Ryan Bridge: What was the point of the mega strikes?

So 100,000 workers went on strike. Now what?

The cost to settle these claims will run into the billions. Easily. 

1979 was the last time we a strike this big. A general strike. 300-thousand people. It was Muldoon days. It was over a dispute with driver unions and transport. It went to arbitration and the unions won.

This time, senior doctors refused binding arbitration. 

Secondary teachers have a few more strikes before Christmas.

And the primary teachers have more dates set down for pay talks next month. 

You’d have to say, based purely on vibes and a little bit on polling, that the workers win the week.

They 've won the PR battle.

We're already sick of hearing how much senior doctors get paid. Parents will be sick of their kids missing school.

Anymore delayed hip operations and there’ll be hell to pay.

If the unions expect strikes to kick off again next year, they might find themselves falling out of favour with workers in the private sector.

The median wage is $70k. Private sector workers haven’t been getting the same increases as the public ones.

The offer these teachers are rejecting would have almost 80% of them on $100k or more. Base salary. 

Arguing for more and dragging our industrial action for to long and you risk looking, well, political. Or greedy. Given the state of the books and the enormous deficit blowout this current lot inherited. 

So the unions have won the battle. Can they win the war? 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So one hundred thousand workers went on strike. Now what
the cost to settle these claims will surely run into
the billions of dollars, easily run into the billions of
dollars for all these workers. Nineteen seventy nine, that was
the last time we had to strike this big. That
was a general strike, three hundred thousand people. This was
Muldoon days. It was over a dispute with the driver

(00:20):
unions and Transport went to arbitration. The unions one well,
Muldoon lost. The deal went through this time senior doctors
refused binding arbitration. Simeon Brown offered it. They said, nap
secondary teachers they've got a few more strikes in them
before Christmas, though they're lower level. And the primary teachers
they say they've now got more dates set down to

(00:41):
talk pay conditions etc. Next month. You'd have to say,
based purely on a little bit of polling and a
little bit of vibes, that the workers win the week
they've won the pr battle. I mean, personally, I'm already
sick of hearing about how much senior doctors get Paid'll
be sick of their kids missing school any more. Delayed

(01:03):
hip operations and they'll be hell to pay. If the
unions expect strikes to kick off again next year, they
might just find themselves falling out of favor worth workers
in the private sector. Remember the median wage median salary
seventy thousand dollars a year. Private sector workers haven't been
getting the same increases as the public ones. And the

(01:26):
offer of these teachers are rejecting right now would have
almost eighty percent of them earning more than one hundred
k a year base salary base salary. Arguing for more
and dragging out industrial action for too long, you risk
looking well political what the government said you were, or
greedy or both. Given the state of the books and

(01:49):
the enormous deficit blowout that this current lot inherited, you
have to be careful, don't you. So the unions, I
think have won the battle. The question really is they
win the war? For more from Early edition with Ryan Bridge.
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