Strikers should try another viewpoint

WITH the public sector unions announcing another strike threat for next week, I wonder how they would react if private sector workers decided to respond in kind, withdrawing service from them for a change.

Public sector strikers are arrogant in their confidence that they can hurt everyone else, and that they can do it without repayment in kind ... but they’re wrong.

It would be fairly easy to organise retaliation. As they deal with each new customer, private sector workers — particularly frontline workers — could easily ask, “did you participate in the public sector strike”? If the answer was yes, then the private sector worker would refuse to provide service to the striker until he or she had built up eight hours of payback for each day that the public sector goes on strike.

Just imagine those striking civil servants standing at the checkout in Tesco, or at the petrol station, or trying to book their Christmas holidays, or to withdraw money at the bank, or at the creche on a day when they’re supposed to be working, or at the side of the road back from Newry waiting for the AA, all discovering that they need the private sector, too.

It’s a pity lots of private sector services are so efficient they don’t need people at the point of service delivery. Now only if the public sector could learn a thing or two about that.

Hugh Sheehy

Marine Drive

Sandymount

Dublin 4