Is it worth being in a union?

Milarky

Well, I was going to say that the problem with unions is that there's usually only one you can join - because they don't 'poach' members - a bit of a joke really when I read that only 29% of all workers were in one and most of those would be in the public services.

However if what POSSETTE says is true about their union (originally potteries) then that has to be a good thing. If unions did 'poach' instead of observing nineteenth century gentlemens agreements they might appear more relevant and so attract more membership. The 'insurance' argument is sound but undermined by the concept of a monopoly provider.

On the matter of employment law, unions are privileged to the extent that non-union members are denied equal rights. For example in matters of representation, a worker may only nominate a (willing) co-worker or a union rep. - they (the 'uninsured') can't fall back on a family member, a friend from outside work, their solicitor or a volunteer. What's the point of having a 'right of accompaniment' which is only guaranteed if you join a union?

But, on balance, and ignoring their political activities, I think someone should belong to a union (and in return unions should strive to be as accountable to members as possible)

regularsaver1

defo. Have used the services of ours, and get discounts

Out of the blue we had job role cuts, where they changed our role and job title. Luckily with the union we secured same pay deal ect

ixwood

We don't have one, but I like the idea. In this day and age of fat cat bosses getting paid millions in bonuses to offshore, downsize and downpay, they're more needed than ever IMO.

Stephen_Leak

gf3 wrote: »

I work for bt ( openreach ) I have heard of some one being sacked recently for using a cherry picker with out a safety man on the ground. I feel this should not have been a sack able offense. don't know if he was in the union or not but get the feeling that if bt wants to get rid of you they will.

In general terms, it depends on the employer and the union involved. Specifically, I worked for BT (and its previous incarnations) for 28 years, so my advice is to stay in the CWU. There are good and bad union reps, just like there are good and bad managers (although in inverse proportions?). As advised, make the most of the "fringe" benefits.

kez27

am in union and yeah i agree its a waste of money, i had a grievance in regarding to bullying by my boss enough evidence and witnesses union went to meeting with me with hr but refused to get involved. no help at all!!!!! i ended up going to citizens advice who sent a letter to my employer, which is when my employer backed down and knew they weren't getting away with it. they then moved the bully to another branch.

before letter from cab then asked me to resign if i wasn't happy and basically called me a liar refused to interview the witnesses.!!!!!

so waste of money and yeah I am cancelling if a company want to get rid of you they will do!!!!!

ceridwen

In reply to previous poster - "if they want to get rid of you, they will do" (ie employer sacking you).

Yes - that is correct. BUT...

a. It will delay them getting rid of you (so you have your income coming in still for a bit longer and can prepare yourself better for a jobchange).

b. IF ONLY "getting rid" was all employers could do to make your life a misery. What about:
- sexual harassment
- bullying
- cutting your pay
- worsening your conditions
- damaging your health

There are things your employer can do to you - or condone work colleagues doing to you - that rate far worse than sacking believe me!

belfastgirl23

I think we all benefit from union membership. Sometimes you don't exactly see this but if you get cost of living increases etc it is your union who negotiate this. I know you'd get the benefit in any case whether you're a member or not but I feel better knowing I'm contributing.

I also had a reason to use my work union for something which resulted in me being quite significantly better off when it was all settled. I might have been able to negotiate this on my own but having someone knowledgable around made a huge difference.

Finally yes some union reps are useless but some are excellent and dedicated people. If you find your union rep isn't great then why not put yourself forward as a shop steward?

If I'm right you can offset it against income tax as well...haven't done this personally since it seems like a big faff but it would perhaps bring the cost down a bit for you.

olly300

I was advised by my parents years ago to join a union when I started working. I thought it was a waste of money because most union reps work for the company with you so have of reputation of not going against the employer.

I then worked for a company where a manager decided to get rid of me and other workers like in kez27 case. This was a long campaign and I managed to join a union in time. The company has and had a reputation of being union unfriendly. I discovered they actually have old t&c that were in some of my former colleagues contracts stating that employees are not allowed to join a union otherwise they would be sacked for gross misconduct.

This was a good thing because in the meetings where I wasn't represented the company blantantly disregarded employment laws. In the meetings where I had a full-time union rep present the company tried this but were told to behave by the union rep and actually did.

While all the people the manager forced into leaving were broken and left at the end , I was the only one they had to pay compensation to.

Now one of my friend's is a union rep for another company that is union unfriendly. As the company bullied him, discriminated against him and tried to cut his pay they are very afraid of him. He spends all his working time doing union work and enforcing his colleagues rights. They are too scared to tell him to do his allocated number of hours as he could ensure that lots of his colleagues cases go to tribunal and so the employer would have loads of legal costs defending themselves.

Oh ixwood even if your employer doesn't recognise unions you can still join one. See here: http://www.worksmart.org.uk/unionfinder/ Just try and join one with offices near where you live so you can pop in and ask for a full-time rep to represent you if it's needed.

sassylaurie

Can another union member go after your union card? Say an Union employee gets written up because of another union member, is there any way that the employee who caused the other union memebr to receive disciplne can lose his union card?

jonesMUFCforever

sassylaurie wrote: »

Can another union member go after your union card? Say an Union employee gets written up because of another union member, is there any way that the employee who caused the other union memebr to receive disciplne can lose his union card?

I would not have thought so.
Care to enlighten us with more details or is it hypothesis?