Budget 2018

badmemory

There were 2 sides to those car workers strikes. I remember driving past one factory, which was crammed with unsold cars & my father turning to me & saying they will be on strike next week & sure enough they were on strike. You can only blame the unions for either being naive or getting backhanders from the bosses because the strike saved them a lot of money in wages.

Paul_Herring

Silvertabby wrote: »

My theory is that they did hear/read about the changes, but put the information out of their minds because 'it only applies to pensioners - not me 'cos I'm only 39'.

I prefer 'selective amnesia' on the part of a not insubstantial number of the more vocal ones.

Thrugelmir

badmemory wrote: »

There were 2 sides to those car workers strikes.

When Red Robbo evetually lost his job. Was his own Union members that turned their backs en masse and refused to back him. People only act like sheep for so long. Eventually the reality kicks in.

zagfles

kidmugsy wrote: »

Isn't it a consequence of the decision (by Nigel Lawson, I think) to introduce independent income taxation for wives?

I suppose you could reverse that but their would be rioting in the streets.

Rubbish. Tax credits, means tested benefits etc are assessed jointly. I see no riots over this. Lots of other countries assess couples/families for tax rather than as individuals. Even before Lawson, wives could be taxed independantly if they wanted to be. You could do like in the US and let couples choose whether to file jointly or independantly. It won't cause a riot.

woolly_wombat

Silvertabby wrote: »

Sorry ladies, but if a terminally ill woman - who had never read the Financial Times in her life - knew all about the changes in 1995 then there's really no excuse.

My theory is that they did hear/read about the changes, but put the information out of their minds because 'it only applies to pensioners - not me 'cos I'm only 39'.

Well quite.

WASPI would do better to campaign against age discrimination in the workplace and for better access to back-to-work training for anyone who has been out of the workplace for any time IMHO, although the biggest barrier to the employment of older workers has been the abolition of compulsory retirement at state pension age - a classic example of unintended consequences.

merrydance

I am currently not able to drive because of a medical condition. I am 62, my doctor said, ah well at least you've got your free bus pass. I said no the pension age for women has changed from 60 to 66 for me. She was astounded and did not know anything about it. So it is very possible that a lot of women did not know this was going to happen.

Paul_Herring

merrydance wrote: »

I am currently not able to drive because of a medical condition. I am 62, my doctor said, ah well at least you've got your free bus pass. I said no the pension age for women has changed from 60 to 66 for me. She was astounded and did not know anything about it. So it is very possible that a lot of women did not know this was going to happen.

To be fair to your doctor, I don't think state pension age is something that many of them have to think about:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/04/number-doctors-opting-early-retirement-doubles-amid-pension/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5337513/GPs-average-retirement-age-falls-58.html

merrydance

Yes but it shows it's not general knowledge, not everyone including those affected did know.

"Shockingly, the government didn’t write to any woman affected by the rise in the pension ages for nearly 14 years after the law was passed in 1995. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started sending out letters from April 2009 onwards."

Paul_Herring

merrydance wrote: »

Yes but it shows it's not general knowledge, not everyone including those affected did know.

If it's not general knowledge now, what exactly have all these WASPI women been doing since 2015?....

merrydance

Er working