United Front

Despite not having any liking for the Labour government, I do like the unions and have been a member of the T&GW (now part of Unite - the union on strike at Grangemouth) for around three years. I don't generally agree with striking as it tends to hurt the wrong people such as customers and fellow staff. In this case I make an exception and wholehartedly support Unite in their efforts to protect their worker's pensions from greedy bosses who want too large a slice of the profits.

www.amicustheunion.org

Enough of the politics and supporting my union: what really interests, or perhaps confuses, me about circumstances like this is the question of how someone in a position of responsibility can do down the people they work with. I make no claims for my own saintly behaviour but cannot envisage undertaking to harm the interests of my colleages, or anyone, simply to earn a few more pounds. Especially if I already had as many pounds as the owners of the Grangemouth refinery apparently do.

There is a moral problem with profiteering while taking away the security of a final-salary pension from your workers, especially if you are keeping a defined benefit pension yourself. Admittedly my employer closed its own final salary scheme a few years ago (and left people like me out of it) but as it was in a dire financial situation at the time I can just about understand the Chief Executive even though he did then run off with his pension secure. Hypocrisy appears to be as common a failing among bosses as is their penchant for pulling the ladder up.

I wonder if I were in the same position of authority would I disregard the needs of people like these profit-focussed types do? As someone who shops and banks with the Co-op, gives 10% of income to charity and tries to share with those around me I'd like to think I wouldn't, but who am I to say? Perhaps when any of us get to that financial level greed takes over, or maybe only the terminally selfish get to those top positions? I'd like to be rich, but maybe it's not possible to be decent at the same time.

The blog that got me started

Just been listening to the blog that finally got me started here; it's not that it gave me any specific encouragement or is in anyway related to what I want to write about here it is just that after reading this blog and some of those linked from it I just wanted to write. I don't know what it was about the blog that encouraged me: maybe the thought that if they can do it, so can I or perhaps enjoying reading made me think of the enjoyment in writing. Whatever it may have been I'm glad I've finally made a start on something I want to keep up for a long time to come.

My New Year's resoloution in 2006 was to communicate more: it seems I'm finally getting around to it. Two years late. Ho Hum.

New images on flickr

I've just made my first uploads to flickr in 10 days! Whenever I get a lot of photos to sort though and upload I end up waiting ages before I start putting them in order and sending them to flickr; I now have several batches ready to send off and have taken more today so that should keep me going for the next week or so!

Get Carter Car Park/Trinity Square

Today Dad and me went to the open day at the old multi-storey carpark in Gateshead; little known by it's real name 'Trinity Square' since it was used in 'Get Carter' many years ago it's due to come down soon so the top deck has been reopened this weekend. Until recently when the Baltic was converted, the Angel put up and the Millennium Eye bridge built it was one of the few buildings known for being in Gateshead. While it's truely hideous it'll be a shame when it's finally demolished sometime this year: it's been there, looking awful, for decades and it's difficult to see what the town will look like without it.

For this reason I spent a few hours this-morning wanding around decks 5 to 7 (the queue to get onto the top deck was huge and not moving) taking photos which I hope to soon put up on my flickr pages. Then we went to the Sage Gateshead and took some more photos of the car park and, as we were there, the bridges, Baltic and Sage itself. Not a bad way to spend a day all in all, especially seeing the inside of the Sage again. If you're in the area, go and see it!