In the 70's I was an engineer working in a company that had a closed shop agreement with the unions, I knew the shop stewards very well, in fact one of them became related. Almost without exception it seemed their sole aim in life was to take on the management for any reason no matter how spurious! I can tell you that we were paid very well, our conditions of work were good and the business was successful. This did not stop the greed and power hunger of the union leaders who found any reason to go on strike. After striking they then expected us all to be allowed to do massive amounts of overtime to make up for the loss of pay. I personally left the company solely due to the unions and went to work for a non union company. Under the Thatcher years I worked hard, furthered my education and prospered. I am now the MD of a company that still makes things in the UK. I had no problem with the unions fighting for the employees rights against unscrupulous employers and there are many examples where this was justified. I just felt that a lot of the union leaders became power crazy and as has been pointed out they reaped the rewards while the members suffered. Not everything in the Thatcher years was good, I remember the massive struggle I had with a wife 2 very young children and trying to buy a house and make a living with 15% mortgage rates, it was dire. I believe everyone is entitled to an opinion and that is right for the society we live in and our mothers and fathers fought for, but I cannot put into print how I feel about these so called people who are celebrating and partying over a death, felt exactly the same when the Americans were partying in Times Square over the death of Sadam.
'I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy' – Martin Luther King
One thing I could say in her favour is that she didn't take any shit off people A trait that I was brought up thinking was a sign of a true brit Sadly now I see us Brits putting up with all sorts of shit from people and kicking up no fuss How many stories do we hear that annoy us and what do we do about it? Not a lot in my opinion I am sure that Maggie was the cause of much trouble in peoples lives during her time too, so my lines may be out of context in the bigger picture
I have moved on from getting annoyed by ill informed comments regarding this issue. Having spent at least another hour with a magnet on a piece of wire I still can't find that dropped battery bolt so all my irritation is being used up being pissed off about that. Sent from Freedom's Hellberry
