There are a number of service interruptions which should never happen. It is ridiculous how many people do not care about the number of individuals they affect when going on strike. Many of them even go on strike for over 2 months with no sight of an end.
1. Doctors' strike:
As horrible as this sounds, this has happened in the past. In 1962, Saskatchewan doctors went on strike for 23 days. They wanted CCF to rescind the idea of universal health care. In 2011, a doctors' strike in India was arranged. In 6 days, 50 people died due to the extent of the strike. The government cracked down and arrested the doctors for negligence and fired them.
2. Nurses' strike:
Nurses are known to go on strike as well. Recently, the nurses' strike in Nova Scotia was averted before it had a disastrous effect on the health care system. In 2003, the nurses in Scotland went on a series of strike which lasted for 7 weeks. Can anyone imagine their health care system without nurses? This service should be guaranteed and essential without any likelihood of strikes.
3. Garbage:
In Toronto, residents had to endure 2 recent garbage strikes. They both occurred during the summer. The most recent one in 2009 lasted for 1 month before a deal was struck. Streets reeked with garbage as no one was taking them. People had to take their own garbage to designated dumping sites. Ridiculous since we usually pay tax payer money to have others do it.
This is not as bad as Greece who has dozens of strikes each year.
4. Ambulance:
Like nursing, this should be an essential service. Every city needs paramedics who arrive on the scene of an emergency. Where a life and death situation is present, one cannot afford a strike.
5. Buses:
This one has been the worst, especially in the city of Toronto. In Toronto, TTC services decided to once cease all operations at 12am and walkout. They stopped the bus, declared themselves on strike and refused to drop off passengers. Viva and YRT of Greater Toronto has gone on 2 strikes, most notably the one which started in October of 2011. As of January 28, 2012, a deal has been reached but the workers are taking their sweet time to go back to work. Whilst the bus drivers are striking, students and those who use transportation to go to work suffer in costs and in time.
6. Teachers:
Teachers are known to go on strike as well. In Toronto, teachers went on strike in both 1997 and 1998 over prep time insufficiencies. In the U.K., teachers were to go on strike over pension plan problems in 2011. This leaves many parents to struggle to accommodate a place to put their kids in. They must now pay money out of their own pockets to accommodate strikes. A pain indeed!
7. University workers:
University workers going on strike has occurred multiple times. York University in Toronto went on strike in 2000 for 2 months and in 2008 for 3 months. The strike affected a number of students who pay for an education. Those who were in the faculty of education could not complete their practicum time as a result. Instead of teaching Monday-Friday for 4 weeks in their placement, they only taught for 2.
8. Electricity:
Electricity disruptions have occurred. They are more a pet peeve when you are in the middle of doing work and your computer turns off. All the work you have done could be lost. The blackout in 2002 caused a huge issue for those affected.
9. Airplane:
This is horrible especially the ones that occur during Christmas holiday. These disruptions are not fun as people scurry to find alternatives.
10. Blackberry:
Many individuals are dependent on their phones for communication. The recent outage in Blackberry phones enraged consumers. Stocks in the Canadian markets plummeted 15%. Rim offered users free apps to compensate for the outage.
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