Monday, June 06, 2011

This Is Norway

Bank strike rumoured to start tomorrow.

As of midnight, we are told, all the ATM's will cease to function and you won't be able to use your debit cards anywhere.

Seriously? Bankers go on strike and I cannot get access to MY money? MY money is being held hostage to pay bankers more? Where the hell is MY raise? Don't I pay enough in bank fees to these fuckers already?

Bankers who already give me shitty service when I go to the bank, bankers who work from 9 to 3. Bankers who I have to either go to work late or leave work early to go visit to talk about MY MONEY? Note in the article I linked to the part about 'increasing competence' in the staff. Uh, yeah, as in they suck and maybe they could be more service minded? I always, every time, get pissed off when I have to go to the bank. EVERY TIME.

Excuse me if I have no sympathy.

I hear that tourists who come here will be out of luck also, as they won't be able to get any money. Imagine going on holiday and having no access to your own cash because there is a strike in the country you visit.

Grrrr......

So I am watching a huge queue at the bank outside, people lining up to get their own money out of the bank that employees want to strike to get higher pay so that we can pay more fees to support. Hmm.

7 comments:

  1. Karla May6:47 AM

    So, did it happen?

    Also, I love that you're spelling "rumoured" with a "u"--as it SHOULD be because the other way just looks strange.

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  2. Yeah, it sounds crazy when you say it like that, but i think everyone's entitled to strike, and at least they told us in advance so we could get cash and not be affected by it. That's the way the unions work, unfortunately... I lived in Poland a while back, you should try going to the post office there... Then you'd be pissed off. Lots of different lines for everything, and no one speaks a word of English. In Norwegian banks everyone speaks English, at least.

    I don't mind strikes, i like how everyone has the right to an opinion :o) After all, this is a welfare state where i'm currently enjoying getting enough money to survive despite being burnt-out for a year and not being able to work. A welfare state where you can stay home with your child for a year and still get paid. A welfare state where people get surgeries and hospital care for free, where you never have to pay more than 300$ a year for doctors and phycologists, after that amount it's free.

    So i don't mind living in a welfare state with strikes and short work hours...

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  3. Oh, and the strike never happened either :o)

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  4. Well, we dodged that one after all - good thing too, with my all of 750 NOK in cash. I agree that all the strikes and threats of them in Norway blows (one of many sucktastic things about this place). Greed and entitlement is rampant (cries the employee of an impoverished micro company). And the great transportation strike was actually in 2004, not 2005. I still get nightmares thinking about it.

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  5. karlakp11:47 AM

    Didn't happen. Lots of folk running aorund with a bunch of cash so of course the news warned us to be careful of pick pockets.

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  6. karlakp11:50 AM

    Well I would agree but when a strike is as comprehensive as this one could have been and for not much in benefit, I think it's a bit much. But glad they worked something out.
    Post offices here are ok (better than in the STates, that's for sure) , too, but the bank makes me mad because the customer service SUCKS and it's MY MONEY they are keeping me from. They always act like they are doing me a favor...drives me crazy.

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  7. karlakp11:51 AM

    I remember not being able to get toilet paper....that was freaky. Toilet paper and eggs. I was ok without the eggs, mostly, but the toilet paper wiped me out. haha.

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