Unlikely anyone will notice...

whether they're on strike or not.

EDS - providing unparalled customer satisfaction year after year:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_Enterprise_Services#Client_Contract_Controversies

"what they might pursue instead."

I would imagine that practical craft skills (building related trades etc) and small scale agricultural skills will become quite valuable in the next few years. The eastern Europeans we currently rely on will be going back home soon, as the sterling in which they are paid declines further and further against the Euro, courtesy of "quantitative easing", which in itself is courtesy of the former "masters of the universe" at the bancasinos (not that Tim Prickett Morgan would necessarily agree).

A modern university degree course, whether it be technical or a "soft" option, is just a recipe for an excessive debt and three potential wage-earning experience-building years wasted.

Unless it's a degree in management. Managers rarely seem to lose their jobs, or even take a cut in pay or conditions. Although surely management by spreadsheet (ie management not leadership, we never see leaders these days), can surely be offshored just like everything else has been offshored where possible, at HP and elsewhere.

Education, education, education.

Impeachment, impeachment, impeachment.

The strike was pointless anyway...

What was the point of this strike (being an EDS/HP worker myself)?

"They work on outsourced government contracts at the Department of Work and Pensions and the MoD"

Myself and my colleagues (at the EDS/HP building Newcastle), do second line IT support and do NOT work for DWP and do NOT have government contracts. We dont have EDS/HP contracts at all!!! Its impossible to get one!!

We are outsourced from Kelly Services and we were quite clearly told not to take part in the strike as our jobs are not secure enough, and we would run the risk of being fired.

How was this strike intending to reprosent Kelly staff???

It is quite clear this strike was an arrogant and single minded attempt to improve ONLY the working conditions and payment of the DWP staff who are paid MORE then myself and my colleagues.

My team takes home an absolutely pathetic 14.5k (12k afte tax), for doing a job which we would be paid twice as much to do in any other company. There are infact other 2nd line teams, with EDS/HP Contracted in the building who are paid 30k to do the same work we do.

These are teams who sit there all day, with their feet up, playing games on their machines, while we slug it out all day working constantly with heavy work loads.

Its an insult!!

Then we finally hear about a strike, some action being taken... the possiblilty of getting a message accross to the high end management and what do we find out?

Its ONLY for DWP.

Its ONLY for those who already have contracts.

Its ONLY for those already paid more then us.

And to top it off, Kelly staff are asked not to take part!!!

Its disgusting!!!!!!!