Unions

Mrs_Optimist

Just a general query really but are some Unions better than others?

I see a lot of advice of this forum recommending joining a Union, that Unions will sort out your employment woes for you, fight your corner etc but our experience of Unions over the last 12 months has been nothing but shoddy. Didn't produce the fairytale promises made, did not prevent redundancies and in fact has now scuppered any chance of being re-employed by a previous employer! Joining a Union has seriously damaged my DH empoyment health!

So, are some Unions better than others and is it really worth joining one?

DVardysShadow

teajug wrote: »

To think that you paid them to do this as well....these unions are taking money from employees under false pretences. :mad::mad::mad::mad:

The union is not a 'them' in relation to its own members. The union is those members. So really, no false pretences. The members spent their money and did not get the result they hoped for, for whatever reason. There is no reason to think that it is a given that a union will win every dispute. It is a fight every time, some you win, some you lose. If the union loses one, the members need to understand why, deal with it and dust themselves down for the next fight. If everyone leaves, saying that 'the money was taken by false pretences' it means that the employer wins by default every time thereafter.

cr1mson

Mrs_Optimist wrote: »

Just a general query really but are some Unions better than others?

I see a lot of advice of this forum recommending joining a Union, that Unions will sort out your employment woes for you, fight your corner etc but our experience of Unions over the last 12 months has been nothing but shoddy. Didn't produce the fairytale promises made, did not prevent redundancies and in fact has now scuppered any chance of being re-employed by a previous employer! Joining a Union has seriously damaged my DH empoyment health!

So, are some Unions better than others and is it really worth joining one?

Think you are confusing a union with a fairy godmother as fail to see how a union could prevent redundancies unless in very specific circumstances.

C

Mrs_Optimist

There is no outcome, the claim is currently stayed, for reasons unknown because the Union Solicitors have not bothered to keep anyone informed about the Tribunal claim. 14 months and counting.... We didn't even see the original Court paperwork, nor signed anything!

Anyway, I was asking more generally rather than specifically about my DH, as I am genuinely interested in other responses and opinions. I have had a lot of help on this board from a lot of knowledgeable people and I value their opinions and thoughts about the general questions I raised.

Yorkie1

I really think it depends. For an individual issue, the quality of the local union rep is far more important than the particular union to which they / the member belong.

Different unions have different approaches e.g. the NUT has quite a militant approach, whereas some of the other unions are less militant. A member's preference for one style over another may help the member decide which union to join, if either.

In my workplace, a very similar issue of principle / approach to a situation arose twice in a relatively short space of time in respect of similar graded (but very different role) staff [I'm paraphrasing here for ease of explanation]. The more militant union had a bit of a bull in a china shop approach, and got a less effective outcome for its members than the less militant but more thoughtful negotiated approach of the other union.

On the other hand, it can be argued that very militant unions are very effective in some situations for their members because of the disruption element.

I would think - but don't know for sure - that a union with high member representation in a workplace may be more effective than one with only a couple of members.

Apart from style, some unions will offer different side benefits to their members, have different charging structures etc.

Over the years, Unions have achieved some significant benefits for their members, which might not otherwise have been achieved if there wasn't a collective representation. A union will never be a silver bullet to solve all problems but, as a general rule, I'd rather have the option of someone impartial advising and assisting me than having to deal with problems on my own.

SarEl

I agree with the others - except for Teajug, but we will never agree on this matter. A union isn't a service - it is a collective. The employment rights you have this very minute - every single one of them was fought for by union members. Some of them, some of the most basic rights, people died for. But they only have meaning, and only continue to have meaning, if people are still willing to fight for those things. Whether that is called militancy or not - well that depends on your point of view.

There are no magic wands that win battles, whether that be in employment or elsewhere. Employers have power - real power. Whether that be the one man band down the road or the multi-national, employers have power because they can easily take away the one thing that you have. The ability to earn a living. Some of the biggest employers own governments; others have incredible influence over governments and public opinion. They own much of the medai (because they are employers too). And you? Well you are on your own. Unless you are in a union.

I wonder, if someone could go back in time, and tell the Tolpuddle Martyrs, Annie Besant, those who attended the first ever TUC meeting in 1868, or any one of those who fought for our rights and our unions, about a national minimum wage, the right to paid holidays, the right to limited working hours, the right to challenge a dismissal or discrimination... I wonder what they might say about how easily we are letting those rights be taken away from us again?

A union is as good as its members. It always was, and it always will be. Perhaps it hasn't been a case of "we naver had it so good" as "we never realised how good we had it".

dandelionclock30

I think its worth being in a union and like the others have said it depends on the quality of the worker you get. I think if you run into a bad problem at work and need to go to lots of meetings etc with your employer then you need someone there to support you.They are better than a work colleague because they are there for you.They cant waive a magic wand, but they will make sure that procedures are followed and that the employer does things properly.
Generally though, they dont have the clout they used too as Thatcher took away some of their powers in the 1980s.