unions worth the money?

annie1975_2

Sometimes you feel like its a waste of money,but I think these days you need to stay in a union..My OH has always been in one and sometimes felt they were a waste of money , but when they got their 90 days notice the union were a god send.(sorted all the legal stuff out when they were tuped over,then made redundant within 2 months).There are also many other benefits as well,we got our will done for free through the union.

markwilkinson

franklally wrote: »

the unions will lose their negotiating power)

That will be the day I don't get angry when the wife drinks champagne on a school night.

smithers1981

My view is i get the same pay rise whether in the union or not.

If i commit a sackable offence then i get sacked whether in union or not.

If i'm made redundant i will get same redundency package whether in union or not.

Its not really comparable to house insurance, if house burns down it pays out, if i loose my job the union doesnt pay anything out and im still jobless.

Also find i disagree with the unions left wing views and am not keen on there financial support of the Labour party.

mazza111

smithers1981 wrote: »

My view is i get the same pay rise whether in the union or not.

If i commit a sackable offence then i get sacked whether in union or not.

If i'm made redundant i will get same redundency package whether in union or not.

Its not really comparable to house insurance, if house burns down it pays out, if i loose my job the union doesnt pay anything out and im still jobless.

Also find i disagree with the unions left wing views and am not keen on there financial support of the Labour party.

It depends on the job though, wouldn't you like to have the union backing if an accusation was falsely made against you?

marybelle01

smithers1981 wrote: »

My view is i get the same pay rise whether in the union or not.

If i commit a sackable offence then i get sacked whether in union or not.

If i'm made redundant i will get same redundency package whether in union or not.

Its not really comparable to house insurance, if house burns down it pays out, if i loose my job the union doesnt pay anything out and im still jobless.

Also find i disagree with the unions left wing views and am not keen on there financial support of the Labour party.

Oddly I am in the same union as you are.

The unions "left wing views" (that workers have rights - darned if that isn't left wing) are what have protected millions of workers and their jobs and conditins.

If you don't pay the political levy then what political party the may financially support is none of your business since you aren't paying for it.

I get one of the cheapest income protection policies going through my union - the same one you are in!

And if you lose your job, who is paying for the house and the insurance???

And if you think that people don't get sacked when they haven't committed a sackable offence... well you don't hang around here often enough.

But since you had made your decision already, why ask? Knock yourself out. The one thing that I disagree with the others on is that fewer people in unions make them weaker. That isn't entirely true. People in unions who care nothing for the union, do nothing for the union and contribute nothing to the union make it weaker too. "The union" is its members...

DVardysShadow

smithers1981 wrote: »

My view is i get the same pay rise whether in the union or not.

If i commit a sackable offence then i get sacked whether in union or not.

If i'm made redundant i will get same redundency package whether in union or not.

Its not really comparable to house insurance, if house burns down it pays out, if i loose my job the union doesnt pay anything out and im still jobless.

Also find i disagree with the unions left wing views and am not keen on there financial support of the Labour party.

If you commit a non sacking offence, you might be sacked if you are not in the union but retain your job if you are in it.

As for being made redundant, well you are riding on the coat tails of the members and if enough people follow your lead and drop out, your package might be worse.

As for how you apply the house insurance analogy, you have entirely misapplied it. The defined benefits of house insurance are to pay out if your house burns down. The union is not there to pay you out if you lose your job - that would be entirely defeatist. It is there to protect your rights as an employee, to protect your employment and to maintain and improve the remuneration and terms and conditions of your employment. Judge it on those criteria.

As for unions or labour being left wing, don't make me laugh. They probably are no more left than the centre of the Tory party before Thatcher came to power.

ohreally

I happen to agree re (new) Labour party support, TU's should ballot their members with a view to dissafiliation en-masse as that political party lacks congruence with many working class members.

smithers1981 wrote: »

My view is i get the same pay rise whether in the union or not

You're content to become a parasite then?

markwilkinson

Unions shouldnt strike about anything, particularly pay and conditions on a just over 50% vote in favour on a 30% turnout.

DKLS

smithers1981 wrote: »

I've been in the unite union for 10 years at a cost of 10.90 every 4 weeks thinking of cancelling to save money, union are very poor and don't think I would be any worse off by leaving thoughts please....

To me it would be poor value, but I was brought up with a healthy dislike for unions and how they ruined this country.

At every job I have negotiated my own salary and annual pay rises and bonus schemes. I certainly wouldn't want to be part of some collective bargaining as I am sure I would get a poorer deal than what I can achieve.

smithers1981

Some strong views here thanks, the whole us (the union) vs them (the employer) is what really gets up my goat, it is communism vs capitalism.

i don't see my employer as the enemy, after all its my employer that pays my rent NOT the union.