Strike action no surprise as people struggle

The schools are back and the official last day of the summer has just passed.

Autumn beckons and thereafter comes the short nights and the challenges of winter.

Given the exorbitant energy price rises and the fast rising rate of inflation, the famous quote of a UK winter of discontent coined in 1978 certainly does spring to mind.

People are really facing a heat or eat dilemma and in this week’s paper we have run coverage of two ongoing strikes with teachers being balloted when they return in relation to potential action.

In the UK in the 1970s, 10 million working days were lost to strike action.

Thereafter, Margaret Thatcher set about dismantling the power of the unions and many have lay dormant for many years.

That, however, is changing and as veteran Fermanagh Trade

Union activist Jim Quinn points out in this week’s edition, people are “starting to collectivise again” in a bid to gain some equality with employers and the reason they are doing so, he says, is because they are “struggling”.

It is hard to argue with his thinking and the questions must be put to our inactive government and the Conservatives in Westminster, what are you going to do to help?

Yes, as we highlight in the paper, the £400 help with energy bills is coming but because we have no Stormont, a date or method of payment can be revealed. Economy Minister Gordon Lyons thinks November but we need some certainty.

Families need to be able to plan how they are going to get through a tough winter.

It is hard not to envisage further strike action across the board,as the cost of living crisis deepens in the harsher winter weather.

Our economy and the communities within it are going to be hit hard.

No-one wants a winter of discontent but it is being predicted well in advance and hence our political leaders need to come up with a plan, some tangible help for everyone and they really need to come up with it now.