For anyone hoping for wider spinoffs from the coalition era of new harmony, burying of hatchets and an energised forward vision of a new, upbeat, success driven Britain,the annual meeting and snarlfest of the TUC's brothers and sisters in Manchester last week was a predictable disappointment.Rows of unhappy looking people declined the opportunity to embrace the coalition spirit and look for new and more harmonious ways ahead. The tempation to dive back into the cosy heartlands of class warfare and strikes against the horrors of unknown cuts to come was just too great as was the potential fun of causing disruption to goods and services throughout the land."Action" is fun and good for recruitment. Calm waters much less so, especially during the grey dullness of winter.
The delegates did not look like people set to enjoy themselves. Unions do not generally do not exhibit happy and contented people. Unhappy and discontented ones give them their energy,- and membership fees. Many at Manchester will have returned home with a spring in their step and full of enthusiasm for the new rallying calls of "No to Cuts". Not since the heady days of the "No to Poll Tax" have they had such a unifying bogeyman, even if it is as yet undefined. The homeward trains were probably full of people happy to be unhappy who felt they had had a good week.Their fellow passengers may not have been so enthusiastic about the prospect of future journeys being shunted into the sidings with hollow statements of "Of course we regret inconvenience to the public". Still, at least the brothers and sisters are out in the open. There is no doubt where they stand,- and it's not with those whose daily lives they will mess up or whose jobs they will also jeopardise as colateral damage.A consistent result of serious strikes is ultimately less jobs, including in the industries the unions claim to be protecting. That means more hardship and more misery. But then if it creates a downward spiral of misery that's just fine isn't it? Didn't the miners, Fleet Street printers, shipyard and legacy car company workers , just to metion a few, do well?
The Manchester jamboree was just another missed opportunity. Anyone surprised?
