its own nest also comes into the equation.

A hung parliament after the next national election might get a few minds thinking about the people though.

grannyclaret · 24-04-2008, 10:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambutty

The politics of today are the result of some 40% of the electorate not bothering to vote.

For the last forty years or so we have not had a government democratically elected by the majority of the electorate. It’s been an oligarchy and will continue that way for the foreseeable future, particularly as we are sleep walking into full EU integration.

Oh! Yes! The government feathering its own nest also comes into the equation.

A hung parliament after the next national election might get a few minds thinking about the people though.

I always vote regardless,,, but this time i might just deliberatley spoil it

cashman · 24-04-2008, 10:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambutty

The politics of today are the result of some 40% of the electorate not bothering to vote.

For the last forty years or so we have not had a government democratically elected by the majority of the electorate. It’s been an oligarchy and will continue that way for the foreseeable future, particularly as we are sleep walking into full EU integration.

Oh! Yes! The government feathering its own nest also comes into the equation.

A hung parliament after the next national election might get a few minds thinking about the people though.

i think thats the "Nail On The Head" would be very interested to see the voting % of 40/50 years ago against todays, would suspect you would see the differance.

entwisi · 24-04-2008, 11:40

As others have said, The tories in another life may have brought in things that we see as triggers to poor working conditions. However, do you actually believe that Labour wouldn't have done the same things if the tories hadn't got there first? They have as others said had plenty of time to correct anything they feel needed correcting but they haven't. A clear endorsment in my book.

The monetry value of wages is not the issue, the cost of living in comparison to those wages is. Even a relative youngster like me can look back just 10 years at things like house prices and think why the heck didn't I buy two of them back then! The cost of fuel is quite scary. taxes are going up and up and up.

Eric · 24-04-2008, 19:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambutty

The politics of today are the result of some 40% of the electorate not bothering to vote.

For the last forty years or so we have not had a government democratically elected by the majority of the electorate. It’s been an oligarchy and will continue that way for the foreseeable future, particularly as we are sleep walking into full EU integration.

Oh! Yes! The government feathering its own nest also comes into the equation.

A hung parliament after the next national election might get a few minds thinking about the people though.

A "hung parliament"? I take it as a minority govt.

If I'm right, it might not be a bad idea. We have one and it seems to be working ok. I think that Canadian voters are thinking a lot like you guys. They don't trust either of the major parties enough to give them a clear mandate. The Liberals are still tainted with scandal and there are too many right wing extremists in the Tory party ... left overs from the Reform Party days ... for most people's tastes. A lot of people might swing their support from the Liberals to the NDP (Our version of Labour, nice guys with good ideas) and the Greens. Some moderate tory voters might opt for the NDP too. Of course we don't have to worry about EU membership, but NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) will be an issue, esp as Clinton and Obama are talking about renegotiating it.

garinda · 25-04-2008, 00:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by entwisi

Even a relative youngster like me can look back just 10 years at things like house prices and think why the heck didn't I buy two of them back then!

The housing market isn't really a good indicator of actual spending power.

Ten years ago, though housing was relatively cheap in this area, in many other parts of the country it was rising in price by massive amounts annually.

Now we are still experiencing price rises locally, albeit fairly small ones, while the rest of the country is stagnant, or prices are actually falling.

I'm sure with hindsight we'd all be millionaires, if we'd have bought at the bottom of a housing depression trough.