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.