Rafa's Peggy's

So basically your attitude is if workers don't like what their employer are trying to do, they can find another job. Where does that leave people who have donated 10, 20, 30 years of their lives working hard for an employer and making them successful? Do you not believe that workers are owed the dignity and respect of having their T+C's negotiated with them without the fear of losing their jobs and chosen career path? Your last statement about walking out because 'there are no clean forks in the canteen' is nonsense. The reality is that workers very rarely strike these days, although industrial action will become more and more common as more employers show the same attitude that the London Fire and Emergency Authority are showing here. These men and women risk their lives on a regular basis for the likes of me and you. The councillors and bosses who are causing this dispute don't and most of them probably have no experience of what it's like to be a firefighter. I know who's side I'm on. I'm not criticising you for not being 'Arthur Scargills best mate'. I am questioning your philosophy that workers should accept bullying behaviour from employers simply because they pay the wages. It's misguided and if you followed this philosophy to the end, workers in this country would end up with no rights at all.

Firstly, yes it is 100 over 4 years, but there is absolutely no guarantee that this figure includes the jobs that will potentially be lost through the findings of the reviews that are taking place. These jobs losses have been announced as a result of the CSR and with absolutely no obvious link to the outcomes of the reviews. I'm not sure of the exact number for natural wastage, but I know that most people who leave the organisation at present do so to work in other parts of the public sector, but as there are no jobs anywhere else, you can bet that people will be less eager to change jobs now. As far as finding another job goes, have a look around the various websites of recruitment companies and local media and see what's on offer. Unskilled, low paid work is what accounts for the majority of the current employment market. If this will be good enough to support you and yours, then good luck, but a lot of people are scared of losing jobs and careers that they worked hard to get without a viable immediate alternative. I'm glad that you class yourself as one of the organisations best staff and I hope that stands you in the stead that you apparently think it will. Also, you seem to forget the impact that these cuts will have on private sector jobs. Despite what the Coalition would have people believe, the public and private sectors are not in their own bubbles. Many private sector jobs will be lost as a result of this strategy which will put even more pressure on it's ability to take the strain of the losses in the public sector. You say that this isn't personal, but when the cuts being threatened effect the lives of my family, my friends and the people I represent, then it is personal to me. I don't support measures just when they benefit me or mine, I too have a morale compass. But when more is being taken from the disabled than what is being taken from the banks and institutions that put us in this mess, then something is wrong. I don't propose that nothing is done about the deficit and neither does PCS. What I do support is the view that the first door you should be knocking on is the people who avoid paying £120 bn in tax every year. Based on your own figures, recouping even two thirds of this would halve the deficit in an instant. The Govt are quick to attack the 'scroungers who live off benefit', but the rich scroungers who avoid paying tax are doing far more damage to the country. For clarity, this is not extra tax but tax they should already be paying. I don't honestly think that Cuba are relevant to this debate, as their economy doesn't bear any resemblence to the way ours is set up. Ireland would be a more relevant example, where the Govt pursued the same vicious agenda and sent their economy spiraling. All with the endorsement of the much heralded IMF. As far as your political beliefs conflicting with your union membership, you'll obviously need to work that out for yourself. We don't want to lose members and I'd donate whatever time was needed to keep you in the tent. I would question what your political beliefs are, however. Are they in line with the Lib Dem beliefs before or after the election? The PCS leadership have their faults, but they have remained absolutely consistent throughout the last 12-18 months, unlike your party leadership who deceived the electorate and have absolutely no mandate to be doing what they are. Their day of reckoning at the ballot box will come though and you and every other party member who have stood by and watched whilst your leadership has betrayed millions will be complicit in the party's downfall. I appreciate the PM you sent me and I am back in work next week. We can't possibly say all we want on these boards, so if you want to have a chat you know were I am.

I appreciate that line of thought, but in this situation the Lib Dems could have had just as much of a say in letting the Tories form a minority Government and applying leverage and 'horse trading' on particular issues, instead of entering into a fully fledged Coaliton and programme of Government. I personally don't believe in sacrificing your principles in pursuit of power and I realise that if I was an MP, that fact would likely make me a backbench nobody. However, I honestly think that one of the reasons people are so disengaged with politics these days is because they perceive that nobody stands for anything. Career politicians are killing the system and it would be nice if more 'average joes' like Steve Rotheram were elected.

I'm under the impression that Strontium Dog works with me, but despite having PM'd him to attempt to have a reasonable face to face discussion regarding the current situation and our respective views, he has so far ignored me. If I'm right and he does work with me, I know that his future is currently under threat. I really hope then that him and his family are not effected by the cuts to services and benefits that this Government are proposing if he loses his job. You don't have to be a socialist to recognise that the majority of this Government are not going to be effected by the decisions theyare taking and have no real life experience of the impactof their decisions. How he can come on here and be so defensive of the Lib Dem support for the Tories when much of what they are doing is against what the Lib Dems campaigned for (and what MP's were elected on the back of) is astonishing really. Shameful in fact. For me, politics shouldn't be about power,it should be standing up for what you believe in and trying to convince the electorate that you are the way to go. If you can't, you shouldn't prostitute yourself to another party just so you can have a minor say in what happens.

absolutely support the FBU's stance on this. It's completely disgraceful for an employer to attempt to bully their workforce like this and it's even worst that it's firemen that it is happening to. Why should employees just roll over and accept a variation in their contract of employment they are not happy with? Would an employer accept it if an employee attempted to change their own contract without agreement? More and more, employers are bullying workers in all professions into detrimental working hours, pay, pensions and policies. When workers have the audacity to challenge this using their completely legal right to withdraw labour, they are ostracised by the mainstream media, who consistently fail to give a balanced view of the relevant dispute. The cards are stacked more and more in favour of employers. Years ago, people would have been absolutely furious over the way the firemen are being treated, but now all some people can do is criticise the firemen themselves for the date they picked. I can never understand the mentality of people who criticise working men and woman who are protecting their rights and working conditions against bullying tactics from employers. What is your philosophy and vision for how workers should behave? What do you do when employers refuse to negotiate and/or consult on issues effecting your working environment and personal life?

Just for clarity, the reason for the strike is because the firefighters have been threatened with the sack if they don't agree to the new hours, not because of the actual proposals themselves. The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority have refused to remove the notices, even though the union have said they will call off the strike if this was the case.

Nice to see community spirit alive and well on TLW. Indiscriminate negging aside, any ideas?

Need some help boys and girls. I am trying to post on the GF but for some reason it's saying I can't. Do you need to be a ST holder to post on there? If not, do you need any other special permissions? Any assistance is greatly received. Thanks

This post reminds me a bit of this.....

This. Some fella got put on his arse in the King Harry when he went in to use the toilet. He was only with 2 other fans and he didn't exactly look like an 'Ultra'. It's a shame really that dickheads ruin it for the real match goers who are there to enjoy themselves, especially bearing in mind that the fans doing the stabbing last week probably weren't even at the match last night.

Schmeichal Thuram Hansen Sammer Maldini Figo Keane Robson Giggs Pele Maradona

I've heard he's the next Gaza. A move to a big club will really bring his talent to the fore(skin).

@CorrieManiacs said it's a toss up between Schmeical the dog and Norris Cole. Two seperate endings have been filmed and even the cast don't know what's gonna happen.

I am made up that the council are pressing for progress. The club has taken far too long making a decision about the stadium and the people and businesses in Anfield have suffered as a result. Although to a lot of us the only thing that matters is whether we get a new stadium or not, it's a much bigger issue than that. The club have made a lot of promises about the regeneration of the area which haven't yet been followed through. In that time, the council could have been working with other parties to develop the area to lift it out of the destitution that it's in now. The pressure from the council will also remind the new owners of the importance of not dragging their heels on a decision, which is to our benefit in the long run as it will help get the issue resolved sooner rather than later. Good work from Joe Anderson, although you can do one if you think you'll get the support of your constituents on a ground share!!

Pako still lives over the water and drinks in my brother's boozer in Wallasey. He is going to Sporting Lisbon apparently.

Thanks for the update mate. Not sure I agree with all of your statements, especially the one about the naming rights for the stadium. I wouldn't be happy with the club whoring itself to anybody for the dough and I'm sure a lot of other supporters feel the same way. Good point about tickets and sections in the ground for the kids. That's going to be increasingly relevant for every club if they want to avoid losing kids completely to Facebook and Xbox. Were you meeting to represent the views of those directly involved with Kop Faithful or those of supporters?

I said it then, I'll say it now - you don't sack a european cup winning manager and replace him with somebody who has won exactly fuck all, as a player or a manager. I felt Rafa deserved an opportunity to right the wrongs of last season. I also thought that no decision should have been made on the manager until new owners were in place. That said, I accept that it was a matter of opinion whether he went. However the board fucked up monumentally when they appointed his replacement. The minimum they should have been looking for was somebody with a proven track record of success, regardless of nationality. I think (and I've got no evidence to back this up) that Gerrard and Carragher might have got in the board's ear over appointing an english manager and with Murphy probably sucking Hodgson's dick to them at every opportunity, old Roy was top of their list. Sack him now and let Kenny take over whilst the new owners settle in and look for a replacement. Appoint somebody before the end of November and give them a month to evaluate the players before the transfer window opens again.

Sound. Bad news is my confidence in my sources has taken a knock. Good news is we might actually have a better chance of getting something from the game with Johnson out. Is Kelly injured at the moment?

Sorry Gang. Take the Greek out and replace him with Konchesky. As far as Johnson goes, the text I got has him fit and playing.

Reina Johnson Carragher Skrtel Greek Lucas Poulsen Meireles Gerrard Cole Torres Apparently. Lucas and Poulsen together again. Really, really not confident about tomorrow.

You deserve to be happy mate, you played a big part in what happened today so should be proud of yourself. Personally, it doesn't rank anywhere near my top moments in my football or personal life, as it's pretty hollow because we shouldn't have been in the situation in the 1st place. Relief is probably a better description, like being constipated for a week and then finally having that big shit that you needed.

The internet terrorism remark might be enough to give any potential fan damages claim some legs.

If SOS hadn't put in so much legwork highlighting the ownership situation, the supporters campaign might not have gathered the pace that it did. Everybody played a part, and it was fantastic. Don't try to undermine SOS role though just because you are not a fan of the organisation.

I'm not really sure what you mean by that to be honest. The SOS executive are more accountable than any other group as they are elected and have regular meetings to engage with members. If their members aren't happy with the approach or strategy of the current leadership, they can vote them out, plain and simple. However, if people aren't willing to put their head above the parapet and get involved, then the organisation won't mature. I know I'm probably wasting my time and I'll probably never convince you, but SOS' members and leadership are ultimately fellow fans and a force for good with the right intentions at it's core, all be it with some tactical mistakes thrown in. If you joined, you might actually be able to use your criticism to help them in the future.

Well when you are not part of the organisation, not willing to join and not wiliing to help them grow and get better, then it's pretty rich to expect them to listen to your words of caution and unguarded criticism. Kop Faithful made a fantastic contribution to the campaign, but 'clear telling shot' - I think that title goes to the board. I'm sure Steve H would admit that the e-mail campaign alone wouldn't have got them out and that SOS made a significant and telling contribution to that.